Florian Schulz – Wildlife Photographer
Born in Germany, Florian Schulz (36) is a professional wildlife photographer with a strong conservation vision. In constant search of breathtaking images, Florian hopes to inspire individuals to take action to protect endangered ecosystems and wilderness areas.
As part of his Freedom to Roam project, Schulz has dedicated years of his life North America’s most critical wildlife corridor: “Yellowstone to Yukon”. His first book —Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam (2005) from Braided River and the Mountaineers Books — received the Independent Book Publisher Award:“ Outstanding Books of the Year ”.
Florian believes that partnering with conservation organizations can greatly enrich an environmental campaign that aims to protect a threatened ecosystem. With such alliances, he aims to create awareness and empower people to take action towards protecting our natural heritage. In 2010 Florian teamed up with Earthjustice and Patagonia to launch the visual environmental campaign “Visions of the Arctic” against oil development in the Arctic. Together with Braided River and the release of his new book “To The Arctic” he will continue to promote the protection of the arctic environment with strong environmental and visual campaign in 2012.
Schulz is a recognized speaker in the topics of conservation visions, as well as photography. He has delivered over 70 lectures across the United States, Canada and Europe, ranging from local high schools and universities, to National Geographic. On the list are many prestigious venues such as the Banff Mountain Film Festival, the World Wilderness Congress, Microsoft Pro Photo Summit, Nikon Solutions, National Geographic Explorers Hall and many large European events like WunderWelten, Montier-en-der, Mundologia and Weitsicht with audiences up to a thousand people.
Honoring his commitment to conservation, Florian has received prestigious honors such as the title “Environmental Photographer of the Year 2010″ and “Conservation Photographer of the Year” by Nature’s Best Photography Awards and the National Wildlife Federation in 2008. His images have won recognized awards in some of the most important nature photography competitions like the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition and the Eruopean Photographer of the Year Competition.
Together with internationally renowned photographers, Schulz has taken part in two Rapid Visual Assessment Expeditions (RAVES) in the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia and in “El Triunfo” Biosphere Reserve in the Mexican rainforest, Chiapas. Both RAVES were organized to document these ecosystems severely threatened by encroaching development. Images from these expeditions were used in the media to promote the permanent protection of this unique places.
As part of his continuing conservation work, Florian continues to work for a third conservation photography project under the title Freedom to Roam (F2R). This second F2R project will involve a broad outreach campaign of exhibits, presentations, and magazine publications focused around the upcoming book: Freedom to Roam – The Wild Coast. The second publication in the Freedom to Roam series by Braided River, it will focus on habitat conservation and wildlife corridors in the oceans, the coastline and the coastal landscapes. The multi-year project will take Florian and Emil from Baja California to the Beaufort Sea (B2B), documenting the ecosystem from the ground, at sea, under the water and from the air.
Florian is the youngest founding member of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP)
For more information on Florian’s current work, visit his website here>>