Congratulations to Elton Shapiro for becoming our August 2022 Photography Virtual Artist in Residence. The Virtual Artist in Residence Program is awarded monthly to the artist (or photographer) who has submitted 3 or more entries to the ENDANGERED Fine Art & Photography Contest and has been selected by the Curatorial Committee as best interpreting the aims of the Contest.

About

Photography has always been an interest of mine since high school, and I spent many hours in a makeshift darkroom trying to get the correct exposure of my then black and white images. My love for wildlife developed at an early age. I was fortunate to have experienced the beauty of African wildlife. The combination of love for wildlife and passion for photography subsequently blended. I have attempted to capture images evoking the emotions and expressions of animals and have tried to portray how they make me feel.

I have experimented with face-mounting the animal prints onto acrylic, which reveals a more realistic image, and provides the pictures with an almost 3-dimensional quality.

Of course, my love for wildlife clearly integrates with my concern for their preservation, especially of endangered species. I hope that showing my work might inspire others to develop an interest in these beautiful creatures and possibly engender their desire similarly to the preservation of endangered wildlife.