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Philippe Henry was born in
France. He worked as a photographer in the French
Air Force for many years, then specialized in
Wildlife Photography. He was several times
sponsored by the French Explorers and Travelers
Society for the excellence of his work. Since
moving to Canada in 1994, Philippe covers stories
for
international magazines and write books.
European and North American agencies market his
images worldwide.
"I enjoy to be out in the field taking
photographs. When I cover wildlife stories, I often
work with biologists involved with conservation
projects. I can tell about their work and their
conservation message to a broad audience. It is
rewarding to create images and write articles to
serve the purpose of conserving nature. These past
years I have spent time in Ecuador and Venezuela
where deforestation and poaching pose the largest
threats to the
andean bear. In both countries the species is
facing a major risk of extinction in the medium
term. To cover this story, I accompanied biologists
in many places of the Andes mountains where I could
meet local people and take rare photographs of wild
andean bears. Such a project gives a sense to my
photography. To cover a story about a conservation
project often takes me far away from home for
several months. It is time consuming. When I am not
working in those remote places (what I like most),
I just enjoy to be a photo-reporter and go on
assignments to cover stories and to take
photographs of everyday's life. It can be stories
as diverse as piglet's farming, ice fishing, beagle
dogs, bow hunting....
Paradox: I like to be in the wilderness and I also
like to spend time in frenzy-busy-noisy cities
where I can photograph without any limitations. I
have fun and I am inspired when I take pictures in
crowded places. I particularly like to photograph
daily life, motion, light and forms. It is
important for me to experiment through the camera.
I have new visual experience. In the city I get
different emotions that allow me to be more
creative. Cecil Beaton, best known for his fashion
photographs and society portraits said: -Un
échec technique qui démontre une
certaine tentative d'expression esthétique
vaut infiniment mieux qu'un succès sans
âme-. Either in the busy city or in the
silent wilderness it is only with an artistic
vision that a photographer will take the pictures
that will slap people in the face."
Since he arrived in Canada, Philippe has worked
with biologists in Quebec, Yukon, Newfoundland, in
the USA and South America. Two new books featuring
the alligators of Texas and the spectacled bears
will be published in 2012.
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