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Wildlife photographers are privileged witnesses of nature and those who live there. Meeting with the photographer Antoine Dusart, passionate regarding birds
« Now I’m hidden, all we have to do is wait. Hidden under a camouflage blanket, behind wild reeds, the photographer Antoine Dusart, a bird lover, whispers at the edge of a pond, a stone’s throw from the Charente and its gray waters which flow barely further into the ‘Atlantic Ocean. Objective feathers: blended into nature, and blended into nature, lying in the grass, his elbows in the mud and the camera in his hands, the young man is on the lookout.
When suddenly an egret lands, just a few meters from the photographer. But the big white bird, perched on its stilts and equipped with a long beak to spear fish and crustaceans, will not stay very long. The big red microphone from RFI frightened the egret, which flew away in a cry, upset.
Wildlife photography is a solitary game. In nature, the human must step aside. With one watchword: respect. “ At high tide, the birds are there to rest, to groom themselves, explains Antoine Dusart. These are times that must be respected. You have to agree to let the bird come to you, rather than positioning yourself in an ideal way from the start to get the close-up. But some photographers don’t have this ethic, ready to do anything for a shot.
Photographer and naturalist
We will quickly pass over the case of the Brazilian Marcio Cabral, winner in 2017 of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year before we realize that the giant anteater he had seized under a starry sky was actually a stuffed animal… There are also reports of frogs being frozen before the photo shoot to paralyze their movements. While animal photography has become more democratic thanks to the fall in the price of equipment, a few black sheep are rampant, without scruple or out of ignorance, even if it means disturbing reproduction, a burrow or a nest.
Nest photos are also now excluded from photographic competitions. Renowned natural sites, which have become “instagrammable”, are also taken by storm, disrupting the entire ecosystem. After mass tourism, mass photography? We can actually rejoice in a craze for nature, provided we inquire and learn regarding those who live there.
A wildlife photographer must also and first and foremost be a naturalist. “ The photo is a good way to know the nature that surrounds us, specifies Antoine Dusart. Afterwards, on the way, if you want to take good photos, you have to be a good naturalist. When you know nature well, you know where the birds live, what they eat, etc. There isn’t a big sign that says “here great area for the photo”! It is therefore necessary to walk, to observe. It takes hours of observation in the field. »
Two living beings meet
Antoine Dusart, 33, started photographing birds three years ago and has already won two awards. His shots, more artistic than naturalistic, are luminous poems where the birds, sublimated, sometimes seem to float in evanescent nature. A former Parisian recruited by the LPO, the League for the Protection of Birds, in Rochefort in Charente-Maritime, his favorite playground is very close to his home, a reedbed in the Charente marshes, a few kilometers from the Nature Reserve of Moëze-Oléron, paradise for migratory birds, where the infinite patience of the photographer is finally rewarded. Getting up at dawn, hours of waiting; Suddenly the miracle takes place. Watch out, the little bird will pop up.
« When the expected encounter occurs and the bird lands, there is adrenaline and it is obviously a lot of emotion, says Antoine Dusart. The bird has nothing to do with us, but we have the impression of being able to speak to it through the photo. It is a meeting between two living beings, without anything else, without convention. We managed to enter a little into the intimacy of the bird… Yes, it’s a highlight. There is tenderness in the photographer’s gaze, which testifies to the beauty of the world and its fragility. “ We then have the impression that the landscape we frequent, that we see, is the most precious place in the world. And when you know that, there’s no point in running around the world: you have happiness nearby. »
“I feel like I am growing wings… Is it possible? »
From a biological point of view, no. Among mammals, only bats fly. As for birds (today there are more than 10,000 species in the world), they are directly descended from dinosaurs, and it is their front legs, with evolution, which have become wings, to move without touching floor. A competitive advantage to escape predators, feed and spend the winter in the sun.
Flying requires considerable energy, and a recent study of Amazonian birds shows that in 40 years they have lost weight and their wings have grown due to global warming. Yes, the planet is faltering.
