• Age: 15
• Grade: 10

Peter Dettling first visited Canada’s internationally renowned Rocky Mountains national parks as a Swiss tourist in 1993. Immediately, he fell in love with the untouched wilderness, breathtaking landscapes, diverse flora and abundant animal life, all seemingly free from human intervention and manipulation.

With wide-eyed exuberance, Dettling moved to the heart of the Canadian Rockies in 2003, working as an artist and nature photographer. For years he documented the beauty and splendour of life in the mountains of western Canada, selling his art and photography to countless tourists and locals. In time, however, he gained insight into the realities of nature’s growing struggle against developing tourism, ill-conceived transportation routes and questionable wildlife management practices.

Through Dettling’s stunning photography and passionate narrative, The Will of the Land serves as an incredible artistic testament to the beauty of the natural world and the sometimes painful truth of hyperdevelopment in majestic landscapes, offering the reader a dynamic and broad vision of what national parks should stand for in our ever-changing world.

Peter A. Dettling is an award-winning photographer whose passion for nature has taken him from the Galapagos Islands to Canada’s far north, and from the US Grand Canyon to the Swiss Alps. His images have been published in many international magazines and books and featured in gallery shows across North America and Europe, including the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC.

Peter Dettling's profile page

The Will of the Land

The Will of the Land tells the story of the wildlife in Banff National Park and how human intervention is endangering the wildlife, not protecting it. Animals such as grizzly bears and wolves are in constant danger from automobiles and trains that pass through the parks. Dettling’s stunning photography tells the story of the rise and demise of the Bow Lake wolves, as well as the love story of two grizzly bears. The photographs and text highlight Dettling’s message to re-think the uses of Banff National Park.

Dettling has won numerous photography awards including European Nature Photographer of the Year 2008 and Banff Mountain Film & Book Festival 2006. His photographs have been published in magazines and books throughout the world.

Caution: Includes pictures of dead wildlife.