YANN ARTHUS-BERTRAND

Born in Paris, France. 1946.
Lives and works in Paris.

Our Earth is Art, the photographer is only a witness.

At 30, Yann Arthus-Bertrand left for Canada with his wife Anne with whom he did a study on a family of lions in the Massaï Mara reserve that lasted three years. Very quickly he began to record his observations on his camera, alongside his notes. To make a living, he piloted hot-air balloons at the same time. His first book, Lions, came out in 1981.
Yann became a photographer for international news media, working with magazines like National Geographic, Géo, Life, Paris Match, Figaro Magazine etc. In 1991, he founded Altitude, the world’s first aerial photography agency. Through his work, he gradually became aware of the beauty of the world and the impact that man has had on it. As a testimony of this, in 1999 La Terre vue du Ciel (Earth seen from heaven) saw the light. It was an international success, selling more than 3 million copies. This best-seller was also the starting point of his first feature film, Home. In 2005, he created the GoodPlanet Foundation, and turned to expression via documentaries: 6 milliards ’Autres (6 billion others), Planète Océan (Ocean Planet) and more recently, Human, Terra and Woman (currently under preparation). Yann is a UN Goodwill Ambassador, an officer of the Légion d’Honneur, and he holds the second chair of the photography department at the Fine Arts Academy.  

Photo: Courtesy of the artist

http://www.yannarthusbertrand.org/fr