Marc Albiac

Canon Ambassador Marc Albiac's artistic ability and fieldcraft skills have seen him achieve world-class nature shots from an early age, including an image that turned the heads of the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition judges when he was just 14 years old.

Born in 1999 in Barcelona, Spain, Marc was just five when he first picked up a Canon PowerShot G2. By the age of seven, he was making his own images with his father's Canon EOS 30D. His dad, a keen photographer, encouraged Marc's fledgling talent.

"When I was a child, even before I started to walk, I used to go with my parents to the mountains to try to see ibex, chamois and other animals," says Marc. "My father liked photographing them, so when I became older, I started to use his old cameras and began learning from him. Almost all I know is thanks to my father and what he has taught me over the years, and of course practising every time I had the chance in the field."

The following year, Marc was a finalist in the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest in the 15-17 Years category with his shot of a jumping genet set against a starry night sky. In 2017, he was again shortlisted in this category, this time for an atmospheric image of wild boar trotting over a zebra crossing in Barcelona. The latter image also won first prize in the Man and Nature category in the 2017 Montier Festival Photo competition.

"Two of my most awarded photos are the result of two successful projects," says Marc. "I spent several months working to get the photos I had in mind. I consider the image of the family of wild boars crossing a road to be my best photograph."

The 21-year-old now collaborates with Canon Professional Services in Spain, has spoken about his work at some of the most important nature fairs in his home country, and led photography workshops.

"I really enjoy doing workshops," says Marc. "Not only to be helpful to people who are interested in my advice and want to improve their images, but because I learn as well. Speaking with other people gives you good ideas for new projects or new images."

His passion for nature led him to study environmental biology at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), sharpening his knowledge of the subjects he hopes to help protect through his photography.

"My studies help me understand how animals live and coexist in their environments in a more scientific way," says Marc. At university, he has also found inspiration for other groups of animals that he would like to photograph in the future. "All types of marine animals, vertebrates and also invertebrates interest me," he says. "Oceans are the origin of life and at present are home to lots of different animals from sponges to the blue whale, the largest animal ever known to have existed. I would love to explore and photograph the marine world.

"The natural world is unique, and it is our duty to protect it," he adds. "All types of life forms have their own scientific and natural value. It would be the biggest goal in my career as a wildlife photographer if some of my images were to help with the protection and conservation of nature."

What has been the most challenging species to photograph, in your experience?

"The Iberian wolf. It took two years before I observed one in the wild. I did fieldwork searching for their footprints and waited many hours in different spots without any luck. I had put out trail cameras to track where they walk. Then, in the summer of 2020, after spending a lot of time in the mountains without seeing any movement, I had three sightings. The wolves' intelligence, how their packs are structured, the difficulty of seeing them, and the shortage of photos of them in the wild, in my opinion, make the Iberian wolf one of the most amazing animals to photograph."



What fieldcraft skills have been essential to you as a wildlife photographer?

"Knowing how to find the signals of the animals you want to photograph such as footprints or latrines is a key skill. It is important, for example, for tracking down carnivorous mammals that are nocturnal and therefore less active during the day. Those signals are how we can commonly know that a spot we are looking in has the type of animal we are searching for. Also, if we know that there is a species of interest in a certain place, locating the footprints means we can, in theory, know which paths the subjects use."



What is your attitude towards post-processing?

"Normally I do not spend a lot of time on post-processing. Wildlife photos have to be as natural as possible while always playing with creativity. You have to be able to have the image as finished as you can in-camera."



What are your ambitions as a photographer?

"As a professional, I have not thought yet, but I would like to travel as much as I can. I'd like to visit new places in the Iberian Peninsula and find new subjects to photograph."

Marc Albiac