What if wildlife photography could capture more than the beauty of an animal, and instead reveal a fleeting moment of connection between two living beings? The most powerful photographs can make us pause long enough to see animals not simply as subjects, but as "sentient, emotional, and intelligent beings."
It’s this sense of connection that lies at the heart of Swedish fine art photographer Björn Persson’s work, as he captures the character, presence, and emotional world of the animals he encounters.
There is something deeply intimate about the way Björn shares his vision of the natural world. In September 2019, he published The Real Owners of the Planet, opening up a body of work that felt both deeply personal and vulnerable. It was also an opportunity to share that vision with people who have devoted their lives to understanding and protecting nature, including Sir David Attenborough and Jane Goodall, whom Björn had the chance to meet and personally give his photography books to. Now, on September 8, 2026, he is opening that world up once again with the worldwide release of his new book, The Earth We Share, featuring a preface by Dr. Jane Goodall and a foreword by Ellen DeGeneres.
Explore a selection of Björn’s wildlife photography below, and discover the remarkable animals, landscapes, and fleeting moments of connection that make his work so captivating.
His connection to wildlife has taken him around the world, but Kenya holds a particularly special place in his heart. With its open plains and incredible abundance of wildlife, he describes it as a place where he feels as though his “soul has wings.”
One encounter with a white rhino perhaps captures this approach better than any words could. After slowly approaching the animal on foot and patiently sitting in the grass nearby, Björn eventually found himself just over a meter away.
The rhino, curious about the unfamiliar visitor, reached out and touched his camera with its horn. For Björn, it became an unforgettable moment of connection, and one that made him feel “part of something greater than [myself].”
