Survivors: Animals, 1988 - 2001

In 1987, Balog began a series of studio portraits of endangered species. Photographed between 1987 and 1997, all were classified as needing legal protection. As natural habitat destruction threatened the survival of many populations and many animals were separated from the wild nature they once knew, Balog wanted his portraits to symbolize this alienated condition, not the Edenic fantasy of animals in their natural landscapes. His photographs relied on studio styling or settings where nature was fractured by artificial, human constructions, sometimes taking inspiration from commercial fashion photography.