Meet photographer Landon Shackelford, a freshman Media Arts and Design major, Journalism concentration at JMU. He is excited to display an original series of photographs. Welcome to “Endangered” in Warren’s Second Floor Lounge.  

“I saved a lot of money and wanted to go on a little solo trip,” Shackelford said of his trip to Africa. After flying into Johannesburg, South Africa, he stayed in a hostel and got a job at a local school to have something to do on the weekdays. On weekends, he traveled with new friends and took lots of photos of African wildlife.   

“I really fell in love with conservation photography when I was traveling through Zambia and Zimbabwe.” Shackelford, who says he hopes to go into international correspondence work in journalism post-grad, loves the way photography can tell a story in its exact moment. “It’s something no other artform can really do. Photography is the only one that can really put you in that.” 

With these photos, Shackelford hoped to introduce his audience to Victoria Falls and the natural landscapes he visited, and then show the people and animals that live there. “A lot of the animals I chose to photograph are highly endangered,” says Shackelford. Two examples of endangered animals in his photographs are elephants and white rhinos. “It’s a unique experience to be with something that endangered and to realize the importance of protecting them... I wanted to include one photo of a person to show the full human circle and human interaction. It takes humans to protect landscapes and animals, and it’s landscapes and animals that give humans purpose in a lot of ways.” 

Shackelford most hopes that his viewers understand the importance of protecting endangered wildlife, and take away a sense of responsibility to wildlife, landscapes and one another. 

View the full collection