Wild Images Partners with the Atlas of Humanity

15th December 2020

by Inger Vandyke

At Wild Images we’ve long held the belief that our most enduring memories of our travels and tours, whether they have been for wildlife or people photography, emanate from the people we’ve met and travelled with.

Whether it is our cherished guests, our incredible guides, the staff of hotels or local people we’ve met, there have been countless times where we’ve had conversations that have lingered with us long after the tour has finished.

“There are two man-made things that can be seen from the moon –The Great Wall of China and the holes in the door of Landrovers” – Steve, one of our guests on our early Namibia trips

Underpinning our entire philosophy of the work we share with all our people is the philosophy that every person we meet has a story and background of equal importance to our own, that our strength as humans lies in our diversity and that there is more out there that connects us than divides us.

Our people photography tours never treat the people we photograph as subjects, sitters or models. Instead we sensitively engage with the people we meet for photography, go for walks with them or join village head men for stories around the fire. We’ve sat with Tibetan elders drinking tea and we’ve sent our guests out walking to wells and herding goats. For us, meeting people is as important as photographing them and we believe that better photography lies in our shared joy of communications and learning.

“The Damara people sing for three days after someone is born and for three days after someone dies. Crying is only allowed at birth as we believe a baby has a long and difficult life ahead of it. At death we sing to celebrate the life of the deceased and send them into the next world” – Cameroon, a young Damara man from Khorixas, Namibia.For a few years now Wild Images General Manager Inger Vandyke has been a headline photographer for the prestigious Atlas of Humanity project in Paris. She has more recently been joined by Wild Images leader Julie-Anne Davies and guest Ingrid Hendriksen in this vital project that not only celebrates the diversity of people we share our world with, but aims to document cultures that are quickly being lost to modernisation.

“Everywhere people are beautiful. Everywhere they want to be represented with dignity” – Sebastiao Salgado

We are thrilled to announce that we are now the Main Partner of the Atlas of Humanity for our guided people photography tours and expeditions throughout the world. This exciting collaboration unites two organisations who are committed to sharing our world in a way that is respectful, beautiful and educational through the incredible medium of photography.

Over the coming years we will be proudly showcasing any news about the Atlas, its exhibitions and events at Wild Images as our partnership progresses. To learn more, please check the Atlas website – www.atlasofhumanity.org

We hope you can join us on this mutual photographic journey celebrating the beauty of the world’s people through our cultural diversity.