The cover of the April 2019 issue of the Royal Photographic Society’s Journal advertises ‘Nicholas J R White: A journey into the Romanian Wilderness’. The article (pp. 250-56) is an interview with Tom Seymour about White’s Carpathia, documenting the efforts to develop a wilderness reserve in Romania’s Carpathian Mountains.
To enable him to undertake the project, in
2017 he was awarded an RPS/The Photographic Angle Environmental Awareness
Bursary. An enthusiast for the concept
of rewilding, he worked with the Foundation Conservation Carpathia (FCC), a
group of dedicated rangers who are attempting to undo the deleterious effects
of logging and hunting to create a rich habitat for wildlife.
Patrols to deter illegal hunting and
logging go hand-in-hand with the restoration of the landscape, constituting the
largest rewilding undertaking in Europe.
To understand how the rangers work he visited them a number of times,
including in winter, and built a strong relationship.
He recorded them with a large-format
camera as they went about their daily activities, careful not to disrupt their
routine even when he was unclear precisely what they were doing. As well as accompanying the rangers, he used
motion-sensor cameras to capture nocturnal images of the wildlife.
White says the rangers were pleased he was
not there to record traces of the country’s turbulent past but wanted to convey
a positive image highlighting the country’s beauty. He notes that rewilding is not merely about
the love of the outdoors: there are economic implications, with agriculture and
construction dependent on a sustainable ecosystem.
We hear much about the despoliation of the
Carpathian forests, less about the endeavours of groups like the FCC to combat
it in the face of difficult odds.
White’s admiration for their dedication is clear. Their work deserves to be better known, and
he has done a valuable job in promoting it.
More information on White’s Carpathia can be found on his website:
https://www.nicholasjrwhite.co.uk/work/carpathia
An article on White’s project appeared in
the New York Times, 15 March 2021,
‘The Making of a “European Yellowstone”’.
