Close To The Edge

Photography has an increasingly important role to play in conservation, but it’s hard to translate a desire for change into reality.Tracy Calder talks to Keith Wilson, the editor of two books genuinely making a difference.

It seems fitting that a project such as Remembering Elephants should arise from a conversation between two people at the Royal Geographical Society headquarters in London. The Society has long been associated with big ideas and adventurous souls including Sir Ernest Shackleton, Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Sir Edmund Hillary. On this occasion those gathered were at the RGS to support wildlife photographer David Lloyd as he launched his new book As Long As There Are Animals in October 2014.

Partway through the event, photographer Margot Raggett got chatting to Keith Wilson, founder and former editor of Wild Planet Photo Magazine. Before long she was telling him about her plan to produce ‘the most beautiful book about elephants ever made’. ‘Margot had a clear idea of what she wanted,’ explains Keith. ‘Her idea was to get wildlife photographers to donate an image, put them in a book, sell the book, and give the money to charities working to protect elephants and fight ivory poaching.’ Like all of the best ideas, it was a simple one, but she needed someone to help her source the images, persuade photographers to take part, and ensure the finished article was the very best it could be. ‘Margot had never produced a book before,’ says Keith. ‘She wanted high-quality printing and high production values, and she asked if I could help.’ Of course, he said yes.