Renowned Photographer Chris Johns' Work is Featured in 'Wild at Heart: Man and Beast inSouthern Africa' Exhibit

SALISBURY, MD---A National Geographic Museum exhibit, “Wild at Heart: Man and Beast in Southern Africa,” opens October 4 in the University Gallery of Fulton Hall at Salisbury University.  The exhibit features a collection of 60 images by award-winning National Geographic photographer Chris Johns, named one of the world’s 25 most important photographers by American Photo magazine in 2003.  In his pictures, Johns captures the essence of southern Africa’s diverse peoples, the breathtaking beauty of its landscapes and the majestic wildlife that roams its fertile terrain.  The exhibit will be on display October 4 through November 6, 2005.

Johns crisscrossed southern Africa, from the Kalahari Desert and Drakensberg Mountains to the Skeleton Coast and Zambezi Rover, photographing quintessential Africa as well as the current hardships that Africans face today.

The photographs on display depict Africa as a world in transition, trying to meet the demands of progress, yet striving to preserve and conserve its unique natural legacy.  Included are stunning images of a matriarch elephant defending her turf, wild dogs chasing an impala, and traditional healers and dancers playing their ancient roles.  Juxtaposed against these views are images that show the entangled relationship between humans and animals – an anti-poaching patrol on alert in the Lower Zambezi National Park; a trapped cheetah on a cattle ranch, its future unknown.

Johns is editor in chief of National Geographic magazine.  He was named Newspaper Photographer of the Year in 1979 while a staff photographer for the Topeka Capital-Journal.  Before joining National Geographic, he freelanced for Life and Time magazines.

Founded in 1888, the National Geographic Society is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world.  It reaches nearly 250 million people each month through its five magazines, television programming, the National Geographic Channel, books, videos, maps and interactive media.  The National Geographic Museum at Explorers Hall produces exhibits based on National Geographic projects and products, which are displayed at the Society’s headquarters and which travel to museums around the world.

“Wild at Heart:  Man and Beast in Southern Africa” is organized and traveled by the National Geographic Museum at Explorers Hall. "