Born in Germany in 1958, Joachim Schmeisser is best known for his major photographic series he has done in East Africa – his iconic portraiture of Elephants – especially the Orphan Elephants at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya. He started this project in 2009 – during a stopover on a trip to the mountain gorillas in Rwanda and the Hadzabe in Tanzania. Everything changed once he found himself surrounded by these baby elephants and his short travel break turned into a wonderful friendship and terrific project. It is still ongoing even today and has become a matter close to his heart. In 2012, Joachim Schmeisser won the prestigious Hasselblad Award for this work. In 2017 his book »Elephants in Heaven« was launched by the German Publisher teNeues and sold out within 4 months. His next book „The Last Of Their Kind“ will be published in Spring 2021 by teNeues.
Joachim Schmeisser's intention is to show the beauty and uniqueness of our planet and to increase sensitivity for a topic that concerns us all. "I see the photos of the elephants as portraits of individuals who are our equals – far removed from spectacular wildlife photography. What interests me is what lies beneath the surface, out of sight, the quite yet intense encounters. I‘d like you to see the images as a window into a fascinating world, where everything is connected to everything else. Protecting this nature is my most important mission."
