Denis Palanque

I am a French professional wildlife and conservation photographer working on environmental and scientific projects, conference speaker and photo teacher.

I am also an engaged conservationist with an insatiable curiosity for discovery and storytelling. I challenge myself to be both an artist and a scientist, both sensitive and rational at once. This blend reflects the spirit of my work. In 1998 I graduated with a Master II in Biology of Animal Populations and Ecosystems (Claude Bernard University Lyon I - France) and I have been studying photography since I was 14 years old, when my father gave me my first SLR.

Photography has naturally become a great tool to accompany my discoveries in nature. Over the years, my work has evolved into a real form of expression. That was not just destined to testify, but to react and feel.

After some time working in the scientific research, I decided to shifted my priorities to something that suited me more. To me science is an indispensable tool for comprehension and conservation of nature but still out of reach for many people who aren't engaged in the field. I believe that it's the entire public who needs to be informed and educated and not just those in the scientific community.

Photography is a wonderful tool who can connect people immediately with the subject, without words and without the constraints of language. It is a very universal tool that has the added benefit of staying very large engraved in the memory much more efficiently than any of speeches.

For me photographers of Conservation conceive the aim to take photo in a different way, and there is quite a different motivation that the simple beauty behind the photography which they show to the public. Photos become tools of change rather than simple tools of information.

I collaborate with magazines such as Terre Sauvage or National Geographic France and my images are distributed by Naturagency (Fr), Hemis (Fr) and Nature Picture Library (GB) Agencies. I also work for museums, international research and conservation organizations and for more than 10 years I have created and accompanied workshops, trainings and photographic trips around the world.

I am Associate Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP) and Ambassador of the photographic filters Cokin brand.