The 2013 World Press Photo Winners

Two years ago, it was a haunting picture of an Afghan teenager who had had her ears and nose cut off. Last year it was a portrait of a Yemeni mother clutching her son in the style of La Pieta. This year, it's a dramatic burial march of two Palestinian toddlers. These are the 2013 World Press Photo Winners.

Tim Flach: More Than Human

Last week's image feature on Tim Flach's action portrait of an English Springer Spaniel was so striking that it would be a shame not to feature more from the photographer. With a new publication that's about to come out, it's quite timely to have Tim Flach on this blog again, this time on his upcoming book, "More Than Human".

Tim Flach and the English Springer Spaniel

It's been a while since the last post featuring animal portraits, so while everyone else is enjoying their weekend, here's a picture of man's best friend hard at work. This outstanding action photo is just one of the images in the previously featured book "Dogs" by the talented Tim Flach.

Phyllis Gordon Walking Her Cheetah

In the style of Salvador Dali walking his anteater, here's a quick post showing American actress Phyllis Gordon walking her pet cheetah around London in 1939.

Your argument is invalid.

Audrey Corregan: Obviously, Maybe, Definitely Birds

Photographs of wild and dangerous animals right in front of your face can be a scary. But what about the somewhat opposite situation? Here, the animals turn their backs to you, as if they don't want you to see them. These intriguing photographs by Audrey Corregan seem to show or hide something so obviously obvious, yet not exactly so obvious.

Jonathan Griffiths: Up Close and Personal Wildlife Photography

It's been some time seen this blog has seen some animal photography, so this post should be a welcome break. The creatures here however are far from the cute and cuddly kind. This is up close and personal wildlife photography as captured by Jonathan Griffiths.

James Mollison: Human Like Us

It's mostly easy to brush aside sentiments about animals because they're just that: animals. Most comments about the previous post on Pieter Hugo's Hyena Men were centered more on the novelty of wild animals as pets and not so much on the treatment of the hyenas and baboons. Will it be the same for this post? Photographer James Mollison doesn't make it easy in his series "James & Other Apes" as his subjects are a little bit more human like us.

Pieter Hugo: Man's Other Best Friends

Man's relationship with nature has always been a complicated one, but that isn't to say that men haven't formed meaningful relationships with Earth's other creatures. From Yann Arthus-Bertrand's majestic portraits of farm animals to Joel Sartore's portraits of endangered species to Amelia's world of wonderful animals, there have been numerous documented occasions of man and animals co-existing. It's a slightly more complicated story with man's other best friends as illustrated in Pieter Hugo's "Hyenas & Other Men".

Nick Brandt: Majestic Animal Portraits

This blog is no stranger to photographs featuring animals, from Joel Sartore's intimate look at North America's endangered animals to Yann Arthus-Bertrand's formal portraits of farm animals to Tim Flach's adorable images of dogs. These photographers have rightly earned their place in the field of animal portraits, but in the area of majestic wild animal portraits, only photographer Nick Brandt reigns king.

Tim Flach: Equus or the Beauty of the Horse

The last two posts have been focused on the horsemen of the Americas, but not enough has been said about the horses themselves. Portrait photographer Tim Flach is no stranger to photographing pets and animals, but in his series Equus, he not only captures images of different breed and colors of these domesticated mounts, he shows the beauty of the horse in all its wild and noble ways.

Luis Fabini: Horsemen of the Americas

Over the weekend, photographer Luis Fabini contacted me to share a new video he made celebrating the Horsemen of the Americas. Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with his name as he was featured a few months ago over here with his evocative photographs of cowboys, llaneros, vaqueiros and gauchos from all over North and South America.

Salvador Dali Walking His Anteater

Not much going on today, so here's a picture of surreal painter Salvador Dalí walking his anteater in Paris, 1969. Your argument is now invalid. The photographer is unknown, but there's more information on the image over here. Check out the high flying stunts of Dalí over here.

Isa Leshko: Old But Still Adorable Animals

This week has seen a humongous bull calmly posing with his human handler and a tiny Dr. Dolittle girl in the embrace of elephants. These are pictures you wouldn't normally see on the Internet because of the rarity of the subject or occurrence, but there are even more images that most people wouldn't bother to take, even if they were right in front of them. Old animals don't get the attention that cute and adorable puppies and kittens get, so it's nice to so have photographer Isa Leshko devote her time to documenting these elderly creatures.

Robin Schwartz: Amelia's World Of Wonderful Animals

The variety of breeds shown in the previous post might make you wonder just how far reaching man's relationship is with animals. Only a handful of species have been successfully domesticated by humans, leading to the generalization that these animals possess certain characteristics that allow for them being tamed and utilized by people. On the other hand, it takes a certain quality of a person to be able to have the empathy necessary to communicate with these animals. Photographer Robin Schwartz explores that idea by documenting her daughter Amelia in the company of weird and wonderful animals.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand: Fine and Furry Farm Animal Portraits

 
It's been awhile since the Reel Foto blog featured any animals, so this week will be devoted to just that. While the last posts on the subject were focused on strange creatures underwater and close encounters of the wild kind, it's time to come back to those animals that are closer to man's heart. Man's best friend has already graced the Reel Foto blog twice, but nothing has been said of man's other best friends. Photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand seeks to amend that by presenting fine and furry farm animals in all their glory.

David Doubilet: On The Edge Of Two Worlds

From the depths of the oceans as presented by Claire Nouvian, the Reel Foto blog now ventures to the edge of the water. Here, sunlight and marine life are more abundant, and it is here that famed underwater photographer David Doubilet has made a name for himself, capturing uncanny underwater images on the edge of two worlds.

Claire Nouvian: Deep Sea Beauties

This week, The Reel Foto blog heads to the waters and seas starting with the deepest depths of the oceans. Here, a thousand fathoms below the water's surface where little sunlight invades the privacy of the darkness, where the intense pressure is enough to crush a man and the extreme cold embraces all, mysterious and beautiful sea creatures abound. Public knowledge of these animals would be found wanting today were it not for the efforts of many devoted researchers and scientists, most especially that of the work of Claire Nouvian.

Amy Stein: Not So Domesticated Animals

What happens when humans encounter animals in the wild? Or better yet, what happens when wild animals encounter humans in the city? And do these rare and not-so-rare occurrences hold any lasting value beyond the moment? The answers to these questions might be found in photographer Amy Stein's Domesticated series.

Joel Sartore: Rare and Beautiful Creatures

A few days from now, the world will observe Endangered Species Day on May 22. That's the date set aside by the Endangered Species Coalition, a group dedicated to protecting creatures and their habitats that are in danger of vanishing. What better way to commemorate this occasion than to feature the photographs from Joel Sartore's Rare series.

The Westminster Six: The Newest Dog Breeds of 2011

This week's dog appreciation series can't be complete without welcoming the newest breeds introduced during the 135th Westminster Dog Show held last February 14-15, 2011 in New York City.