Frans Lanting: The Evolution of LIFE

Nearly a decade ago, inspired by NASA’s iconic images of planet Earth and the mind-bending vastness of evolution, eminent nature photographer Frans Lanting was struck with an ambitious idea: Tell the story of life on Earth through pictures. What ensued was a years-long project that took Lanting and his wife, Christine Eckstrom, across the globe to capture images that would take people on a journey from the Big Bang to the present. They shot lava eruptions, micro-organisms too tiny to see with the naked eyes, squishy sea invertebrates, rodents, apes and, finally, humans. Frans Lanting: The Evolution of LIFE chronicles the project and its humbling conclusion that we’re all players in a tableau of interconnectedness. “The realization that we are all related is truly profound,” Frans says. “And that’s an awesome realization as we’re hurtling through space on this tiny living planet.”