Places Of Wonder and Discovery is the first book from OUR PLACE, the world’s largest ever World Heritage photography project. Launched at Photokina in September, Places Of Wonder and Discovery is the first of a series of 10 books based on the collection. All OUR WORLD photographers use the Panasonic Lumix DMC L1, L10, FZ50 and LX2 digital cameras.

Our Place Press Release

The world’s largest ever World Heritage photography project, OUR PLACE, the World Heritage Collection, will launch its first book at Photokina 2008. The book, Places Of Wonder and Discovery is the first of a series of 10 based on the collection

The OUR PLACE project, launched in June 2006, has now photographed more than 200 of the World’s 851 most significant cultural and natural sites and is an official Unesco World Heritage partner.

Behind the project is New Zealand photographer and film maker Geoff Steven. He leads a team of 16 photographers across the globe and between them they are building the first official World Heritage photographic databank. Included in the team are US landscape photographer David Muench; Icelandic photographer Pall Stefansson, Brazilian photographer Rogerio Reis and nature specialist Tui De Roy. Already the team’s photographers have shot in 58 countries, from Uzbekistan to the Democratic Republic of Korea, suffered altitude sickness; tick disease, snow blizzards and dust storms travelled by bike, camel and donkey,  in some of the more adverse conditions possible to be experienced by any photographer and gear.

Steven’s background started with still photography but went on to embrace films- one of which, a New Zealand classic Skin Deep received international acclaim and a 30 year career in television as a producer and director—and as the head of commissioning of New Zealand’s largest TV channel.

Through that time he had always remained a stills photographer with a fine arts leaning. His work led to one-man shows in Sweden, Auckland, and at the Nikon Photo Salon, Tokyo. But it was while living in Paris, and developing television programmes for a French network, that he came upon the work of the UNESCO World Heritage programme. Under the World Heritage convention of 1972 protocols were established to identify the cultural and natural sites of the world which were deemed to be “irreplaceable sources of life an inspiration.” 
There are 851 of them in 141 countries. All are under risk to some extent—but more than 30 are threatened by war, deforestation, or in the case of most of the world’s game parks, poaching.

Steven approached UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre with an idea: Why not set up a high quality photographic database which would promote and help make people aware of the World’s Heritage?  Ten months later, with a formal partnership established, Panasonic came into the picture

Steven reasoned that if a team of photographers around the world were to have consistent work, why not use one brand of camera. Panasonic were interested and stepped in as the project’s sponsors and supplier of all the digital equipment. After a two year contract, the company has just confirmed its renewal for a second, three-year backing of the project.

The photographers come from countries as far apart as Iceland, Brazil and Australia.  All the photographers have a broad photojournalism experience.  Each has to be able to go into a location, and regardless of any difficulties with such things as seasonal differences, come up with 100 plus viable images in the space of a few days.

Photographers use the Lumix DMC L1, the L10, the FZ50 and the LX2

The first OUR PLACE book, Places of Wonder and Discovery, will be followed by others in the series, then a number of television items.

For more information on the project and to view the photographs, go to: http://www.ourplaceworldheritage.com

For more information email [email protected]

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