Danita Delimont

Rocky Mt. School of Photography Interview

© Savanah Stewart

A few weeks ago I had the wonderful opportunity to be a Guest Lecturer at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography in Missoula, Montana.  What a great program they have going there! It was fun to also review the student’s portfolios and spend some time in this University town.  They even had an incredible Ansel Adams exhibit going on at the Museum of Modern Art there—with 130 original prints displayed!  The Founder of the RMSP, Neil Chaput de Saintonge, who had studied under Ansel Adams, gave an inspiring lecture to a standing only crowd! Thanks to all the staff who welcomed me and made me feel so comfortable.  The link below is an interview I gave after my return:

http://blog.rmsp.com/2011/11/10/an-interview-with-danita-delimont/

Walter Bibikow Image to be Featured in Upcoming MTV Video Music Awards

I just wanted to share with everyone that one of our images will be on the MTV Music Awards show on Sunday, August 28th. Bing.com is sponsoring the awards this year and this guitar shot by Walter Bibikow will be featured on a static “billboard” as a backdrop somewhere during the broadcast.  Award winner’s names will be listed “search bar.” It was originally used as a Bing.com homepage shot (Microsoft).

Very colorful and apropos! Congrats Walter!

Walter Bibikow's shot as seen on the Bing.com homepage

Reflections on Africa

Danita and Dave on Safari

Earlier this year we traveled to South Africa thanks to a wonderful invitation from one of our image partners, Gallo Images. We went to Africa thinking it’d be mostly business in Johannesburg and Capetown, pebbled with a little safari outside Kruger NP, and some down time in the Cape Winelands. What we experienced was so far above our expectations that it’s hard to put in words how affected we were from the time we had there.

I’ve been reviewing amazing photography from throughout Africa for over thirty years now and it’s always been interesting to hear of our photographer’s adventures and exposures to the culture and wildlife there. What you don’t experience in the photographs, however, are the non-tangible things; the distant roaring of animals, bellowing from the hippos, the calling between the birds, and the wind and sun on your face. Further, the panting of lions laying in the shade of a tree, so gorged on a recent kill that they care barely move, or the smell of the decomposing body of their kill – these are the things that stay with you. We were fortunate to stay at Londolozi’s Tree House, a large private reserve that’s been in the Varty family for a hundred years. They are well regarded as great stewards of the land and have been involved with the elimination of fences between parks and private properties in their area, so that the animals can roam more freely, thus allowing for healthier biodiversity among the species. The extraordinary accommodations were a luxury we hadn’t expected, but one that we embraced in every aspect! The rangers and trackers who drive the Land Rovers are filled with extraordinary knowledge and to be able to get so close to the animals and even follow them as they’re hunting for prey after dark is an experience we’ll never forget!

Meeting with the Gallo team

Our meetings in Johannesburg and Capetown couldn’t have gone better and it was so wonderful to meet our image partners in person! They showed us the true hospitality of the South African people, on the highest level. A highlight was a visit to a local voodoo/shaman shop where we ordered up some special potions and powders for doing good business together! Amazingly, within a few hours we were rewarded with some very good business news! I have seen many fetish shops through the eyes of our photographers and always wanted to visit one myself. All kinds of bones were hanging from the rafters, including dried baboons and other creatures, as well as big glass jars filled with roots, teeth, jaws, flowers and many things that would be hard to identify. What was interesting while we were there is that many local people were coming in with scraps of paper (prescriptions). Our host Herman, who is a Boer and grew up around Zulu tribesmen, was able to ask one Zulu man why he was getting “dried droppings”. “We burn them at night to keep the evil spirits away and it also helps the children sleep well.” Interestingly, the next day I was reading a natural history magazine article about how the natives burn elephant dung to open up the sinuses and help people sleep at night. With my Anthropology background, these are the kinds of experiences that make traveling the world much more interesting to me.

Breathtaking views

Lastly I just want to say that I think Capetown is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The sweeping mountains along the coastline are dramatic and impressive. Our time in the Cape Winelands was fantastic and I would recommend it to anyone. Set in the midst of these majestic views, they are modern as well as traditional with the old Cape Dutch architecture still part of the landscape.

I wanted to share all this with you because I know so many of us look at photographs of Africa all the time. We know that photographers travel at great lengths and expense to get where they’re going,

often with hardships along the way. They spend days, weeks, often months in the bush in order to capture the behavior of the wildlife and ecosystems throughout the many seasons. My firsthand exposure made me understand how special this place is and not only why we need to continue to

Cheers!

support conservation issues in any way we can, but also why it’s important to have extraordinary photography to document and teach the next generation. With ever-increasing budget cuts all around, we need to do all we can to support the need for this kind of photography. We hope you’ll do whatever you can to endorse this position the next time you have a budget meeting. Thanks for listening and if you haven’t been there already, put Africa on your Bucket List!

New Galleries – UNESCO & Historical Engravings

We have added two new galleries to the website that will give you taste of some of the latest and greatest imagery we have added to our collection.

The first features some of the most beautiful locations on earth, UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Every photo  has been hand picked by Danita for its striking color, composition and unique characteristics that make it worthy of such distinction.

From the site:

Ancient and significant historical and natural history sites are often the subject of our globe-trotting photographers. They frequently find themselves surrounded by some of our planet’s most important treasures, including remote cultural or natural areas that have long been forgotten. With UNESCO World Heritage Sites increasingly in the news, we wanted of offer a sampling of the thousands of images available on our site.

The second gallery we have added features Engravings of Historic Figures and Events the we recently added to our site. Offering a glimpse into the past, each engraving is crafted with such detail and skill that you can’t help but appreciate the effort it took to document and maintain historical record before the invention of the photograph.

From the site:

What do Galileo, Louis Pasteur, and Meriwether Lewis have in common? They’re all part of our new collection of engravings depicting great leaders and historic figures: Simon Bolivar, Johann Sebastian Bach, Martin Luther, Machiavelli, Thomas Alva Edison, Christopher Columbus, Peter the Great, and many more!

Mark your calendars for ASPP program–Saturday April 9th!

ASPP Seattle Workshop Announced: Meet experts and influencers from Publicis, HADW, MSNBC & Many More. Register today!  This is going to be a fabulous well-rounded program from some very interesting professionals working in the Seattle area.  If you want to get a take on what’s going on from a designer/art director/producer/videographer’s point of view, you should register for this program now.  There is limited seating for this all day event!

http://aspp.com/index.php/chapters/westcoast/370-new-directions-for-creative-professionals-workshop-seattle-saturday-april-9th

In Praise of Our NANPA Wildlife Photographers

© Savanah Stewart

As a charter member of NANPA and long time Foundation Executive board member, I’m sorry to say I’ll be missing the 2011 Summit in McAllen, Texas next month, due to an upcoming trip to South Africa. The extraordinary nature and wildlife photographers that I have met during the course of my time at NANPA have made all the difference to my professional career.  Many come out of the bush, literally, in order to network with colleagues and find out what’s going on within the industry.  I have enjoyed working with many award winning photographers such as Frans Lanting, Art Wolfe, Christian Ziegler and others.  They have been documenting different species  and habitats for years, returning again and again to catch the right behavior, weather or lighting conditions at a certain time and place.  Nature and wildlife photography is always a surprise and one never knows what one will return with.  My years of editing these images have taught me the value of time, patience and the skill that these extraordinary photographers have.  They wait for the animals to appear, displaying whatever their special behavior is, and once in awhile, they catch it just right, with the light working its magic all around.  It’s these special moments that I have witnessed after the fact, but by editing so many images, I often see the complete situation, from beginning to end and I see how hard it is to get the shot!

I am fortunate to know these experienced photographers, as well as the younger, up and coming photographers whose portfolios I review at NANPA.  They attend the conference,  eager for information and knowledge that many of these seasoned pros share during the course of the NANPA programs and field workshops.  Much of the photography that I represent exemplifies these glimpses of nature in all its glory and it’s a pleasure to have them available to clients on a worldwide scale.  Lastly, Outdoor Photographer magazine recently published its list of the 40 most influential nature photographers.  Congratulations to the 14 NANPA members who made that list. It’s a pleasure to know them all!

Here’s a small sample of some of the outstanding NANPA photographers we represent:

Frans Lanting

Left: AF21 FLA0062 © Frans Lanting / DanitaDelimont.com

Lobelia flower, Lobelia deckenii, Mt Kenya National Park, Kenya

Right: AF24 FLA0028 © Frans Lanting / DanitaDelimont.com

Red-fronted brown lemur drinking, Eulemur rufus, Madagascar

Stuart Westmorland

Left: SA12 SWE0047 © Stuart Westmorland / DanitaDelimont.com

Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) Caribbean Sea near Roatan, Honduras

Right: US12 SWE0033 © Stuart Westmorland / DanitaDelimont.com

USA, Hawaii, Big Island, near Kona, Day Octopus (Octopus cyanea)

Art Wolfe

Left: AF31 AWO0002 © Art Wolfe / DanitaDelimont.com

Africa, Namibia, Namib National Park. Web-footed Gecko (Palmatogecko rangei)

Right: SA22 AWO0002 © Art Wolfe / DanitaDelimont.com

Central America, Costa Rica, Back-lit frog on leaf

Kristen Mosher

Left: AF45 KRM0145 © Kristin Mosher / DanitaDelimont.com

Africa, Tanzania, Gombe NP, Young chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), Tanga curious about Gaia’s log

Right: AF45 KRM0000 © Kristin Mosher / DanitaDelimont.com

Africa, Tanzania, Gombe NP, Chimpanzees at play (Pan troglodytes)

Christian Zeigler

Left: SA15 CZI0001 © Christian Ziegler / DanitaDelimont.com

Central America, Panama, Borro Colorado Island. Enormous colonies of millions of leaf cutter ants (Atta columbica) cultivate and protect a fungus, which they eat.

Right: SA15 CZI0180 © Christian Ziegler / DanitaDelimont.com

Central America, Panama, Barro Colorado Island. Defense pose of praying mantis, family Mantidae.

Kevin Schafer

Left: EU36 KSC0009 © Kevin Schafer / DanitaDelimont.com

Shetland Pony, mainland Shetland Islands, stongest horse for size, Scotland, UK.

Right: US45 KSC0004 © Kevin Schafer / DanitaDelimont.com

Racoon, (Procyon lotor), fishing, Uinta National Forest, Utah, USA.

Michele Westmorland

Left: OC01 MWE0003 © Michele Westmorland / DanitaDelimont.com

South Pacific, Fiji, Viti Levu, Bligh Water, Coral Reef, Multicolor Soft Corals (Dendronepthya sp.) and schooling Fairy Basslets (Pseudanthias squaminipinnis)

Right: OC13 MWT0240 © Michele Benoy Westmorland / DanitaDelimont.com

Lagoon safari trip featuring Stingrays (Himantura fai), small Blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) and variety of fish including Pacific Double-saddle Butterflyfish (Chaetodon ulietensis)

New Content – Paul Souders – Caribbean

The Caribbean could be described as the official playground of the western hemisphere. Hundreds of picturesque islands, resorts and magnificent wildlife just a short plane ride away from most of North and South America. Paul Sounders captured some wonderful shots of the various activities and overall aura that envelope two of the most popular destinations: the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands. Enjoy.

New Content – John Warburton-Lee – India and Nepal

Culture abounds in the central regions of the Asian continent. Colorful masks, skilled artisans and intricate costumes dominate this latest batch of imagery from Jon Warburton-Lee. India and Nepal are known as epicenters of eastern religion and methodology, and these traditions translate well through the lens.

New Content – Jon Arnold – Cape Verde

Cape Verde sits off the western coast of Africa and consists of 10 islands boasting some of the most beautiful scenery you will fine on this planet. Crystal blue water, picturesque ports, glowing local residents and lush landscapes make up this submission from Jon Arnold. Looking at the gloomy, gray skies out of the window here in Seattle makes me want to book a ticket. If you are needing an escape, or have a feature on them, this is a great place to start.

New Content – John and Lisa Merrill – Mexico

Mexican traditions are the focal point of this latest submission from John and Lisa Merrill. Figurines, costumes, perparations and more are on display with vivid colors and great composition. Dia de Los Muertos is one of the most visually striking holidays worldwide and here you will find some great examples for any project.