Portraits of Personalities

Heinz Plenge's incredible closeness to nature allows him to talk to animals without saying a word and reveal their stories through his photographs. He creates real portraits of animals expressing their emotions and feelings and capturing their gaze and attitude like with human (portraits), transforming them into real personalities. A portrait is in fact the representation of the inner world, history and character of an individual through the external appearance.

This story groups images of various animals taken by Heinz Plenge, each one expressing the profound relationship the photographer has with the animal world and their natural environment. Through the beauty and messages of these images Heinz Plenge wants to contribute to the preservation of natural heritage.

With this shot of an Adélie Penguin gazing at its delicate habitat, the photographer wants to highlight the importance of the endemic territory of animals.

During a visit in the Yellowstone National Park, this deer approached Heinz Plenge and stopped at only a few meters making eye / lens contact with him. This is possible only thanks to Heinz Plenge's calm and respectful presence and shows once more the deep connection he manages to create with animals.

The Marvelous Spatuletail (Loddigesia Mirabilis) is a rare species of hummingbird which can be found only in a small area of northern Peru, mainly in the valley of the Utcubamba River in the Amazonas Department. They are are extremely difficult to spot as they are very fast, small and rare.

This is an incredible expressive portrait of a rare example of a Huapo Rojo (red-faced monkey) living in the southern Amazons region of Peru. When looking at him you can see expressions and emotions that are more likely in human portraits.

The animal became confident with the presence of Heinz Plenge and slowly approached the camera with a curious and relaxed attitude. This allowed to create a silent and profound connection between the two, demonstrating a mutual understanding among different primates.

This Inca butterfly lives in the Amazon forest and has amazing wings with transparent, glass-like windows through which it is possible to see the foliage. The windows are surrounded by a velvety surface.

The species has been considered extinct because of extensive hunting and the loss of natural habitat. The Chaparrì Ecological Reserve allowed these birds to repopulate, providing a save restoration of their habitat .

The giant Galapagos Tortoise is a truly ancient animal species that is still alive today. Its slow movement and very old age, suggest a reflection about longevity, evolution and survival of wild life.

The area of Chaparrí in northern Peru hosts the largest population of Spectacled bears (Andean Bear) in South America. They are the only living species of bear native to South America and follow mainly a vegetarian diet.

Heinz Plenge was canoeing inside the Manu National Park (Peru) with a group of people, when suddenly a Jaguar appeared and just for a fraction of a second turned his head and looked right into the eyes and the lens of the photographer. The distance between the canoe and the animal was less than 10 meters, less than what a Jaguar needs to attack and kill.