Links to sites on nature photography

This page offers links (to follow the main ones, click on the led buttons) to sites on photography, mainly dedicated to nature (animals, plants, landscapes) or to photographic art using natural elements. In view of the number of such sites and the pace of change, no attempt is being made at making the list exhaustive or up to date. The list begins with directories or collective sites offering themselves a variable number of links to photographic galleries. Then comes a section devoted to some individual sites, large or small, by professional photographers or by amateurs, which I discovered more or less by chance when wandering on the web, and which I feel worth a mention. A third and final section lists user sites for the resources provided here, essentially for illustration purposes. The comments found here are free from any form of advertising, and only reflect the point of view of the author of this page. They are thus fully subjective and should be understood as such.
Notes: On this page, and actually everywhere on this site, any external link opens a new window, in which you may navigate at leisure. Closing this window will bring you back to the location from which it was opened.
Otherwise, I have decided not to reference here any sites that depart too much from the accessibility criteria I have retained for my own site, or any image banks constructed through compilation, especially if compilation means piracy.
Finally, this page is permanently in a provisional condition and subject to additions and other changes without prior notice.

Directories, search engines, collective sites

	Nature Photo Index. The name says it all. It is a (very rich) directory with a search engine, where some individual images can sometimes be found as examples updated from time to time, but whose essential function is providing links to photographic galleries, magazines, books, posters. The links can be searched in various ways (categories, regions, etc.). The site is based in the USA, and its contents are slightly biased in favour of North-American sources, but the international coverage is still quite wide. Beware: The site is entirely build up from ASP scripts, whose rather impredictable behaviour may sometimes, but not always, cause unwanted effects (unusual search sluggishness, haphazard browser freezing). In English only. [Page top]
	I-bird. For enthusiasts of birds, and only birds. Conservation issues, best places to watch birds, news, suggestions and tricks, including about taking pictures. Based in the United States, but widening to a more international focus. Includes a gallery displaying pictures of about 350 species from various regions of the world, by the authors of the site or from external sources, with links to the e-mail addresses and web sites of contributors. Access to the images in the gallery is through a list of names (Anglo-American and Latin taxonomic) arranged by orders and families. Some knowledge of zoological classification is thus useful to find one's way there. In English only, with some links in addition to those to the sources of images. [Page top]
	Photoliens. Directory and search engine on photography in general. Lists all kinds of galleries, sites of organizations or photo clubs, technical information, other directories and search engines. The classification into categories is somewhat confusing, as sites with similar topics may be listed under "animal photography" in one case (despite a high proportion of landscape pictures), and "other galleries" of amateur photographers in the other case. In French only, but with a good international coverage of the sites referenced. [Page top]

Some individual sites

	Prismes. The highly aesthetic site of Sophie Thouvenin. The main entrance will lead you to three thematic sections (nature, abstraction, dreams) the first two of which are constructed from close ups of plants and elements such as water drops, and the third one plays with colour transpositions on the same elements. This research is reminiscent of the work of author-photographer Samivel in the 1960s. A second part of the site (architecture, landscape, portraits) is more classical in its approach, but also quite well done. In French only, but some pages entirely consist of pictures, or nearly so, and can be enjoyed without knowing the language. Includes a link page to French-language sites. [Page top]
	Nature-libre. Bernard Bischoff is really talented for photographying animals in the wild and landscapes. His site, dedicated to nature in the east of France (Alsace) displays about 150 pictures in several galleries. According to the author himself, each gallery is composed as a field trip, from randomly chosen pictures. The trips are pleasant indeed, but this kind of presentation does not necessarily help in consulting the site. In French, with a bilingual (French-English) home page. Includes links. [Page top]
	diaph.org. Diane Castanet's site. This modern Diana the Huntress has exchanged the bow and arrows for telephoto lens. Gallery with a few tens of pictures on animals (mainly), on plants and landscapes, mostly in European mountain settings, but also in North-America (Québec). Illustrated pages, clear and well documented, on the Alpine Ibex, the migration of the common Cranes, a protected primary forest in La Réunion Island, etc. In French only, with a page of links dedicated to French-language sites. [Page top]
	Macrophotographies by Philippe Cugnot, on (mainly European) wild life, shot in the natural environment. A gallery of about 30 pictures on flora, with an approach somewhat more artistic than documentary, and a gallery of about 50 pictures on fauna (insects, reptiles, amphibians etc.). The site also includes a bimonthly educational game called *The Mystery Picture* (la photo insolite), in which you are invited to guess what is shown. Previous versions of the mystery picture are archived together with detailed explanations. In French, with technical references and links to French-language sites on photography, wild life, environmental issues, etc. [Page top]
	Androsace is the name of a flower in the family Primulacea, but it is also the title of Tom Kornack'site, largely dedicated to wild flower photography. About one hundred species form North America and European mountains are shown, arranged according to botanical classification. In English only. [Page top]
	CGR Photographie Sub-Aquatique. Mainly pictures taken on scuba diving, and mainly in tropical islands, but also coastal landscapes from these regions, and even decidely more terrestrial subjects (Lemurians and chamaeleons... in the trees). Also a section on Alpine lakes. A total of several hundred pictures, accessible through plates of clickable thumbnails, many of which are relevant to coral reef fauna. Bizarre distinction between "macro-micro" photos, on the one hand, and "animal" pictures on the other hand. In the lacustrine environment, for instance, pictures of crayfish and catfish are split between the two categories! Black and white section on the life of coastal populations in the tropics, and special section with panoramic landscapes. Viewing the latter, unfortunately, requires *a plug-in* which is available neither for all browsers nor for all platforms**. Bilingual, French and English, with a few links. [Page top]
	Le bonheur de l'instant. Photographs by Denis Cauchois. A serene view of rural life in Dordogne-Périgord (western-southwestern France), as shown by a series of thematic pages devoted to people, landscapes, domestic animals, etc. Wild life is illustrated by a page on flora, with a remarkable set of pictures of European orchids, and a page on fauna with various subjects (birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, mammals), including a few fine portraits of raptor birds. No thumbnails, the pictures being directly displayed in full format, on pages of about 30 pictures. Downloading is thus rather slow. In French only, except for the translation of titles into English. Very little text, and especially no picture captions. A rather well-stocked page of links on environmentmental issues, photography, rural life and other classified subjects. [Page top]
	Golden State Images. A very rich professional image bank dedicated to nature in California, mainly marine fauna. Easy to find with Nature Photo Index, but I have made a specific link here because this site includes a few pictures of plankton (gelatinous macroplankton: ctenophores, jellyfish, salps, pteropods), which is uncommon. In English only. [Page top]
	Planete.org. Thierry Nouet's and Vincent Tandart's site "invites you to discover the beauty and richness of the fauna on our planet through files, dossiers and pictures". Gallery of animal pictures, from the authors or from external contributors, covering nearly one hundred species of birds, mammals, insects, etc., from various regions of the world. Well done information files and dossiers on about thirty species of birds and mammals, almost only European, presented according to the zoological classification or to their status of greater or lesser rarity. The site has, however, some drawbacks: the code sometimes has unwelcome hiccups and the partial masking of the address line and link line by frames and animated text is a nuisance. There is also advertising, and the cookies that come with it. In French only, with links, mainly to French language sites. [Page top]
	Côté jardin, by Cortomalté. Aesthetical experiments with direct scan. Garden flowers (from the tropics, the author lives in Thailand) and other plant parts directly laid on the scanner and shown on a black background. Some pictures are reminiscent of fireworks. In French only, without real text, just titles. [Page top]
	Photos insolites (unusual pictures). The frequently updated site of Pierre Angeli, not dedicated to wild life but to several fields of photographic research exemplified by thematic chapters: humour, travel impressions, outdoor nudes, traditional pictures of the Bigouden area (in southwestern Brittany)... A particularly remarkable chapter is devoted to *unconscious art in harbours and shipyards of Brittany*, where ship paint tests on walls and quays, forgotten objects and tools, rusty bolts, etc., combine themselves as real art work. In French, with biographic information on the author and links to selected sites of photographers. [Page top]

User sites

Rue Madame elementary school (Paris). This school is part in an international educational project, essentially from French speaking countries (France, Switzerland, Canada, Belgium) through which pupils are invited to discover Antarctica by way of personal documentation work, whose results are posted on the school's site. This action is carried out in relationship to an exploration project to which a central site, The Wall in Antarctica, is dedicated. Contributions from participating schools are gathered on this site (unfortunately without any return link to individual school sites) and are used, among other purposes, for the progressive build-up of an online Encyclopedia Antarctica. In French. [Page top]