As a photographer for the epic BBC series Human Planet, Timothy Allen travelled with film crews for nearly two years capturing the world's most incredible human stories. Shot in more than 70 locations over the course of four years, Human Planet looks at mankind's incredible relationship with nature and how people have braved the elements, overcome obstacles, and found creative ways to survive on our planet.
"It’s been an amazing experience and one that has brought me into contact with our incredibly diverse species across almost every inhabitable environment on the planet," he says." I’m sure you won’t be too surprised to learn that I can report back that human beings are the same the world over… individuals dealing with their own versions of personal struggles to secure food, find a mate, put a roof over their heads and protect their offspring. I’m also sure that you won’t be too shocked to discover that no matter where I went in the world, doors were opened to me, food was shared with me, knowledge was exchanged freely and help was offered unconditionally."
Researching animals in the wild can be challenging, especially if it involves a rare or elusive species like the giant panda or the clouded leopard. To remedy this, scientists rely heavily on camera traps— cameras triggered with motion sensors. Left to photograph what passes in front of them, the cameras record the diversity and often times the behavior of animals around the world. The Smithsonian has brought together more than 200,000 wildlife photos from seven projects conducted by Smithsonian researchers and their colleagues into one searchable website.
“This site provides the public a glimpse of what the scientist sees when surveying remote places,” said William McShea, research wildlife biologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. “Not every photo is beautiful but every photo provides information that can be used to conserve wild animals. It is addictive to scroll through the photos at a single site and see the diversity that walks by a single camera in the forest.”
