For wildlife photographer Jasper Doest, the job doesn’t simply stop once the images are taken.
The Dutch documentarian, who specialises in conservation issues, says he strives to “bridge the gap between the natural world and ourselves” through his work, some of which was exhibited last month at the Xposure International Photography Festival in Sharjah.
His photographs of Japanese macaques portray the primates in their blisteringly cold habitat. With flakes of snow peppered on their faces — with their evocative humanlike expressions — the images are a reminder that “we’re not as different as we often think", writes Doest on his Instagram.
His other works also show nature's troubling relationship with animals. His Spreeuw Central series depicts starlings fearlessly trotting between passengers and pecking at croissant crumbs in a Rotterdam train station.
Meanwhile, Meet Bob tells the story of a Caribbean flamingo that was left severely concussed after flying into a hotel window on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao. After being rehabilitated by Doest's cousin Odette, a local vet who also runs Curacao's wildlife rehabilitation centre and charity Fundashon Dier En Onderwijs Cariben, the bird became the organisation's ambassador, educating people about the importance of protecting the island’s wildlife.
“I’ve noticed there is a growing divide between ourselves and the natural world,” he says. “My work is to make people care about all life that surrounds us. I try to do that in an engaging way where I try not to judge, but much rather ask questions about our connection with other species.”
Doest says that photography is essential in putting a spotlight on the human relationship with animals and informing people about encroaching environmental issues.
“Our future is on the line. This is our one and only home,” he says. “We need to educate people about the valuable conservation work that has been going on and we need to convince the public to choose local decision makers wisely. Our planet needs sustainability. Photographers can give a voice to those who can’t speak for themselves. Photographers can initiate change. That is the power of photography.”
He says that his line of work often means him being a "professional problem-solver". While working on Gone to Waste, his 2016 photo series that shows white storks — once entirely a migratory species in Europe — residing near landfill sites in Iberia, he came upon several bureaucratic hurdles, which he says required a good deal of patience and perseverance to manoeuvre.
“I worked on getting a permit for two years to photograph on a garbage dump,” he says. “When I finally got it, I was in Sweden and had to drive all the way to Spain to reach the location for the photo shoot. When I arrived after a 30-hour drive, they told me I couldn’t enter because it was privately owned land and my governmental permit wouldn’t give me access.”
Doest eventually managed to get permission to enter the sites and photograph the storks. “There’s always a struggle,” he says. “We’re professional problem-solvers. But in the end, it’s these experiences that make it ever so exciting when things work out.”
However, Doest doesn’t take photographs to raise awareness as he believes that isn’t going to do much to better the planet’s health or people's treatment of animals.
“The term ‘raising awareness’ is highly overrated,” he says. “As a child, I remember I learnt about deforestation in the Amazon. It was something everyone was talking about. Everyone was aware and wanted it to stop. Now I’m in my 40s and still we’re clearcutting the Amazon with a rate of three football fields per minute. Yet, we’re aware.”
He says photography can help us to push beyond awareness. Images can spur action, connecting with audiences as well as with non-profit organisations and businesses.
“We slowly see that we’re making steps in the right direction,” he says. “That’s a hopeful development. Let’s hope we can increase the capacity and make people care and act. That will be key in the coming years.”
While Doest’s ventures means he ends up witnessing some heinous cases of humankind’s treatment of animals, he says that there is always hope.
“As long as the sun comes up every day, there’s a chance to change things around. I’ve learnt that losing faith doesn’t change anything, it only freezes us and doesn’t push things forward. So even in the darkest of times, I look at the light.”
