Similarly, Dimitrijevic had a memorable bear encounter in the Yukon on the Arctic Circle. He’s only the fifth person to dive with polar bears. I was hypnotized, shaken, and elated, watching the family of three bears swimming away,” Nachoum said. “As the family out of curiosity passed over my head, all three pairs of eyes were looking at me. Imagine that swimming under your kayak! For Nachoum, nothing beats diving with polar bears. The largest animals on Earth can reach 100 feet in length and weigh 200 tons. For Dimitrijevic, it was photographing blue whales while kayaking. Exciting moments for photographersīoth photographers’ most thrilling adventures feature water. We quickly realized that we had a similar perspective on photography and a love for big animals.” They both hoped to promote conservation through sharing their images.

“Over the years, I gravitated towards nature photography focusing on endangered wildlife, marine species and ecosystems… Our first trip together was in Tonga where we were looking for humpback whales.

“Growing up, I dreamt of traveling and photographing the world,” he told Inhabitat. A self-taught photographer, he started out as a teenager photographing forests, wildlife and people. On the other hand, Marko Dimitrijevic grew up in Lausanne, Switzerland. He’s especially known for his underwater shots of polar bears, some of which are in “BIG.” In 1988, he created the company BigAnimals, which leads folks on customized high-end adventure trips and helps them see and photograph such animals as great white sharks, anacondas, Nile crocodiles and polar bears. He got his first camera when he was 12 and grew up to photograph fashion, news stories and even wars before dedicating his career to exploring and preserving wilderness. So, who are these amazing photographers who have so exquisitely captured wildlife worldwide? Amos Nachoum was born in Israel. A key at the end of the book provides information beside a thumbnail sketch of each photo, supplying the title, initials of which photographer took the shot, name of animal in English and German and the location the image was captured. The photos are presented either with a short caption or no caption at all, letting them speak for themselves. Strangely, the most terrifying photo of all is a leopard seal, its mouth open wide, about to engulf the cute little gentoo penguin it’s just drowned. In the respect and fear section, things get a bit bloody in the lion photos. Those more drawn to predation won’t be disappointed. The love and enchantment section is bound to be a hit with everybody in the world who buys cute animal calendars, showing scenes like a grown walrus nuzzling its calf. Each section starts with a page reflecting on animals and that emotion. Instead of arranging the book in a scientific or geographic way, the photographers chose to divide “BIG” into sections based on the emotions the pictures depict or evoke: awe and gratitude, respect and fear, astonishment and surprise, love and enchantment and achievement and excitement.

Love death and robots the witness art