AFRICA: HOUGAARD MALAN

Images © Hougaard Malan from his Instagram grid. See more at @lhougaard_malan

“I believe the essence of a landscape photograph is allowing the viewer to experience that place without ever being there. Witnessing such moments unfold over Earth’s most beautiful landscapes is, for me, one of the highlights of living.”

Based in South Africa, Hougaard Malan is a fine-art landscape photographer who has captured the Earth’s best poses for over a decade. His photos are featured in magazines, adverts, and calendars, and exhibited in galleries. They are the ultimate backdrop: simple, beautiful, and mesmerizing. Hougaard’s take on Earth is colorful, textured, and layered. From the orange African sky to solitary trees and wildlife, the viewer is hooked on a world full of sunshine and serenity. It’s almost impossible to look away. This is the planet we forgot we inhabit.

ANTARCTICA: PAUL NICKLEN

Images © Paul Nicklen from his Instagram grid. See more at @paulnicklen

Paul Nicklen is a Canadian photographer and marine biologist specialized in polar ecosystems who has documented Antarctica since 2006. But he’s not there solely for the pictures. Nicklen is co-founder of SeaLegacy and Only One, two conservation organizations that tell the stories of the ocean and protect it amidst the climate crisis. His approach is personal, his storytelling skills impressive. Nicklen opens up himself to initiate a dialogue with the environment he photographs. He gets so close and vulnerable that in 2006, a leopard seal brought him food and protected him in the waters. It makes it impossible for the viewer not to empathize with and act upon his photographs.

ASIA: JAEWOON U

Images © Jaewoon U from his Instagram grid. See more at @jaewoonu

South Korean photographer Jaewoon U focuses on the vibrant Asian landscape. Where one sees an ordinary river or tree, Jaewoon U sees a masterpiece, an artwork that deserves a place in a museum. By following the seasons in detail, by varying the perspective from small to large, and sometimes by including in the frame reminiscences of human society, he takes beauty to a brand-new level. Earth is wearing the best outfits for his photo sessions, which look like nothing less than fashion editorials. Natural mirrors become opportunities to amplify the scene through reflection. Planet Earth shows up grandiosely for Jaewoon U.

AUSTRALIA: LISA MICHELE BURNS

Images © Lisa Michele Burns from her Instagram grid. See more at @the_wanderinglens

“My work aims to document the beauty and fragility of nature, the small patterns and textures within a landscape that have been carved over millions of years through geological processes and the elements.”

With a diverse portfolio that captures the faces of the Australian continent, photographer Lisa Michele Burns is a traveler, a cautious adventurer (as she calls herself), and an educator. She photographs in awe of her subjects, constantly exploring, fascinated by a glacier here, a titmouse there, and everything else in between. Her approach is tender and curious, the compositions unusual, and the color palette that moves her, pastel and feminine. Burns’ photography is lyrical, an ode to Earth written in colors by someone who understands its most intimate secrets. After all, Earth is home.

EUROPE: CHARLIE WAITE

Images © Charlie Waite from his Instagram grid. See more at @charlie_waite

British photographer Charlie Waite is one of the originals. His career spans over four decades and encompasses exhibitions, lectures, photographic workshops, and awards. Waite captures the calmness of our planet, the stillness, the grace, like no one else. His photographs are mindful, almost spiritual, and remind us of our undeniable connection with nature. He makes us aware of the presence, the essence that needs no boundaries, language, or action. It simply is.

NORTH AMERICA: CHARLOTTE GIBB

Images © Charlotte Gibb from her Instagram grid. See more at @charlottegibb

“My images are frequently symbolic, with an eye oriented towards the subtle and sometimes overlooked elements of nature. My photographs are not meant to be pretty postcards, but rather frames that celebrate form, line, shape, color, and texture.”

Renowned nature and landscape photographer, originating from Northern California, Charlotte Gibb, photographs the overlooked, the trees lost in the forest, the details of a vast world. She focuses on changes, movement, and rhythm, capturing the flow of Earth. As a result, her photographs are artful dances, intimate stories that slowly reveal themselves. Gibb rightfully argues that no photo is possible without a personal connection with the scene one sees through the lens. That’s why some of the places she photographs will remain secret.

SOUTH AMERICA: GABRIEL EISENBAND

Images © Gabriel Eisenband from his Instagram grid. See more at @gaboeisenband

Colombian Gabriel Eisenband turned the lens towards a familiar ground: the many natural parks of Colombia. Well-known for its biodiversity, Colombia is more than a destination for the photographer. It is home, roots, and playground, an intrinsic part of him, the journey that molded him into who he is today. While some photographers embrace wanderlust and seek novelty in different parts of the world, for Eisenband, the novelty is in the familiar. His eyes see what no one foreigner can see. His heart vibrates with the rocks and roots of the trees. This is his Earth.

In the context of our current theme, Planet Earth, go home, rekindle with your roots, and thank the planet that sustains our lives. You don’t have to travel far to do this, but by all means, travel if you feel the need to do so. Much like the waves of the ocean originate from the same source but follow different paths, we, too, come from the same place, yet have different journeys to complete. Regardless of the continent you live on, Earth is by your side.

Created with ❤️

Words by Monica Radulescu
Photography © the author.