Photography News | Issue 38 | absolutephoto.com
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Interview Sacred Nature Award winning author and internationally renowned wildlife photographer Angela Scott has been surrounded by wildlife from a young age. With years of experience and several books published we spoke to Angela about her latest release
rather than an interest it was just an important part of life. Going on safari was the highlight of our holidays; being bundled up in the early hours of the morning when it was still dark to set off for some adventure. My family are all very artistic so expressing oneself through an artistic medium was introduced to us very early on in life. I remember being given a small camera when I was quite young and being fascinated by how I could express what I was feeling through what I saw – I was always quite shy so it gave me a voice in another way. I created a small darkroom under the stairs in our house and although I had no formal training would spend hours experimenting with developing my own images. I think this made me study the visual world. What do you love so much about photographing wildlife? I am naturally quiet so I love nothing better than when I am working with a subject –
animal or human or landscape – and just settling into the zone. I love to meditate and photography is like meditation at times for me – just the subject and me. No noise or hustle and bustle, immersing myself in the mood and finding ways to interpret what I am seeing in my mind – not just what is in front of me. A photograph has to be more than pure representation – unless it is reportage perhaps and even then the great images have that edge, that element or look that forces the viewer to engage with the subject matter in a different way to how they see the world. It is that ability of a great photograph to become art – to speak to the heart and soul of the viewer. to photograph? I do not really have a favourite animal to photograph – I am happy with even the smallest of creatures, but lions I think are particularly rewarding to work with. They are What is your favourite animal
Interview by Jemma Dodd
Can you tell us about your background? I was born in Alexandria in Egypt, but we left during the Suez crisis when I was four years old. My father was in the cotton business sowe resettled in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, which was another world-class cotton country. I had an idyllic childhood. We lived on a beach and our world centred around the sea: we loved swimming, sailing, diving and water sports. Our holidays were on safari in places like Serengeti and camping in the Uluguru mountains climbing and fishing. What sparked your interest in wildlife and photography? Growing up in Africa, wildlife and a love of the natural world is the way of life. As a child we always had some orphan animal such as a monkey or a genet cat growing up with us. So
A photograph has to be more than pure representation – unless it is reportage perhaps
Above Honey and Toto: An intimate greeting between a mother and her only surviving cub.
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