1990 (New York: Harry N. Abrams)
Conventional wildlife photography portrays animals in ostensibly safe and Edenic landscapes. In fact, destruction of natural habitat threatens the survival of many species, which are, in effect, alienated from the wildlands they once knew. Knowing this, James decided to show wildlife in the alien environments of portable photo studios—with fabric backgrounds and artificial lighting—that he constructed around his subjects. Studio styling is used in our culture to attach value to people and products, so by appropriating these tropes, he asserts that ancient biological forms, the products of millions of years of evolution, are precious and valuable, too. Simultaneously, this visual approach produced surprising insights into the symbolic meaning that some animals hold in the human psyche. This ground-breaking body of work inspired legions of other photographers for decades.