Seeing It All: Women Photographers Expose Our Planet

Eleven female photographers capture an “interconnected planet” on the brink of environmental disaster in this riveting collection compiled by Rubinstein (editor of Wonders), cofounder of the BigPicture Natural Photography Competition. The images depict a Technicolor sunset over melting Arctic icebergs; endangered coral reefs and the marine life that depend on them; and animal parents caring for their young (images that can “crack the hardest hearts wide, and make people care,” says photographer Suzi Eszterhas). Elsewhere, contributors document the abuses inflicted upon animals for profit, including animal trafficking in Africa, and the legal but cruel practices of industrial farming—pigs holed up in cramped living spaces; genetically modified chickens physically unable to stand. While unrelenting in its focus on humanity’s “crimes against nature,” the collection also spotlights the inspiring work of conservationists, as in Jen Guyton’s photos of pangolin rescue teams in Mozambique. Full of showstopping, full-color photos, this compendium gives due to trailblazing photographers who’ve made their mark in a field historically dominated by men, and who often take great risks to document environmental injustice. Urgent and visually arresting, this is hard to look away from. (Oct.)