At 33, Daniel Petrescu, born in Letea, in the Danube Delta, an ornithologist by profession, organized at Sutu Palace in Bucharest his first photographic exhibition, entitled rather plainly Snapshots from Nature. It was in October 2006. A month later, the superb images of the Danube Delta went to Zurich as The Mysterious Delta. Daniel Petrescu's life as a nature enthusiast combines hiking, research and the photographic art. "I believe mankind or the human face cannot compete with the diversity of wildlife," he says. An analysis of his photographs of nature reveals a lucid artist who delves deep into nature's mysteries, waits patiently, captures meticulously, always careful to observe the specifics. "Unless you love what you see," he says, "you can't photograph." He still believes in black-and-white photography, even when targeting a landscape. His greatest passion, though, remains the Danube Delta birds, caught on film in all their splendor and fragility. One of his favorites is photographing herons: "their perfect plumage and big eyes are simply fascinating." Daniel Petrescu steadfastly loves both his profession and his hobby, being at the same time an active supporter of ecological actions. Additionally, in his role as a partner in the IBIS Bird-watching Tours tour agency, he became concerned with the side-effects of today's tourism in the area: "The pressure of tourism is great, but it can be controlled if we want to," he says, pertinently. "I would like to give nature back at least a part of what its beauty gave me… Many ecological disasters are not yet punishable under the current legislation. We still need education, law enforcement, the financial empowerment of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve." An innate traveler, Daniel Petrescu is often attracted back to the magical place where he was born, where his finger "cannot help pressing the shutter button: it's a place that can fill up tens of gigabytes' worth of hard disks in a few days, a place so diverse and compelling that as soon as you leave it you're wrapped in sadness." One day, perhaps, all his traveling may come to light in the form of a diary as well, such as those left by Emil Racovita, Grigore Antipa or J. Y. Cousteau. Until then, the readers of Plural may enjoy a bunch of exquisite photographs signed Daniel Petrescu.
by Aurora Fabritius
