╔══════ ⋞ ◦ ❁ ◦ ⋟ ══════╗
AL HORNSBY – A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER
AND WRITER
ABOUT THE WONDERS OF NATURE
22nd January 2019
╚══════ ⋞ ◦ ❁ ◦ ⋟ ══════╝
Al Hornsby is one of the lucky people in this world who is doing something he genuinely enjoys, and is doing good by it. His job is no easy task, but Hornsby has been diving in the deep sea since he was 12, and since then, has seen many of the wonders of the underwater world, photographing them and publishing ‘encounter stories’ in various magazines. He’s photographed animals ranging from the biggest whale fights, down to the tiniest pregnant pygmy seahorse, from the deadly sharks, to the slow-moving turtles. But he doesn’t just work in the sea. He’s taken photos of wild mountain goats grazing on mountainside grass, and grizzly bears with deep, dark eyes, plodding through the long grass, and many, many other beautiful creatures.
But Hornsby tells us of how fragile the earth is, how ecosystems hang precariously in balance, and how important it is to realise our impact on that balance and watch how we’re affecting the earth. Hornsby gives many examples of how nature could fall out of balance, one of which being lions not weeding out the weaker, sicker antelopes, so all the grass gets eaten and in the end, everything dies. He speaks of defending that precious stability, because it’s what gives so much beauty to the earth.
So, he photographs and writes enchanting stories about the animals he’s met, and the places he’s been. “There’s a power in writing,” Hornsby says. It gives you the power the shape someone’s feelings and opinions, so to write, you must always take into account your audience. In fact, as Hornsby encounters an animal, he is already forming a story in his head, and when he begins to type, the world flow out of his fingertips faster than he can read them.
Surprisingly, Hornsby has never really felt endangered from being near an animal. “They’re curious but accepting,” Hornsby says. If you respect your surroundings and the organisms within, then they will accept you, no questions asked. Hornsby tries to convey this in his writing, to explain the natural beauty of nature and how important it is.
This realisation of the beauty that nature holds was one of the many takeaways for me in this talk. I’ve realised how unlikely it is for our planet to have such systems of life, and how amazing it is that evolution can create something as complex and interesting as an ecosystem. Our planet is remarkably intricate, every last animal fitting into its place on the food chain. This is why it’s so important to protect our environment and respect the earth, because not only is it our home, it’s also a source of beauty and happiness, and can teach us more than we could ever imagine.