New Collection
DREAMS
OF AFRICA
A DREAM FOR AFRICAN WILDLIFE
If there is any magic in the world, it can surely be found in the African wilderness. There is true divinity in nature and in the million creatures we share this tiny planet with who all came from the same origins we did. When I'm photographing them, I feel humbled knowing we all share life's great family tree together. Out there in the wild, we are all equals.
Captured in this new Fine Art Collection are dreamlike moments of Africa's most iconic wildlife. These images are a celebration of their wondrous forms, and a love song to their gentle souls. The images in "Dreams of Africa" were inspired by old photographs of extinct animals like the Thylacine and the Quagga. Since I was a little boy the image of that mystical tiger-dog pacing in his cage, the last Thylacine in the world, filled me with a chilling sense of bereavement. It was the first time I realized that nature could be destroyed, and humans were well on their way to doing so. It's been many years since then, and I now use my voice to bring attention to the plight of surviving wildlife everywhere. Today I see alarming similarities between the story of the Tasmanian Tiger, and practically all of Africa's iconic animals. It fills me with dread to think that unless we all wake up and work together, rhinos and elephants might well be the next in line to joining Dodos and Moas too.
Thylacine
Quagga
Javan Tiger
I often think about deep time, and realize these creatures are more than just fellow animals; they are our family. We all share distant ancestors not just with apes and monkeys, but with every other living thing, including rhinos and elephants as well. You could trace an unbroken line from yourself to your grandparents and their great-grandparents, and when your list was a hundred miles long you would end up at a creature, perhaps some rodent-like thing, that gave birth to offspring who adapted to different environments, and with the passing of eons eventually ended up as a different species. And though we have stopped speaking each others’ languages long ago, if we pause for a moment and allow ourselves to feel their presence, ancient and profound kinship can still be discovered.
When I lie awake in my tent listening to the orchestra of animal sounds, I fall asleep at peace knowing that something greater and more mysterious than me lives by my side. I can imagine fewer things more horrifying than the thought of waking up one more morning and finding myself alone with humanity on this planet.
Please join me on my quest to keep the orchestra alive, and save our remaining wildlife from becoming archival photos too.
-Martin Buzora
