The Annenberg Space for Photography is pleased to present EXTREME EXPOSURE, a group exhibit featuring arresting imagery from five unique talents in photography who work on the edge of wildlife, climate and environment. These photographers have made careers of capturing some of our planet’s most extreme environments, while dangling from a helicopter or immersed in alligator-infested waters; enduring freezing temperatures for months or braving an angry volcano. They share an intense passion and purpose, and use their photos to protect places, species and landscapes they care about.
Since the Photography Space opened over a year ago, one of its hallmarks has been the support and celebration of working photographers and the special interests they pursue. Each exhibit has showcased a wide range of techniques, styles and formats. For EXTREME EXPOSURE, the Photography Space collaborated with guest curatorial advisor Cristina Mittermeier, an award-winning photographer, conservationist and President of the International League of Conservation Photographers, to display a unique collection of alluring landscapes and intimate moments between artists and the wild creatures they capture in alarmingly close proximity.
EXTREME EXPOSURE will showcase:
- Swamplands captured by Clyde Butcher using a bold interplay of shadow and light.
- Lush jungle photography by Michael “Nick” Nichols that brings the audience nearly face-to-face with tigers and gorillas.
- Paul Nicklen’s transfixing photos of the alien landscapes found in polar regions and the rare animals inhabiting these isolated environments.
- Donna and Stephen James O’Meara’s vibrant photos of erupting volcanoes and dancing molten lava.
In addition to the print exhibit, digital film presentations will expand the visitor experience by sharing hundreds more images, as well as insights from photographers, on the Photography Space’s high –resolution screens. Viewers will be immersed in breathtaking imagery, while gaining a perspective that only the photographers can provide. The exhibit’s featured artists will recount the many adventures that provided their stunning photographs, their creative methods and what it takes to work in such exotic locations.
- Clyde Butcher‘s photographs explore his personal relationship with the environment. For more than 40 years, he has been preserving landscapes on black-and-white film. Butcher has been honored by the state of Florida with the highest award given to a private citizen: the Artist Hall of Fame Award. He was also privileged to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Nature Photography Association and named the Humanitarian of the Year for 2005 by International University. The Sierra Club honored him with the Ansel Adams Conservation Award, given to photographers whose talents have contributed to the public awareness of the environment.
- Michael “Nick” Nichols, dubbed the “Indiana Jones of Photography” by Paris Match magazine, is an award-winning editor at large and a veteran photographer for National Geographic magazine. Devoting himself to producing photography that effects environmental change, Nichols’ work documenting nature and environmental stories has taken him to the most remote corners of the world. In 2007, Nichols founded the annual LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph in Charlottesville, VA, a three-day celebration of peace, love and photography.
- Paul Nicklen uses his camera to reveal the nature of a world melting away under human-induced global warming. Whether ice-diving, covering hundreds of miles of terrain in -40F temperatures or mastering aerial shots from his ultra-light plane, Nicklen has specialized in photographing polar regions since 1995. Nicklen’s childhood on Baffin Island in Canada’s Arctic prepared him for a career in wildlife photojournalism. At a young age, he developed an appreciation for cold and remote surroundings. From the local Inuit community, he learned the Arctic survival skills that have guided him on each of his expeditions as an adult. His images reflect a reverence for the creatures inhabiting these isolated environments, and his unique personal and professional background enables him to take on the most inhospitable places on our planet.
- Donna and Stephen James O’Meara are a husband and wife team of award-winning photographers specializing in volcanic eruptions around the world. In 1994, the O’Mearas founded Volcano Watch International, a research organization dedicated to better understanding Earth’s active volcanoes. The organization uses the O’Mearas’ volcanic images to educate people around the globe about volcanic dangers and help save the lives of people who live on or near volcanoes. The O’Mearas are also part of The National Geographic Expeditions Council and National Geographic Society contract photographers.
During the exhibit, the free IRIS Nights lecture series will continue to be offered inside the Photography Space on Thursday evenings, and will expand on the images and themes presented in the galleries. Additional programs related to the exhibit will include a themed group slideshow evening and photography workshops. Details and final schedules will be announced later this fall.
EXTREME EXPOSURE will be available for viewing October 23, 2010 through April 24, 2011.
