Sixty-five million years after the extinction of dinosaurs, the Earth is facing a new mass extinction event, the sixth in its history. The ongoing loss of biodiversity is even more alarming when considering the significant decline in individual and population numbers: it is estimated that the number of species on the planet has already been almost halved, and humans are largely to blame. Factors such as pollution, overfishing, global warming, deforestation, urbanization, and habitat loss are contributing to animals dying 144 times faster than would be expected naturally. This is not just affecting species already on the endangered list, but also those that might be perceived as healthy, with populations of lions and giraffes, for example, halving in just 15-20 years.
Wildlife photography has a responsibility to raise awareness and sensitivity towards the protection of ecosystems and conservation issues, and I strongly believe that powerful, awe-inspiring images can be effective in this regard. Black and white photography, with its ability to convey both directness and emotion, is particularly well-suited for advocating these issues. “The World We Left Behind” is my vision on this subject, a series of images featuring both common and endangered species. Rather than a journalistic approach, the project focuses on the beauty of the depicted subjects, captured in a dramatic style, without explicit themes of denunciation or conservation.
