Pekka Järventaus

Swedish artist and photographer Pekka Järventaus was born in
Gothenburg in 1976. Järventaus originally had a background as an
artist in the video game industry. But during an African safari some
years ago, he discovered his deep passion for photography and for wild
animals. While his subject is the lions themselves, Järventaus also
injects his artistic vision into the images. He strives to go beyond
documentation and to convey the magical, mysterious quality of lions
that speaks to him most strongly. In order to maximize the effect he
is seeking, he shoots mostly in black and white and mostly during
stormy or rainy weather.
As Järventaus continues to photograph his subject, his appreciation
for both the medium and the animals has deepened. Besides perfecting
his own aesthetic vision and communicating the beauty of what he has
seen, Järventaus hopes his images can help inspire a future in which
wild animals are still able to roam freely in the world’s unspoiled
landscapes.