Lions & ......

Not in the mood for art today- still filled with Looking In: Robert Franks' The Americans; not in the mood for history today- still thinking about the African-American Civil War stuff. Not in the mood for the Mall on a Sunday. What then? Nature!

Walked over to the National Geographic Museum to an exhibit on Lions & Leopards - The work of Dereck & Beverly Joubert. I wasn't particularly interested in big cats (or little cats either) but I was immediately engrossed in this exhibit. A sign warned that some of the photographs and films showed violence. The Jouberts believe that "...the idea that predation is harsh and somehow wrong makes a mockery of our ecosystems, evolving since time and life began on earth" and their work reflects all aspects of their subjects' lives, even those the viewer may find unpleasant.

"Equal partners in the adventure of a lifetime", 30 years ago they decided on the life they wanted and then found a way to make it work, living in a tent or out of a survey vehicle. Their passion for human stewardship of threatened species was apparent in the visual depiction that documents their painstaking following and observing of leopards and lions.

Even more fascinating to me is how they found, share and live out this passion. Together they have co-produced 20 remarkable films, 6 books and many articles. I can't wait to see what they will do next.