A natural photographer

 A recognized still picture artist encourages himself a new challenge.

 

By elena Belletich de Rojas (University of Piura). Photographs by Heinz Plenge and Koko Zavala via University of Piura.

 

PIURA CITY, Peru – He’s one of the most important Nature photographers of our country and his works run around the world. Shy, Sensitive, hopeful of that in the future, Peru to be a more organized nation, Heinz Plenge lives deeply his passions for photography, Nature, and conservation. In his visit to Piura, after 15 years, he answers about everything – his dreams, the photography, his challenges, and about a project of a bird corridor that would cover the Peruvian Northern zone.

 

National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, Geo, The New York Time Magazine… You’ve published your photographs in the most important magazines and institutions of the world. Do you still remember the first time you saw your name in a releasing?

When I began and my first photos released with the credit, copyright, and that stuff, it was very exciting. I remember when I saw my first photo in National Geographic, I didn’t stay in my skin. It was in 1988. For a photographer like me, this is like for a painter when exposes at Louvre in Paris – a true dream!

 

So, you were at National Geographic headquarters.

Yes, in Washington. They explained me how they produce the stories there, and they said me that first are the photos. Based upon them, comes the text. That is the Bible of Americans.

 

Tell me, how do Heinz Plenge feel related to his camera?

My camera is a part of my organism, I feel naked now that I don’t have it. I currently use Nikon Brand many years ago already, and I’m planning to learn the infinite secrets of digital photography.

 

How is one of your usual days?

I have to divide the day in two parts: one, when I’m in the forest or doing some work, and another, when I’m in the office, in the city, in the lab, or in the photo archive. When I’m not on the field, I’m, generally, writing proposals or ordering my archive. I just acquired a program which I could order and locate the pictures much quickly.

 

Are all your photographs about Peru?

98%. You wouldn’t last many lives together for ending to do what there is to do still in our country. Instead, in other continents, those don’t have the biodiversity we have here, it’s already done too much. In Peru still it follows discovering species. By myself, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in the discovery of new species and records for Peru and for the science.

 

Like a photography artist, what do you feel when you see the shocking pictures released on the newspapers, on the TV?

It’s really very sad. It’s a drama that removes the skin to me. Look – I’ve spent long days alone, in the forest, hundreds of miles away the closest human being, and that loneliness doesn’t disturb me too much like when I see a picture or a drama like the ones lived daily. We’re making our house violent!

 

What role do you think it belongs to universities on the photographers training?

I think the universities must begin to pay a little attention to photography, and the ones that already do it, must strengthen that activity or that knowledge. For real, like Jorge La Torre said it, the photography is inside every field: in NASA, research, to have your ID-card, to record an important event like the birth of a child, a wedding, a family meeting.

 

Would you say it’s a big business now?

Yes, of course. A cellphone without a camera is already hard to sell, and from the economic point of view, it moves much funds – the chips industry, the cameras manufacturing, that what incorporate them to the cellphones. What I mean is that only in the part of photographic equipments production, the boom is huge. Then, in the media – magazines, newspapers, books, a lot of calendars, posters, publishing, websites, etc. It’s said the most information the human beings perceive is throught the pictures. Without them, you can’t understand the world neither choosing a product. Inclusive, many couples get married without seeing in person, because they send the picture by the Internet, and sometimes they are dismissed by this mean.

 

About the Nature photographers, there are very few – is it possible to promote that vocation?

There’s really an entire field out there. That’s why we said here in Peru, this is still for dummies. There’s a very big field to develop, and at the same time, a big responsibility to transmit what we want and, at the same time, caring on the environment. Caring the environment is not a matter of fashion but a responsibility.

 

Regarding that, what role do the photographers and media professionals play to break this global raze of our own existence?

The responsibility is huge. They must do their work evidences the good and the bad of what is happening to the environment. Sometimes, I see on the Lima-based TV that is a trend to call communist, subversive, reactionary, or enemy of the progress to everyone who says something on favor of the environment. I think they are putting the politics into the reality. The e ecosystem degradation in the world is evident, as well as the species extinction. That’s why it must make a serious perspective, very objective, without passionating. I am very passionate but that doesn’t mean I don’t like the development. I use petroleum, energy, and some other polluting products, but I think that frenzy must not be uncontrolled. The media professionals, the photographers must balance all this frenzy to make money with a life quality to be more accessible to everyone aand not with big money concentrations for big companies and banks.

 

Do you think that balance is possible?

Yes, I do. It have to fight for it. The humankind needs it to follow vigent, or what to follow into the natural evolutive processes of this planet’s inhabitants for? That we consider the Nature not like a divine work we can serve by discretion but a divine work wwhich you are responsible to hold it for assuring your own survival.

 

The birds corridor – from Loreto to Tumbés

Heinz Plenge has run Peru registering geographic, historic, and cultural aspects in over than 350K pictures. He has made over a hundred expeditions to the tropical dry forests, Andes, deserts, and Peruvian shore, and outstanding photographic works as the discovery of Lord of Sipán. He has exposed in Europe, Asia, North, Central, an South America, highlighting his exposition Peru – The Sanctuary of Rain.

 

To his published books (Peru – Wildlife, extreme Amazon, Wonderful Peru, Escalera Range – The Route of Biodiversity, among others), he has added this year one issue about gastronomy and he’s waiting for the second issue – The Kingdom of Loché. Plus, from his project Birds Corridor.  “This is a concept. The studies have already done and it results it would be the richest birds destination of the world, so we are number one in something. This would go from Tumbés to Iquitos (Loreto) passing through eight regions,” Heins says.

 

But, Colombia is what is the first one about birds, isn’t it?

Peru and Colombia are what are contending the number one. They consider Peru as the number two, but scholars and ornithologists are saying that in Colombia are considering many sub-species like species. There is a group of national ornithologists who do those divisions according to own considerations. That’s why Colombia leads and Peru is the number two, but the difference is only 15 to 20 species. The true is that in the age of subversión, there was no research in Peru, so we have many delaying years. The numbers are not updated.

 

Regarding to this corridor, what role will Udep dry forests play, that host native, endemic species?

The dry forests can’t overcome the Amazon in quantity of species but we are champions in endemisms – that is something it must be exploited. The specialists say that only remains between 2% and 5% of original dry forests, then every carob tree costs much now and it’s a big contribution for the research. The university has a fabulous research field of what that Nature segment is, especially the birds of dry forest, like a pretty important input, because there is much endemism to develop this circuit of birds destination.

 

How to protect the endemic birds and the part of the Tumbés Forest that is in the Udep?

The dry forest endemisms are the most riches so even the ornithologists, biologists, and researchers can continue with that ringing that is making at the university campus and doing more complete studies. Who knows what is going to happen here up to 50 or 100 years! That’s why everything done now will be true research documents for the future.

 

How to take advantage of that forest with the birds corridor to install?

The university has a big potential in its hands. With a Little creativity, it can make it worthy quicly, and for the tourism and for the bird-watchers themselves, the campus can be an endemic birds watching spot. It could make recreational áreas, suddenly a Little zoo even, and maybe including aquariums to exhibit sweet water fishes, from the dry forest. Actually, it’s a huge advantage what the University of Piura has, of having over than 80 hectares of natural places inside the city. We would have that in Chiclayo already, and with the quantity of birds it hosts!

 

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