Frans Lanting is one of the greatest nature photographers of our time. His work has been featured in National Geographic, Audubon andTime, as well as numerous award-winning books. Lanting's recent exhibition, The LIFE Project, offers a lyrical interpretation of the history of life on Earth.
Why you should listen
In the pursuit of his work, Frans Lanting has lived in the trees with wild macaws, camped with giant tortoises inside a volcanic crater, and documented never-before-photographed wildlife and tribal traditions in Madagascar. The Dutch-born, California-based photographer has traveled to Botswana's Okavango Delta, the rain forests of Borneo and the home of emperor penguins in Antarctica.
The resulting photographs -- staggering in their beauty, startling in their originality -- have brought much-needed attention to endangered species and ecological crises throughout the world. In 2001, HRH Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands inducted Lanting as a Knight in the Royal Order of the Golden Ark, the country's highest conservation honor -- just one of many honors he has received throughout his illustrious career.
What others say
As a chronicler of natural history today, Frans Lanting is a singular extraordinary talent. He has the mind of a scientist, the heart of a hunter, and the eyes of a poet.
Frans Lanting’s TED Talks
More news and ideas from Frans Lanting
Live from TED
Passion: The speakers in session 10 of TED2014
March 20, 2014
Our passions are what drive us through our lives and our work. What unexpected places can they take us? In this session, seven speakers show the incredible range of answers. Below, the speakers who appeared in this session. Click on a speaker’s name to read a full recap of their talk. Mellody Hobson advocates for financial […]
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Celebrate the sacred cave: Frans Lanting at TED2014
March 20, 2014
Photographer Frans Lanting returns to TED for a short reminder of what’s happening outside the walls of our beautiful glass box. “Humanity,” he says, “takes center stage at TED, but I’d like to add a voice for the animals.” Lanting retells a story he once heard from a tribal elder not far from Vancouver, about […]
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Science and art, long-lost lovers, reunite for opening night of the World Science Festival
June 11, 2009
The second year of the World Science Festival got off to a spectacular start last night at New York’s Lincoln Center, with a program star-studded from both science and the arts. We loved it here at TED, not just because it featured so many of our TED favorites — physicist Brian Greene (who co-founded the […]
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