Every year, as CGI capability improves, a richer and richer variety of fantasy monsters and creatures appear in movies and TV series. We drift into new worlds and escape from our own. Yet—and here is the irony—there are animals on our planet today that are almost beyond the stuff of fantasy but are in fact very real.
I am not sure what this large gelada baboon was thinking, but I am goingto guess that he found my presence, 12,000 feet up, a little irritating. This was his patch of land, and who the hell was I to be trespassing? I have traveled the world in search of fresh detail and fresh content, and that March, in the Simien Mountains, was a truly special experience. Not for him, I am sure, but certainly for me.
I wanted one picture title within this book to give a nod to Clint Eastwood, one of the great actors and directors of the last 50 years. He has led by example with his ferocious work ethic and relentless attention to detail. I doubt he will ever hang up his boots. Steven Spielberg, my all-time favorite filmmaker, has called Eastwood the most emotionally invested director of his generation. That is praise indeed coming from him.
I have “banked” that description and think about it daily. “Emotionally invested”—possibly the two most important words in my journey. To be emotionally invested is a prerequisite to producing work that engages the viewer. Without emotion, a photograph has to have some killer detail elsewhere to be memorable.
When I see people reacting emotionally to my work in galleries, it is the highlight of my job. That in itself makes it all worthwhile.
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