In Montier-en-Der, success and revival of wildlife photography – Libération

At the end of November, the town of Haute-Marne hosted the largest European festival of wildlife photography, a difficult Art that the progress of cameras has democratized and which extends from naturalist documentation to pure aesthetic representation.

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Neither the first snows nor the cold of the Grand-Est discourage nature enthusiasts and animal lovers on this blue November day. However, you have to brave slippery roads and landscapes covered with a thin layer of icing sugar to reach Montier-en-Der, a small town of 2,000 inhabitants in Haute-Marne, which hosts the largest wildlife photo festival in Europe every year. . “The Cannes of wildlife photography”, praise the faithful! Hats, big shoes, camouflage outfits and cameras around their necks, naturophiles flock to the marquees, the abbey church and the stud farms, navigating between stands steaming with pancakes, charcuterie, honey and truffles. On the program: conferences, round tables, exhibitions. Created in 1996, the Montier-en-Der festival bears witness to the popularity of wildlife photography, a slightly different photographic genre, in full renewal today.

The enthusiasm for the image of animals extends to all areas. We measure it in contemporary art, for example, with the success of the subtle photographs of the ex-biologist Jochen Lempert or in the world of publishing with the “Birds” collection by Xavier Barral. Paolo Roversi and Sebastião Salgado sign the latest works with owls