Indonesia’s Sumatran orangutan is under severe threat from the incessant and ongoing depletion and fragmentation of the rainforest. As palm oil and rubber plantations, logging, road construction, mining, hunting continue to proliferate, orangutans are being forced out of their natural rainforest habitat. Organizations rescue orangutans in difficulty (lost, injured, captive...) with the final goal to reintroduce them into the wild and to create genetically viable populations in protected forests. Today, with 14,000 specimens left, the Sumatran orangutan is listed as critically endangered.
Belgian photojournalist Alain Schroeder has been working in the industry for over four decades. First as a sports photographer in the 80s, then shooting books and editorial pieces in art and human stories. In 2013, he uprooted his life, trading-in his shares in Reporters, to pursue life on the road with a camera. He now travels the world shooting stories focusing on social issues and people. «I am not a single shot photographer. I think in series,» he says adding, «I strive to tell a story in 10-15 pictures, capturing the essence of an instant with a sense of light and framing.»
Awards: Nikon Japan, Nikon Belgium, Felix-Schoeller, TPOTY, Istanbul Photo, Days Japan, Trieste Photo, PX3, IPA, MIFA, BIFA, PDN, the Fence, Lens Culture, Siena, POYI and World Press Photo.
