Q&A with Graeme Green, founder of the New Big 5 project
Graeme Green is the founder of the New Big Five campaign, launched to reinvent the way we celebrate animals and raise awareness about issues facing the world’s wildlife. The idea focusses on shooting wildlife with a camera, not with a gun, which is how the original big five got their name. Here he discusses the origins of the campaign, what the results were and the global response.
You have just announced the long-awaited results of the New Big 5, a campaign you ran to alter the way we celebrate the Big 5, from those that were hardest to hunt with a gun to those most exciting to photograph with a camera. What prompted you to launch this campaign?
I first had the idea 9 or 10 years ago, when I was on assignment in Botswana’s Makgadikgadi Pans. Hearing the word ‘shooting’, for taking pictures, sparked something. I thought it would be a great thing for there to be a Big 5 of wildlife photography, rather than hunting. Shooting with camera, rather than guns. Something that celebrates wildlife and the beauty of the natural world, rather than the unnecessary killing of animals.
I had the idea in mind for years. A couple of years ago I started talking to photographers like Ami Vitale and Art Wolfe, who liked the idea and offered to be involved. I wanted to use the project, more than just a cool idea, to get people talking and thinking about wildlife, and what we stand to lose if we don’t protect it. The work I’ve done with the New Big 5 website (www.newbig5.com) was all geared around using the interest generated by the New Big 5 concept to shine a light on major issues such as habitat loss, poaching, the illegal wildlife trade, climate change.
I’ve been a photographer and journalist for 15 years or so. When you go out into the world and see the incredible wildlife on the planet and learn about the threats they face, it makes you want to do something to try to help. I hope the project’s done some good.
African elephant, one of the old and new big 5 ©Graeme Green
The campaign was backed by some of the world’s leading conservationists, photographers and celebrities. How did you manage to get it to take off so successfully?
With a lot of work and a lot of time. It’s been a massive commitment, often working seven days a week. It started with me inviting a few photographers to be involved, who said yes, and then it grew and grew. To have some of the world’s most renowned photographers offering to be part of it, people like Marsel van Oosten, Steve Winter, Ami Vitale, Joel Sartore, Marina Cano, Thomas Mangelsen…, has been brilliant. Some of the photographers involved have been a massive help - contributing photos, giving their time, sharing advice and contacts, posting about the project on social media, doing interviews, helping get the word out…
It’s also been incredible to have the support of conservationists like Jane Goodall and Paula Kahumbu, and to work with organisations like Save The Elephants, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and Polar Bears International.
I think people have been happy to give their support because it’s such a simple idea to get: a Big 5 of photography, rather than hunting. But also because they understood the aim of the project was to raise awareness about urgent threats to wildlife, which is, of course, a subject many photographers and conservations care a lot about.
Lions are another species in both the old and New Big 5. ©Graeme Green
As well as the big internationally known names, one thing that was important to me from the start was making sure the project was inclusive and represented the incredible talent in the world, including black, Asian, Latin and female photographers. Wildlife photography and conservation are both often dominated by white males, which is obviously wrong and harmful. There are photographers involved in the project from Rwanda, China, Mexico, Lebanon, Kenya, Peru, France, Japan, UK, US, South Africa, Canada… All over, really, including emerging and less famous photographers, which I wanted to highlight. That took a lot of time and legwork, but it was a priority. The project’s better for it, and I’ve seen what we’ve done has had an influence on other projects and fundraisers who are now also working to make what they’re doing more diverse and inclusive.
I did the same with wildlife charities, not just collaborating with big international organisations but contacting smaller charities doing brilliant work around the world, to make sure I was including voices, expertise and ideas that often aren’t included in the mix.
“What a great new project the New Big 5 is. I wonder what the final choice will be? There are so many incredible animals in our world. Any project that brings attention to animals, so many of whom are threatened of endangered, is truly important.”
Elephants at sun down, ©Gurcharan Roopra
Did the results surprise you (lion, elephant, polar bear, tiger and gorilla), and how has the global response been?
For me, there were one or two animals, like elephants, that I thought were almost guaranteed to be included when we set the question: what are your favourite animals to photograph and see in photos? But what made the project exciting for everyone, including me, was waiting to see which five animals would be chosen. I know a lot of people would’ve liked their favourite animals, like orangutans or rhinos, to be included. But it wasn’t possible to include every species.
The response has been really positive. I think it’s a great international mix of animals that showcase some of the beauty of the natural world and that also highlight different issues animals face, from climate change for polar bears to poaching of elephants.
What we tried to do with the project, besides creating a New Big 5 of Wildlife Photography, was to communicate the fact that all wildlife is important and deserves to exist. We’ve run articles and photo galleries on the New Big 5 website looking at everything from pangolins, cheetahs and giraffes to little-known species of kingfishers, turtles and tree kangaroos. And certainly as a photographer, I’m just as interested in small frogs, lizards and birds as I am the big charismatic icons. The articles and interviews we’ve run on the website have been really effective in highlighting some of the issues that maybe people are not aware of, in terms of the threat of extinction many species face, but we’ve also tried to explore conservation solutions: conservancies, community projects, cutting edge technology, rewilding… The message of the project is really that, from bees to blue whales, all wildlife is essential to the balance of nature, to healthy ecosystems and to the future of our planet.
Polar bear, a new addition to the New Big 5 ©Alessandro Beconi
One of my favourite elements of the campaign was the podcasts you launched. Are there elements of this you plan to continue now you have such a platform to use?
I’m glad to hear it. I’d never recorded any podcasts before, but the series has gone down really well with people. It was great to talk in-depth with these incredible photographers and conservationists.
As for whether we’ll do more, at the moment there are no plans to. They take a lot of time and work to put together. We’re at a crossroads for the project, to be honest. It’s been really well-received around the world and has such momentum at the moment. But, despite looking like a much bigger organisation, it’s just me working on the project. It’s a huge workload and I need to balance that with doing paid work to make a living, so I’m currently weighing up plans for the next 6-12 months.
My hope, since I first came up with the New Big 5 idea nearly a decade ago, was to produce a photography book, including the work of the international photographers involved with the project. I think this could be one of the best photography books ever, covering the New Big 5 and endangered species. I’m keen to put that together to commemorate the project, to raise awareness, and to hopefully raise funds for some wildlife charities. But it’s another huge undertaking. I could use some help and support, to be totally honest.
So I’m currently looking into funding and bringing in partners. Until I sort that out, the long-term future of the project is unknown. The website has become a great resource for people interested in wildlife, conservation and photography. But producing all the interviews, articles and photo galleries takes so much work. I need to be practical about spending another 6-12 months on the project and the work involved.
Mountain gorilla, a new addition to the New Big 5, ©Gael Ruboneka Vande Weghe
With that in mind, as a photographer and journalist yourself, what do you plan to turn your attention to next?
That depends on what happens with the project. It’s been a big commitment over the last two years. I’d like to keep working on the website, producing articles and interviews on wildlife, conservation and photography, and to work on producing the book I mentioned. How much time I can dedicate to all that, though, depends on funding and support.
Beyond that, like everyone, the pandemic has had a huge impact on my work as a journalist. I’ve had assignments pushed back or cancelled over the last year because of the crisis. These were conservation stories I was really interested in photographing and writing about. As you’ll know, conservation work has had a terrible time over the last year.
So there’s a big part of me that’s itching to get back to countries in Africa and elsewhere to do my job, to take photos and tell stories and cover what I feel are interesting and important stories. Until then, I’ll keep writing for newspapers about these issues and I’ve got a few other ideas and projects brewing.
I’ve also been thinking about other areas I can work in. I’m coming out of a two-year project that’s been really successful; I’ve learned a lot from talking to conservationists, scientists and other experts, and it’s given me a lot of food for thought. I’m considering where I might focus my time and the areas that really interest me. The future feels wide open right now.
