Face to Face: With the Great Apes

Apes, they arouse very special feelings in many people because they are so similar to us. When we look into their eyes, we can feel the closeness to our own species. This is exactly the emotion conveyed in the coffee-table book ＂Face to Face＂ by Anup Shah and Fiona Rogers.

In 60 fascinating photo portraits, the two nature photographers show chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and bonobos in close-ups taken in the animals’ natural environment. For this, the renowned and multi-award-winning wildlife photographers lived together with the apes in the jungle for a long time and built up an intimate relationship of trust. Only in this way was it possible to capture these intimate portraits of the wild animals.

In addition to the unique nature photography, the high-quality coffee table book also offers a lot of exciting background information on the history of the photographs. The individual photos are framed by interesting accounts of Anup’s and Fiona’s experiences during their lives with the animals. In wonderful stories, the two tell of the different characters of the animals photographed and thus give the reader hidden insights into the species of the great apes.

But Anup and Fiona do not only want to present the animals themselves. Their work is a tribute to their protection because apes are increasingly threatened worldwide. The disappearance of their habitats caused by humans is causing their populations to dwindle. With this touching book of photographs, the two nature photographers launch an urgent appeal to everyone to better protect our closest relatives in the animal world. They want to weave new threads of communication between humans and animals and their own fascination for these creatures that are uniquely familiar to us.

The wonderful coffee table book ＂Face to Face＂ is unique and serves a special genre of animal photography. It should therefore not be missing in any portfolio of a true lover of nature photography.

Anup Shah and Fiona Rogers are a married couple and both nature photographers. They spend months in the field studying and photographing life in the wild. With different but complementary styles, they aim to make photographs that are at once thought-provoking and immersive. Their publications include extensive features in National Geographic, Geo, Smithsonian, National Wildlife and BBC Wildlife magazines. They have published a book on chimpanzees, Tales from Gombe, and another on the animals of the Maasai Mara entitled The Mara. Their work has been shown in Japan, India, Italy, Lithuania, the UK and the USA.