DAPF13

Aperture Fall 2013

Earth To SkyAmong Africa’s Elephants, A Species In CrisisPhotographs and text by Michael Nichols

Aperture Foundation 547 West 27th Street, 4th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001 212.505.5555 aperture.org

Earth to SkyPhotographs by Michael Nichols

· An extraordinary collection of photographs by a world-renowned and award-winning wildlife photographer

· Offers an intimate look at the African Elephant and the issues that threaten the species

· Included is a useful resource guide to enlist and encourage change and education

Elephants are among the earth’s most sentient beings. They remember, they experience grief and joy, fear and love. Indeed, as our knowledge of these extraordinary creatures increases, the more they transcend all preconceptions of animal behavior.

Michael “Nick” Nichols, longtime photographer for National Geographic as well as the magazine’s editor-at-Large for photography, has been working with African elephants for more than twenty years. In Earth to Sky he tells their story through poignant images that bring us directly into their habitats—lush forests and open savannas, or stark landscapes ravaged by human intervention—to observe the animals’ daily engagements and activities. Nichols’s photographs are accompanied here by the words of such celebrated figures in the field of conservation as Iain Douglas-Hamilton, J. Michael Fay, Peter Matthiessen, Cynthia Moss, David Quammen, and many others. In addition, Nichols engages us in his photographic journey with personal and informative introductions to each of the book’s four chapters—exploring life in the wild, the ivory trade, family interactions, and programs for orphaned elephants.

The survival of elephants is under dire threat from territorial conflicts between man and nature, and most immediately from the market for ivory. More than 25,000 elephants are slaughtered each year, and their ivory is sold at astronomically high prices to countries such as China, Japan, the Philippines, and Singapore. African elephant refuges are under siege: many park rangers have been murdered in the fray. The misuse of elephants’ ivory as a com-modity has to stop—but as Nichols makes clear, the issue must be addressed with a full and empathetic understanding of the poverty and corruption that persist in the countries where elephants roam.

In Earth to Sky Nichols demonstrates that the world needs elephants, and insists that we do all we can to protect their spaces and their lives. Sadly, all signs point to a tragic conclusion for these wise and emotionally complex creatures should humans continue to exploit them. This book is an urgent call for us to bring that process to a halt, while we still can.

Michael Nichols (born in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, 1952) is an award-winning photographer whose work has taken him to the most remote corners of the world. He became a staff pho-tographer for National Geographic magazine in 1996 and was named editor-at-large in January 2008. From 1982 to 1995 he was a member of Magnum Photos. His previous books with Aperture include Gorilla (1989), with an essay by George Schaller, and Brutal Kinship (2005), with an essay by Jane Goodall.

11 ¾ x 8 ⁄8 in. (29.8 x 21.7 cm) 188 pages (plus 2 gatefold pages), 108 four-color and 27 duotone photographsHardcover TKISBN 978-1-59711-243-7$50.00/£30.00 September 2013, Rights: World

Copublished with [TK]

Exhibition schedule[TK][TK]

for more information, please contactKellie McLaughlin212.946.7130kmclaughlin@aperture.org