Long Lens: Chris Slappendel, Netherlands
In our Long Lens feature, we ask our members about a long-term project or photo essay they are working on. We want to encourage and discover the passion behind a portrait series or an essay that tells a story or highlights a social issue.
In 2013 photographer and founder of the Tiger Trail Foundation, Chris Slappendel traveled to 24 Asian countries where tigers once lived or still live to raise an awareness for tiger conservation. During his trip, he experienced the worship of the tiger, and their exploitation. He found that even the locals were unaware of the issues happening in their own backyard.
Chris spoke with more than 50 media outlets and hundreds of people about poaching, loss of habitat, palm oil and corruption, but also on lesser known subjects like tiger farming in China and tiger tourism in Thailand. By traveling to these countries and talking directly to people involved with tiger conservation, he gained invaluable insight into the plight of these creatures.
In November 2013, he returned to the Netherlands and is currently working on several new projects. One is focusing on legislation to end the breeding of white tigers, a program funded and profited by organized crime. His other project is getting corporations that use the name or likeness of the tiger in their branding or marketing to commit to save tigers by having them invest one percent of their annual turnover to tiger conservation. He is currently in talks with Tiger Air and Tiger Beer.
See more of Chris' photos in his Your Shot gallery.
Participate in our Hashtag Challenge and upload your Big Cats photos here.
