BigPicture
World’s best nature photos are now on view at Tennessee Aquarium
An exhibition of some of the world’s best wildlife and conservation images, including one by a Chattanooga-based photographer, are on view at the Tennessee Aquarium, the first time the BigPicture collection has been exhibited outside home base in San Francisco.
Launched in 2014, BigPicture is an annual photography exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences that focuses on the wonders of the natural world and critical environmental issues. More than 6,000 entries poured in from around the globe for the 2018 BigPicture Natural World Photography Competition.
Included is an image of a flamingo in flight, titled “Rhapsody in Pink,” that was chosen as a finalist. Local photographer Donna Bourdon captured the image in St. Augustine, Florida.
“This beautiful roseate spoonbill is flying into the nest with its wings in what is referred to as the ‘orchestra position,’” Bourdon says. “I love capturing beautiful images of nature that inspire others to fall in love with the natural world. Hopefully, my works inspire others to promote conservation and protection of these precious animals and vital resources.”
Bourdon says her love of photography began when she was 9 years old.
“My parents gave me my first Brownie camera, and I never looked back,” Bourdon says, adding that she upgraded to her father’s hand-me-down
Minolta SR-7 as a teenager.
Inspired by watching episodes of “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom,” her love of photography and wildlife naturally intertwined. Soon, she invested in better equipment and sought opportunities to capture spectacular animal imagery in some of the wildest places on Earth — a quest aided in part by her participation in trips organized and led by the Tennessee Aquarium.
“Those made the dreams of Africa come to life,” Bourdon says. “I took my first Aquarium-sponsored trip there in 1998. Since then, I’ve been on eight African photo safaris, five of those with the Tennessee Aquarium.”
Bourdon has captured heartwarming images of snow monkeys, coastal brown bears, puffins and redcrowned cranes. Her shots also have garnered international acclaim. One, an image of a crocodile taking a young cape buffalo, was used in an African segment of the Nat Geo Wild program “Caught in the Act.”
“This collection of amazing images is a perfect fit with the Aquarium’s mission to connect people with nature and empower them to make informed decisions about water and wildlife,” says Cindy Todd, vice president and chief marketing and communications officer. “This exhibit will inspire more people to get outdoors, observe nature more closely and appreciate all of the amazing ways that wildlife can thrive.”
In “Wonders,” a companion book about BigPicture, famed oceanographer, explorer and conservationist Dr. Sylvia Earle describes how technology enables more individuals to focus on conservation issues.
“The photographs in this extraordinary collection do more than capture moments in time … they tell stories, arouse sympathy, provoke joy and make you gasp with wonder. Images such as these are precisely what is needed to inspire new generations of people to know and care about wild places and wildlife and to take action while there is still time,” she says.
The BigPicture Natural World of Photography exhibit is sponsored locally by Erlanger Health Systems and Get Out Chattanooga. It may be viewed for free with Aquarium admission.