Gifted photographer Tim Flach takes gorgeous portraits of animals on the brink of extinction like the Crowned Sifaka Lemur above. Flach’s photos feel personal, and they create an undeniable connection between the viewer and the subject. The haunted expressions he captures make it hard to feel removed from the animals’ plights, and that’s exactly what they’re supposed to do.

“I accept that it is certainly easy to see my work as anthropomorphic, to think that I have endeavoured to make them look like us, but I am actually far more interested in the notion of anthropocentrism; how we humans centre ourselves in relation to animals, and make ourselves the centre of our worlds. In a compositional sense, I will want to lead people to the most empathetic details.”

Flach says he enjoys the controlled chaos of shooting animals. I’d love to see video of him trying to get these creatures to behave and sit still long enough to capture their inner selves the way he does. I’ll bet that’s a really fun job!

Flach’s book of photos, Endangered, can be purchased on Amazon. You can also check out all of Flach’s stunning photos on his website.

All images property of Tim Flach.