Emmanuel Rondeau, a French photojournalist and documentary maker specialising in wildlife protection, talks about his passion – taking images of animals, about  his trip to the Russian Far East, unique photographs of Far Eastern leopards as well as the decision taken to name an Amur tiger in his honour.

Question: Why did you decide to become a wildlife photographer?

Emmanuel Rondeau: I think it started both as a pretext for travelling around the world, for being there, alone in the wild, and as a passion for creating images. I quickly became fascinated with wildlife and the stories behind the species, and this soon turned into a desire to effect change. Images can have a great impact on people.

I started telling these stories through magazines, but beautiful photos are not enough. It’s not the point. Images and photojournalism should tell stories, propose a new and interesting view on the world around us.

I would like people who see my images to find out more about what’s happening in the animal world. I want them to see how wonderful these animals are, and I want my work to be useful. This is the most important thing: my photos are not only for entertainment or fun. For me photography or film is a means to achieve something important.

Question: What problems do wildlife photographers face in their work?

Emmanuel Rondeau: The challenge is always the same: a good photograph should tell an interesting story. There are thousands of ways to take an expressive photo, there are many ways to photograph an elephant in the African savannah. But the real problem is to show familiar things in a new light. We should try to paint an original picture of the world around us.

When working with big predators, such as tigers, panthers and others, the first problem is finding them! You have to think about technical issues, how to photograph them, how to locate the tiger in the taiga or the jaguar in the rain forest. It’s a technological and human adventure and a creative endeavour.

The danger is that you have to spend a lot of time in areas where it is difficult to get medical assistance. Add to this fatigue, when you can start doing stupid things and lose your vigilance.

Question: You have spent several months in the Far East, visited the Ussuri Nature Reserve and Land of the Leopard National Park. Did you like the local wildlife?

Emmanuel Rondeau: I love the Far East. People from all over the world dream of going there, and I was fascinated to discover the region for myself. I have always wanted to learn about the local wildlife, the animals that live there. It was very interesting that the local forests look pretty much like the forests we have in Europe, but when you look closely, you realise that everything is way different, exotic, Asian and at the same time cold and Nordic. I liked it here very much: Everything that I saw was different from how I imagined it before the trip.

Question: You planned to run a special story on the Far East. Did you succeed?

Emmanuel Rondeau: My first trip lasted two months, and I stayed at Land of the Leopard National Park the whole time. On my second trip, I visited the Ussuri Nature Reserve and took photos of tigers there. At that time, I wanted to make a short documentary and run a photo story. And I managed to do everything I planned. Of course, I encountered many problems, but a project without problems would not be a real project.

Question: Please tell us about your film Zapovednik: When Man Meets Tiger in the Taiga. What was your vision and what did it turn out to be like?

Emmanuel Rondeau: I wanted to show a situation where man and tiger resemble Asterix and Obelix living far away from the “System” and receiving no funding from major organisations. They are on their own with their problems. I wanted to show them to the world, to make them look worthy, to tell audiences about these dedicated people whose sole passion is tigers and about their love for these animals. The protagonists are very strong people who have accepted the challenge.

After I made this short film, I decided to shoot a longer 52-minute documentary that is currently being written. By the way, the short film will be released this autumn.

Question: Do you have any favourite tiger and leopard photos?

Emmanuel Rondeau: It’s always a magic moment when I take a photograph. I like the photo that made the cover of the BBC Wildlife magazine. Several seconds after taking this image, I made another photo where the leopard was very close to the camera lens. Although this photo was not on the cover, the BBC used it in the body of the article.

As for the tiger… I spent two months in one place, and I managed to take two unique photos in that time. They have not been published yet. At the last moment, I even took a photo of a previously unseen tiger. I “discovered” him, and it was decided to name that tiger Emmanuel after me. The people there thought it would be fun and a nice reminder of the French guy who spent so many weeks with them. Now this tiger named after me roams the taiga. I was lucky to take this photo in extreme conditions.