A pioneer of wildlife photography as early as in the 1880’s, George Shiras (1859-1942) was also the first to reveal, through his flash photographs, the nocturnal life of animals in the woods, revealing with his images a world previously invisible. The exhibition presents, for the first time since his death, the work of this American photographer.

Born in 1859 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, George Shiras was introduced to fishing and hunting at an early age. He studied law and moved into politics. Starting in 1870, he developed an acute sense of curiosity for the animal world through regular visits to the surroundings of Lake Superior, in Michigan. In 1887, he exchanged his rifle for a camera, launching forty years of photographic explorations. Shiras redefined his relation to nature through the means of photography and paved the way to the practice of camera hunting. A few years later, he extended his practice to nocturnal photography, opening up a whole new world until then unknown. His work reveals a very personal relationship to animals, both pragmatic and poetic, in a period of growing awareness for the environment and back-to-nature ideal.

After a term in Congress from 1903 to 1905, Shiras put an end to his political career and devoted himself fulltime to the study of wildlife and to photography. He continued to support the conservationist cause through numerous articles illustrated by his photographs, many of which were published in National Geographic, whose history he has helped shape. His commitment earned him the admiration and friendship of Theodore Roosevelt.

The nocturnal photographs by Shiras, on which the exhibition focuses, owe their uniqueness to hunting techniques, such as jacklighting, borrowed from the Ojibway tribe, who had lived in the area for several centuries. With this technique, the hunter is positioned on board a canoe and catches the attention of the animal with the glow of a fire. Shiras also set the first photographic traps, revealing the life of the animals in the woods at night. Obtained through explosions of magnesium powder, these night photographs remind of the frontal encounter of hunter and prey, while they also testify to the catching beauty of an endangered nature.

Recognized in his lifetime for the scientific value of his studies and for his photographs, published in his 2 volume autobiography Hunting Wild Life With Camera and Flashlight (1935) and awarded at the Paris and St. Louis Expositions Universelles in 1900 and 1904, George Shiras has remained mainly unknown from the public after his death in 1942. This exhibition is an opportunity to rediscover this pioneer of wildlife photography through a selection of original prints.

Exhibition organized in cooperation with National Geographic Creative

Scenography: Cyril Delhomme
Diaporama: Éric Beaupré and Alexandre Poirier

Book published in conjunction with the exhibition:
George Shiras. In the Heart of the Dark Night, Éditions Xavier Barral, Paris

Around the exhibition:
4 November 2015: screening of The Screening by Ariane Michel in the presence of the artist
2 December 2015: screening of In the Land of the Head Hunters by Edward S. Curtis, music by Rodolphe Burger
13 January 2016: “Henry D. Thoreau et les animaux”, lecture by Michel Granger
3 February 2016: “Une nuit avec George Shiras”, music performance by Rodolphe Burger with images by Frédéric Ramade / film by David Unger available in DVD (limited edition, numbered and signed), graphic design by Jenny Hasae