HOST: Cherished viewers, welcome to today’s Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants featuring photographer Bryant Austin of the United States, who has produced the world’s first life-size photographs of whales.

From World Ocean Day, June ８ to September ８, ２０１０, his collection of whale photos is on exhibit in Lofoten, Norway. Mr. Austin hopes that his close-up images will help change people’s perceptions about these ocean giants, particularly in whaling nations and eventually lead to a total ban on whaling activities around the world. 

Director Kate Miller has produced a documentary entitled 『A Short Film: In the Eye of the Whale』 about Bryant Austin’s laudable project.

Bryant Austin (m): I’ve been an artist most of my life engaged in many mediums, but photography captures a reality that’s beyond our imagination, you know, what nature creates for hundreds of millions of years on this planet. So much of that is beyond our imagination and the camera can just document that without this filter getting in the way. And I think it’s more wondrous than our own imagination, so photography helps with that.

Bryant Austin (m): My current project is, uhm the,the production of life-size high resolution photographs of whales to be exhibited in whaling nations.

And the way I work with them is about five feet(１.５ meters) away from them. And it’s all on their terms and it’s very rare encounters and circumstances. It takes months and months to achieve.

For more information on Bryant Austin and his life-size whale portraits,
please visit: www.StudioCosmos.com
or www.MMCTA.org
To view 『A Short Film: In the Eye of the Whale』
please visit Vimeo.com/7173679