Analysis by Jennifer Viegas | Tue Apr 20, 2010 12:53 AM ET
The "top 40 nature photographs of all time," as selected by the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP), will be auctioned by Christie's International on April 22 in honor of Earth Day.
Proceeds will be divided among the following environmental organizations: Conservation International, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council and the Central Park Conservancy.
The collection spans over 100 years of photography and features iconic images of nature in the 20th and 21st centuries. The photographers include Ansel Adams, National Geographic Magazine Editor-in-Chief Chris Johns, Pulitzer Prize-winning landscape photographer Jack Dykinga, and underwater documentarian Brian Skerry.
For the judging, ILCP members were asked to consider factors such as aesthetics, uniqueness, historical and scientific significance, or contribution to conservation efforts.
“It was no easy task, selecting just forty images from the incredible nominations submitted to us by some of the world’s greatest nature photographers, but it was a tremendous honor for the ILCP to be asked to take the lead on this challenging project,” said ILCP Executive Director Justin Black.
“No doubt, there are other notable and worthy photographs that could have secured a spot in the Top 40 gallery,” Black added, “but this diverse cross section clearly demonstrates the power of photographs to educate, enlighten, inspire, and stir us into action to protect our limited natural resources.”
ILCP President and photographer Cristina Mittermeier said, “One of the brightest contributions of photography to the preservation of special landscapes and creatures around the world is that images are able to shed light on some of the darkest, most remote corners of our planet. I’ve seen first-hand how photographs like these arrest the eye, invite reflection, provoke emotion, and become a shared experience that gifts us with a larger vision of the world.”
pics at link
http://news.discovery.com/animals/greatest-nature-photographs-of-all-time-featured-in-earth-day-auction.html