Download the Laura Crawford Williams Digital Press Kit Booklet!
Download Press KitA Labor of Love
Wildlife in Wild Lands: Photography for Wildlife Conservation in southern South America
“Our world is full of unique, fragile, and irreplaceable beauty. I wish I could protect it all. In the face of difficult times in my life, it is the natural world that healed me, helped me, calmed me, and inspired me. I remain desperate to protect it – every tiny, amazing piece of it.”
My name is Laura Crawford Williams, and I have been a professional wildlife photographer for 17 years. My photographs have been featured in National Geographic, National Wildlife, and Nature Conservancy magazines.
I am self-publishing a 244-page photography book, that assembles a wide collection of animals found in southern South America; many of them in high risk of extinction.
The book contains 150 images of 113 different wildlife species, each with corresponding caption describing behavior, conservation issues, and conservation status. It is being printed in 6 colors on soft touch Aqueous paper. The final chapter, “Between Frames”, shares the stories, experiences, and difficulties while capturing these images in the field.
This story began with a wildlife photography trip to the Pampas Grasslands of Argentina, where I was introduced to German Ambrosetti. In 2008, German became my videographer, and partner, for the next 8 years. Altogether, we traveled over 270,000 kilometers exploring the most remote areas of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, and Brazil alongside scores of conservation-minded individuals and organizations. We photographed diverse species in some of the wildest and most dramatic lands on Earth! Most of the images, have never been published, anywhere, but in this book.
In 2013, Fundación Parques Nacionales de Argentina, directed by Claudio Hirsch, Dylan Williams, and Daniel Hirsch, approached me about creating a fine art book of wildlife photography. But, as I thought more about the project, it became clear to me that the photographs were merely the result of a much larger story. Conservation efforts are often rewarded with little financial compensation, despite the extraordinary amount of time spent and effort made by those committed to preserving the beauty of our planet. The commitment of these champions is truly an altruistic and wholehearted labor of love! This book, celebrates these individuals, as well as, my experiences working with them.
In dedication to Doug Tompkins…
In 2008, I had the good fortune of meeting Kris and Doug Tompkins of the Tompkins Conservation. These outstanding wild lands philanthropists invited us to explore areas that the foundation is working so diligently to protect. When Doug heard about the book, he offered to write the foreword. Sadly, he died before he could write it. The death of this remarkable, ecological visionary, is beyond tragic. We wish to honor his legacy, in our small way, by dedicating this book to him, in gratitude for all he has done for conservation.
Argentina’s current President, Mauricio Macri, generously offered to write the foreword in Doug’s place. I am honored to have the President helping us with this project.
The goal of this project is to print 2,750 copies in 3 editions: Hardcover with a dust jacket, softcover, and a special edition. The special edition includes the hard cover with a dust jacket, protective case, red ribbon bookmark, and hand stitching in the colors of the Argentinean flag.
We are professionals. We are volunteers. This is our mission. Conservation is a mission we feel passionately about, and this is a story worth telling… It is our Labor of Love.