Frans Lanting (born 13 July 1951) is a Dutch National Geographic photographer, author and speaker.

Life

Lanting was born in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

in Netherlands. He studied economics at the Erasmus university in Rotterdam and later immigrated to the United States. He now lives in

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz (Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a pop ...

, and operates a studio and gallery as well as a

stock photography Stock photography is the supply of photographs which are often licensed for specific uses. The stock photo industry, which began to gain hold in the 1920s, has established models including traditional macrostock photography, midstock photography, ...

service. Lanting's wife Christine Eckstrom is a writer,

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

, producer, and works on joint books of nature photography. Lanting works in many different parts of the world, including the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

, Africa and

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

. His photographs are regularly published in ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

'', where he served as photographer-in-residence. He is also featured in '' Outdoor Photographer'', ''

Audubon The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such org ...

'', and ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

''. A 2005 exhibit in the

Field Museum of Natural History The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educational ...

, entitled ''Jungles'', focused on the plants and animals of the

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

. Lanting's 2006 exhibit, ''Life: A Journey Through Time'', part of the

Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music is an annual Festival dedicated to contemporary symphonic music by living composers. The music director since 2017 has been Cristian Măcelaru. According to Jesse Rosen, CEO of the League of American Orc ...

in Santa Cruz, California, combined his photography with the music of

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

. A traveling exhibition, ''Frans Lanting: LIFE'' began in fall 2006 at the Dutch natural history museum in

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

, Netherlands. The show then traveled through Europe and the United States. Lanting is a Fellow of the

International League of Conservation Photographers International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

(ILCP). From May through July 2012 there was an exhibition with 75 photos from ''Life: A Journey Through Time'' on the in the harbour of

. In August 2012, Lanting became an ambassador of the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. On 25 August 2012, a special concert version of ''LIFE'' was held in the

Concertgebouw The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls i ...

in Amsterdam celebrating 50 years of the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Exhibitions

*29 May – 30 August 1998: "Eye in Eye", Natuurhistorisch Museum Rotterda *5 October 2000 – 14 January 2001: "Jungles", about tropical rainforest, Naturalis in Leiden *23 September 2006 – 2 September 2007: "LIFE", a journey through life, Naturalis in Leiden * 9 June – 4 September 2016: Solo exhibition: Dialogue with Nature, Netherlands Photo Museum in Rotterdam

Awards

* 1988 –

World Press Photo World Press Photo Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Founded in 1955, the organization is known for holding an annual press photography contest. Since 2011, World Press Photo has organized a ...

* 1989 – World Press Photo * 1991 –

Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year is an annual international wildlife photography competition staged by the Natural History Museum in London, England. There is an exhibition of the winning and commended images each year at the museum, which later ...

* 1997 – Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography Award,

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

* 1997 – 2nd prize Nature and Environment Stories, World Press Photo * 1999 – Lanting was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of The Royal Photographic Society in 1999. These are awarded to distinguished persons having, from their position or attainments, an intimate connection with the science or fine art of photography or the application thereof. * 2001 H.R.H.

Prince Bernhard , house = Lippe , father = Prince Bernhard of Lippe , mother = Armgard von Cramm , birth_date = , birth_name = Count Bernhard of Biesterfeld , birth_place = Jena, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Germany , death_date = ...

inducted him as a Knight in the Royal Order of the Golden Ark, the Netherlands' highest conservation honor. * 2005 –

Lennart Nilsson Award The Lennart Nilsson Award recognizes outstanding contributions to scientific photography. Honorees are chosen based on the merits of their efforts in scientific imagery. It is administered by the foundation ''Stiftelsen Lennart Nilsson'' and awarde ...

* 2008 – Photographer of the Year, Photoimaging Manufacturers and Distributors Association * 2010 – The

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

Cherry Kearton Medal and Award The Cherry Kearton Medal and Award is an honour bestowed by the Royal Geographical Society on "a traveller concerned with the study or practice of natural history, with a preference for those with an interest in nature photography, art or cinemato ...

* 2021 – Art/Act Award from the

David Brower Center The David Brower Center is a nonprofit space located in downtown Berkeley, California, containing three floors of office space, a gallery focusing primarily on environmental and social art, conference facilities, a 178-seat theater, and a restauran ...

Awards

* 2015 – WNF-Frans Lanting Award by

* 2018 – Wildlife Photographer of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award

Books

* 1982 – ''Feathers'' * 1985 – ''Islands of the West'' * 1990 – ''The Albatrosses of Midway Island'' * 1990 – ''Madagascar, A World Out of Time'' * 1993 – ''Forgotten Edens, Exploring the World's Wild Places'' (with Christine Eckstrom) * 1993 – ''Okavango, Africa's Last Eden'' (with Christine Eckstrom) * 1996 – ''Animal Athletes'' * 1997 – ''Bonobo, The Forgotten Ape'' (with

Frans de Waal Franciscus Bernardus Maria "Frans" de Waal (born October 29, 1948) is a Dutch primatologist and ethologist. He is the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Primate Behavior in the Department of Psychology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, ...

) * 1997 – ''Eye to Eye, Intimate Encounters With the Animal World'' (with Christine Eckstrom) * 1999 – ''Living Planet, Preserving Edens of the Earth'' (with David Doubilet and

Galen Rowell Galen Avery Rowell (August 23, 1940 – August 11, 2002) was a wilderness photographer, adventure photojournalist and mountaineer. Born in Oakland, California, he became a full-time photographer in 1972. Early life and education Rowell was intr ...

) * 2000 – ''Jungles'' (with Christine Eckstrom) * 2003 – ''Penguin'' (with Christine Eckstrom) * 2006 – ''LIFE, A Journey Through Time'' * 2017 – ''Into Africa'' * 2022 - ''Bay of Life: From Wind to Whales'' (with Christine Eckstrom)

References

External links

* * *
"The story of life in photographs" (TED2005)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanting, Frans 1951 births Living people 20th-century Dutch photographers 21st-century Dutch photographers Nature photographers Artists from Rotterdam Dutch expatriates in the United States Sierra Club awardees National Geographic photographers

Life

Exhibitions

Awards

Awards

Books

See also

References

External links