Endangered Stamping Grounds Postal Issue Focuses On Rare Animals

The U.S. Postal Service has put its stamp of approval on protecting endangered species.

Fifteen animals found on the federal endangered species list are featured on a sheet of 32-cent stamps released this month.

“We hope these beautiful images will increase awareness of these at-risk animals, and other endangered species,” said Postmaster General Marvin Runyon.

The wildlife include black-footed ferret, thick-billed parrot, Hawaiian monk seal, American crocodile, ocelot, Schaus swallowtail butterfly, Wyoming toad, brown pelican, California condor, Gila trout, San Francisco garter snake, woodland caribou, Florida panther, piping plover and Florida manatee.

The Colorado-based photographer commissioned to produced the art for the stamp series took an approach notably different from standard wildlife photography.

“I consider my work to be an interface between humans and nature,” said James Balog, 44, who’s photographed wildlife all over the world for publications such as National Geographic.

“I didn’t see this work as wildlife pictures per se, but rather portraits of wild animals.

“I’ve sat in the Serengeti for a year to get the feel of the wildlife in its natural setting, but that’s not what I’m doing with these pictures.”

Balog said he pursued and choreographed each photo in a controlled situation. The woodland caribou, for instance, lives in the Selkirk Mountains of North Idaho and northeastern Washington, as well as in the northeast corner of the United States.

But Balog’s stunning photo of the woodland caribou was made using a captive bull at Northwest Trek nature park near Tacoma.

“I was very focused about what I wanted to do,” Balog said. “I wanted simple backgrounds, trying to help the viewer focus on the aesthetic qualities of the animal in a way you achieve when looking in nature and seeing all the surrounding ambient environment.”

The photos were staged, as Balog puts it, “using the conventions of fashion photography to enhance the aesthetics of the animal.”

Some professional outdoor photographers frown on photographing captive wildlife in non-natural settings.

Balog has another view.

“Our society is conditioned to looking at perfume bottles and pretty girls in bikinis enhanced with carefully choreographed poses and lighting to make a statement - or a sale.

“The way I see it, in our consumer society, we use this sort of photography all the time to elevate the meaningless to the status of priceless.

“I’m just using the same techniques to bring the truly priceless things on this planet to public attention.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo