Dudley Edmondson is a nature photographer who brilliantly captures nature’s mystery and magic. He also has a mission: to pass his love of nature on to the next generation.
In nearly 30 years behind the camera, Edmondson has amassed tens of thousands of images, revealing nature to an increasingly urbanized world. His photo of an arctic fox, for example, perfectly captures its beauty – and its fragility. The fox’s gleaming white fur visually blends into the snowy Arctic background, allowing him to sneak up on prey without detection. But as climate warms and Arctic snow melts, he will become a highly visible – and therefore quite handicapped – hunter. Will he survive?
Edmondson believes the fox’s fate and that of many species depends on whether all Americans “take up the torch of conservation and carry it forward.” To help prepare young people for that challenge, he created the landmark Black and Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places, portraits of African-American role models for young people of color.
Dudley Edmondson, Arctic Fox. Photograph. © 2017 Dudley Edmondson. Courtesy of the artist.
Artist’s Statement
To me, every living creature in the outdoors is a portal between our world – the fast-paced, stressful, man-made consumer culture – and the real world.
I draw strength and peace from nature’s restorative powers.
It’s important to connect with the outdoors: our mental and physical well-being depends on it. People who submerge themselves in nature are simply healthier. We need to see, understand, and appreciate how we fit into the web of life.
And the earth needs us to have that awareness too. People protect what they love and understand. If people have no connection to nature, how can we expect them to want to protect it?
I have been drawn to the outdoors since I was a child. I enjoy nature photography, bird watching, biking, fly fishing, trail running, and so much more. Whenever I go to public lands or national parks, I don’t see many people who look like me. I wrote Black and Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places to tell the story of people like me, African Americans with a deep, unwavering connection to nature. I wanted to create outdoor role models for young African-Americans. Influencing our young people this way may be the greatest thing we can do for our future.
Artist’s website: http://dudleyedmondson.com/
See also: https://www.instagram.com/sonycamera2016/
