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Meet the talented National Geographic photographers whose images you see on this site
Virtually every photo you see on this website and in our brochures, advertising, and emails was shot by our talented expedition photographers (with some exceptions, such as a new geography requiring images not in our library) and depict wildlife, vistas, or events that guests aboard experienced as well. Meet the talented National Geographic photographers, Lindblad-National Geographic certified photo instructors, and passionate naturalists responsible for the inspiring images in our photo library. It is through their talent and hard work that we are able to share the wonders of the wild world with so many people.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
José Guerrero Vela is an Ecuadorian permanent resident of the Galapagos. His mother was born in the islands and his grandfather was one of the first generation of teachers in the Galapagos, which has always inspired him to promote education as the main path to protect the archipelago.
National Geographic Photographer
Photojournalist and filmmaker Nick Cobbing aims to highlight themes of science and natural history through personal stories. A native of the United Kingdom, Nick frequently works in Antarctica and the Arctic, and has accompanied scientists on research expeditions based on icebreaker ships or even camped on the Arctic ice. His story on the future of Arctic sea ice appeared in the January 2016 issue of National Geographic magazine. He has also worked for media brands like GEO (Germany), The Sunday Times Magazine, and the BBC. Nick’s work has been exhibited and screened worldwide in galleries and at festivals, as well as to policymakers in the U.S. Congress and the Stockholm Parliament.
National Geographic Photographer
Gianluca Colla has traveled and photographed around the world, from the Arctic Circle to Africa’s deserts and from the Amazon to the streets of London. He has covered a diverse range of topics including the secrets of the longest-living centenarians in the world, a lost Da Vinci painting, and hidden mummies in Sicilian crypts. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including National Geographic magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, Newsweek, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.
National Geographic Photographer
Based in French Polynesia and Portland, Oregon, Josh Humbert specializes in photographing marine environments and focuses his work on images that tell a deeper story for conservation. In 2014, Josh documented a digital story for National Geographic about the conservation thread surrounding Tahitian pearl farming. Having arrived there at the age of two, he is deeply connected to Tahitian culture and custom and has been involved in pearl farming for over 25 years through his own family's pearl farm in the northern Tuamotus. Humbert’s professional career began by shooting photos swimming amid the surfing waves of Tahiti. Josh’s love for and ease in the water infuses his work, and his ability to get close to fish on breath-hold allows him to capture unique angles and content. Humbert is also a current world record holder spearfisherman. Josh’s images are represented by the National Geographic Image Collection and have appeared in numerous magazines and books worldwide. Humbert additionally provides work for conservation NGOs and civil engineering firms across the Pacific Northwest in Oregon and Washington.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Doug grew up hunting in the woods and fields of Iowa before moving to Montana where he developed a deep appreciation for the fragility and beauty of nature and he put away guns and picked up a camera.
National Geographic Photographer
Robin Moore is a photographer and naturalist with awards from Nature's Best, American Photo, National Geographic Traveler, and Wildlife Photographer of the Year. His images are displayed in the National Geographic Fine Art Galleries and have appeared in the pages of publications that include National Geographic magazine, National Geographic books, the New York Times, Newsweek, and TIME. His images are represented by National Geographic Creative.
National Geographic Photographer
Travel writer and photographer Christopher P. Baker has been hailed by National Geographic as: “One of the world's leading authorities on Cuba travel and culture.” He has written and photographed six books about Cuba, including the best-selling Moon Cuba and National Geographic Traveler Cuba guidebooks, plus Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro's Cuba and the coffee-table book Cuba Classics: A Celebration of Vintage American Automobiles.
National Geographic Photographer
Photographer Cristina Mittermeier dedicates her life to creating images that help us understand the urgent need to protect wild places. Born in Mexico, Cristina first discovered her insatiable passion for the natural world, both above and below the surface, as a marine biologist working in the Gulf of California and Yucátan Peninsula. From there, it didn’t take long for her to realize that she could make a bigger impact on how people see the world, and connect to it, through the lens of her camera than through data on spreadsheets. Specializing in conservation issues surrounding the ocean and indigenous cultures, Mittermeier has worked in more than 100 countries on every continent in the world.
National Geographic Photographer
In a career spanning 40 years, Ken Garrett has photographed more than 60 feature stories for National Geographic and National Geographic Traveler magazines. His work has also appeared in Smithsonian, Air and Space, Archaeology, Fortune, Forbes, Time, Life, Audubon, Geo Germany, National Wildlife and Natural History magazines, among others. With an academic background in anthropology, Ken has documented ancient cultures, archaeological sites, and dramatic landscapes worldwide.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
R. Aaron Raymond started his career as an underwater photographer, which blossomed from his love of the ocean. He grew up on a sailboat diving for abalone off the coast of California. He loves to photograph landscapes, nature, and wildlife—anything that allows him to capture fleeting moments and showcase the interaction of light and the natural world. Aaron has photographed life on all sides of the planet, from the depths of Madagascar’s oceans to the heights of the Himalayas, which he crested at 18,500 feet via motorcycle.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Patricio, better known as Pato amongst his friends, was born in the Galápagos Island. His family moved to the islands from the mainland and settled on the island of Santa Cruz over thirty-five years ago. Pato had an enchanted childhood in the islands, where his keen interest in the wildlife of the Galápagos was born initially through catching lizards and observing how they lost their tails. His experiences in the islands have led him to teach visitors about the need to protect this rare and unique environment.
National Geographic Photographer
Kiliii Yüyan is an award-winning photographer who specializes in Arctic photography and indigenous issues. Kiliii is both Siberian Native and Chinese-American, and he has traveled across the polar regions working with indigenous cultures and wildlife. On assignment, he has fled collapsing sea ice, chased fin whales in Greenland, and found kinship at the edges of the world.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Jeff is an environmental filmmaker and adventure cinematographer. His passion for adventure has led him through rural Kenyan villages, atop erupting Guatemalan volcanoes and to the enchanted Galápagos Islands to film Hammerhead Sharks. Being an expedition filmmaker enables Jeff to combine his love for capturing beauty with his drive to protect the environment. In the words of Jacques Cousteau, “people protect what they love.” Inspired, Jeff created UGENA.org, the United Global Environmental News Agency, an online resource to inspire people to care about the environment.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
For more than 20 years David Jaffe has guided and taught a variety of audiences about our natural world and our connection with it. His childhood interest in natural systems eventually brought him to Evergreen State College where he earned a B.S. in Environmental Studies and Geology, followed by a M.S in Applied Ecology from the University of Vermont. Mingling an academic background with experience working around the world in exceptionally diverse environments, he is able to efficiently observe, understand, and interpret natural and cultural history.
National Geographic Photographer
Stephen Alvarez is an award-winning National Geographic photographer and filmmaker who produces global stories about exploration, adventure, culture and archeology. He has published over a dozen feature stories in National Geographic magazine, traveling on assignment from the highest peaks in the Andes to some of the world's deepest caves. Stephen is also a frequent consultant and commentator on how new photographic technology is changing the world. He embarked on a project to photograph the Seven Natural Wonders of the World with Microsoft Smartphones in 2016 (nationalgeographic.com/Microsoft/SevenWonders), which included chasing the Aurora Borealis across the Arctic Circle. More recently, Stephen traveled Iceland’s Southern Coast as the National Geographic/Canon digital nomad. His latest National Geographic story on the Origins of Art led from early human sites on the southern coast of Africa to Paleolithic art caves in France and Spain.
National Geographic Photographer
A documentary and fine art photographer, as well as commercial fisherman, Corey Arnold has been working and photographing on the Bering Sea since he first landed a job on a King crab fishing boat in 2002. He now captains a commercial salmon fishing operation during the summer in Bristol Bay, Alaska, and continues to explore man’s relationship with nature in the Bering Sea wilderness with his camera. His vast experience visiting remote Alaskan outposts and native villages surrounding the Bering Sea and many years of sea time working on fishing boats has given him a unique perspective and insider knowledge of the region and its inhabitants.
National Geographic Photographer
Jason Edwards has been at the forefront of natural history photography for three decades. A passion for animals and the environment defines his extensive career. Since embarking on that career at the Royal Melbourne Zoo, Jason has been recognized globally for his contributions to science, the environment, and the arts. Among other accolades, he is a two-time winner of the Eureka Prize for Science Photography, three-time winner of Communication Arts Photography Annual, two-time winner of the ProMax Golden Muse, and winner of the Australian Geographic Society's Pursuit of Excellence Award.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Andrew was born in Adelaide, South Australia and (mis)spent his youth surfing and kayaking in the ocean, as is the case for many Aussies! After graduating from medical school there, Andrew spent a year working as a surgical resident in Santa Barbara, California where he was introduced to rock climbing. Taking up this new activity with a passion, he began to explore the mountainous regions of the world and volunteered his medical skills in Nepal and India where he has since led numerous treks. After documenting his experiences there on slide film, Andrew began contributing photos to what was then the Lonely Planet image library, and thus began a ‘sideline career’ using the creative side of his brain.
National Geographic Photographer
During his eight years on the National Geographic staff, travel and conservation photographer Jonathan Irish launched and directed the National Geographic Adventures program, bringing travelers and photographers around the world on active adventures.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Emily grew up in Niwot, Colorado and Pullman, Washington. Her love of nature began as a child during family vacations spent hiking, camping and exploring the mountains and deserts of the west. In contrast to her outdoors interests, Emily pursued an intensive young career as a classical violinist, culminating in degrees in history and music performance at the University of Washington.
National Geographic Photographer
Krystle Wright is an adventure photographer, cinematographer, and director from Australia, although she now lives a semi-nomadic lifestyle in her quest to capture and present unique moments from extreme sports, expeditions, and adventures across the globe. National Geographic lists Krystle as one of the leading female adventure photographers who is pushing the limits in the industry. The world has no boundaries, and she will do whatever it takes to shoot from her unique perspective–whether hanging from precarious positions on remote cliff edges, swimming through jagged, unexplored canyons, or trudging for days through baleful weather. For Wright, it’s about that final experience–capturing a fleeting moment, sharing a treasured insight, telling incredible stories about impassioned endeavors that might otherwise go undocumented.
National Geographic Photographer
For over a decade Andy Mann has been a forerunner in the world of adventure film and conservation photography. His work is helping to tell the story of our rapidly changing planet, focusing heavily on ocean conservation and water issues on all seven continents for National Geographic magazine and National Geographic’s Pristine Seas, Sea Legacy, Wildlife Conservation Society, and more. His images are represented by Nat Geo Creative.
National Geographic Photographer
Massimo Bassano has worked as a freelance photojournalist since 1990. His work appears in National Geographic Traveler and National Geographic online edition, as well as many publications throughout Europe. Massimo's photographic subjects know no bounds—his recent assignments have covered social issues, international travel, fitness and health, fashion, and portraiture. In 2004, he was awarded a Ph.D. in journalism from the Italian Association of Journalism.
National Geographic Photographer
Over two-plus decades as National Geographic contributing photographers, Diane Cook and Len Jenshel have shot more than ten feature articles for National Geographic magazine and many more for National Geographic Traveler. Their work spans nature and beauty, culture, the environment, and science, and is represented in more than 100 major museum collections worldwide.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Michael Nolan was born in Bitburg, Germany to an Air Force family stationed there. His first experience of the ocean came at age 12, when he learned to snorkel in the Italian Mediterranean. At age 17 he moved to Tucson, Arizona and became a PADI SCUBA instructor, before starting a SCUBA diving business that specialized in diving trips to the Sea of Cortez.
National Geographic Photographer
Wildlife photojournalist, filmmaker, and field biologist Tim Laman uses his cameras as tools for telling the stories of rare and endangered wildlife, and revealing some of Earth’s wildest places. He has published more than 20 feature stories in National Geographic magazine and worked on films for the National Geographic Channel, BBC, and Netflix. Since earning his Ph.D. from Harvard for pioneering research in Borneo’s rainforest canopy, Tim often spends many months a year on expeditions to study and photograph the biodiversity of Earth’s richest realms–from working in extreme environments such as the rainforest canopy in Borneo to the coral reefs of Papua, and from mountain peaks in New Guinea to the seas of Antarctica.
National Geographic Photographer
Todd Gipstein has been a photographer, writer, producer, and lecturer for more than 40 years. He has worked with National Geographic since 1987. For many years, he was the Geographic’s Director of Multi-Image and an Executive Producer of Media. His photographs have been published in National Geographic and Traveler magazines and in many books. His award-winning documentaries for the Geographic have dealt with a diverse range of topics, including photography, nature, the environment, history, exploration, travel, and National Geographic itself.
National Geographic Photographer
Wildlife filmmaker and photographer Bertie Gregory has channeled his childhood obsession with wildlife into photography. Photos from this obsession earned him recognition early on in his career, including being named a National Geographic Young Explorer, Youth Outdoor Photographer of the Year, and Zenith Scientific Exploration Society Explorer.
National Geographic Photographer
A climber and visual storyteller, Cory Richards was named National Geographic Adventurer of the Year in 2012. Through his work in some of the planet's most remote places, he has carved a niche as a leading editorial and expedition photographer. Cory’s camera has taken him from the controlled and complex studio to the wild and remote corners of Asia, Africa, Pakistan, and the South Pacific—all in the attempt to capture not only the soul of adventure and exploration, but the beauty inherent in our modern society. Cory’s photography has appeared in National Geographic magazine, Outside, and the New York Times, and his film work has won awards at nearly every major adventure film festival, including the grand prize at the Banff Mountain Film Festival.
National Geographic Photographer
Kelley is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker and explorer focusing on issues of conservation and wildlife crime. Three of Kelley documentaries have been featured on the cover of National Geographic magazine, including the Emmy-nominated “Warlords of Ivory,” and he is a producer and correspondent for National Geographic Channel’s flagship documentary series, “EXPLORER.” From being a director on the Bering Sea’s “Deadliest Catch” to leading the exclusive coverage of the tomb of Christ being opened for the first time in 800 years, Kelley’s countless expeditions and work for National Geographic all began when he decided—at age 19—to load his pickup truck up with camping gear and drive from the lower 48 up to Seward, Alaska.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Sue has been creating wildlife, landscape, and travel photos for over 30 years, traveling to over 90 countries on all seven continents. She has combined this passion with an unusual career that includes being an Engineer Officer with the Royal Air Force in the U.K. and taking on various executive roles in the technology companies of Silicon Valley, California. In 2011, she managed to escape to focus solely on her wildlife and travel photography.
National Geographic Photographer
Underwater photographers David Doubilet and Jennifer Hayes are married partners who work together as a team to produce National Geographic stories from equatorial coral reefs to beneath the polar ice. David estimates he has spent nearly half his life in the sea since taking his first underwater photograph at the age of 12 with a Brownie Hawkeye camera sealed in a bag. Between them, Jennifer and David have photographed and explored the ocean depths in such places as New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Tasmania, Scotland, and Antarctica. David has photographed stingrays, sponges, and sleeping sharks in the Caribbean, as well as shipwrecks in the South Pacific, the Atlantic, and at Pearl Harbor. He has produced more than 70 stories for National Geographic magazine and several books, and has received the Explorers Club’s prestigious Lowell Thomas Award and the Lennart Nilsson Award in Photography.
National Geographic Photographer
Thomas P. Peschak is an assignment photographer for National Geographic magazine and a National Geographic Explorer. He has shot eight feature stories on a range of subjects (including Manta Rays, Pipeline through Paradise, Seas of Arabia, Tale of Two Atolls, Currents of Plenty, and Return of the Seychelles). His work on “Galápagos: Life in the Balance and Stewards of the Sea” appeared in the June 2017 issue of National Geographic magazine. Originally trained as a marine biologist specializing in human–wildlife conflict, he became a wildlife photojournalist after realizing that he could have a greater conservation impact through photographs than statistics.
National Geographic Photographer
National Geographic photographer Ralph Lee Hopkins is the founder and
director of the Expedition Photography program for the Lindblad-National
Geographic alliance. For more than 20 years he has lead expeditions from the Arctic to Antarctica and points in between.
National Geographic Photographer
Over two-plus decades as National Geographic contributing photographers, Diane Cook and Len Jenshel have shot more than ten feature articles for National Geographic magazine and many more for National Geographic Traveler. Their work spans nature and beauty, culture, the environment, and science, and is represented in more than 100 major museum collections worldwide.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Since 1995, Rikki Swenson has traveled widely with Lindblad Expeditions–National Geographic, and was a founding member of the Photo Expedition program. A graphic designer for 20 years, Rikki owned a small agency, handling projects for large corporate clients. In 1995 she began a book project for Lindblad Expeditions that changed the course of her career. Working as photo editor and designer, she collaborated with Jack Swenson, Sven-Olof Lindblad, and Ralph Hopkins, to produce Baja—A Special Expedition to Baja and the Sea of Cortez. After that, her focus and passion moved to the expedition travel industry.
National Geographic Photographer
Brian Skerry is a photojournalist specializing in marine wildlife and underwater environments. Since 1998 he has been an assignment photographer for National Geographic magazine covering a wide range of subjects and stories. An award-winning photographer, Brian is praised worldwide for his aesthetic sense as well as his journalistic drive for relevance. His uniquely-creative images tell stories that not only celebrate the mystery and beauty of the sea, but also help bring attention to the large number of issues that endanger our oceans and its inhabitants.
National Geographic Photographer
Award-winning photographer, filmmaker, and writer Pete McBride has spent more than two decades studying the world with his camera. He has traveled on assignment to all seven continents and over 75 countries for National Geographic and National Geographic Traveler magazines, Outside, Smithsonian, Esquire, Sports Illustrated, and Men’s Journal, among others. Whether it involves vantages from 20,000 feet or swimming below icebergs, Pete is passionate about creating unique photographs, films, and stories. McBride’s adventures have included an epic trail-less Grand Canyon trek of nearly 800 miles, a remote Everest expedition, and a five-week exploration by sailboat and sea kayak along the west coast of Antarctica's Peninsula.
National Geographic Photographer
Award-winning photographer Melissa Farlow has worked extensively for National Geographic magazine in the American West for stories ranging from public lands and environmental issues to wild horses. Primarily known for her personal approach when photographing people, Farlow has documented diverse cultures and landscapes from South America to the Alps, Alaska to Quebec, and beyond. Her work has also been published by National Geographic Traveler, Smithsonian, LIFE, Marie Claire, GEO, and The Nature Conservancy. Melissa earned a Pulitzer Prize with the staff of the Louisville Courier-Journal and won Pictures of the Year portfolio honors while at the Pittsburgh Press. Her images are printed in over 70 books including Day in the Life series and a number of National Geographic’s books, such as The Photographs, Best 100 Wildlife Photographs, Women Photographers at National Geographic, and Wild Lands of the West and Long Road South on the Pan American highway. Based part-time in the Pacific Northwest, she has hiked and camped on the Oregon coast over the past 25 years and photographed stories for National Geographic in Olympic National Park and the Rouge River Valley. Melissa has led numerous photo workshops in Italy, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic, served on the faculty of the prestigious Missouri Photo Workshop, and taught National Geographic Photo Camps, which use photography to help youth and young adults in underserved communities around the world to develop their own voices.
National Geographic Photographer
Filmmaker, photographer, and producer David Wright has worked in over 65 countries on projects commissioned by National Geographic, PBS, and the BBC, among others. Originally from the United Kingdom, he started out producing natural history content at Oxford Scientific Films. For the last 20 years, David has worked in the Arctic on a wide variety of stories. A two-year assignment filming a National Geographic special on the polar bears and other iconic species of Svalbard led to other film projects in the region, as well as in the Alaskan Arctic and the Bering and Beaufort Seas. Subjects have included an extensive study of walruses, migratory seabirds, and the impact of the changing Arctic ice conditions on native peoples. On other ocean-based adventures, Wright has accompanied National Geographic Explorer-at-Large Bob Ballard (of Titanic fame) on expeditions to search for the sunken U-boats and documented the natural history of the great white shark.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
An editorial photographer and videographer based in Washington, D.C., Eric Kruszewski's multimedia work focuses on reportage and travel. His work is represented by National Geographic Creative, and he is a regular contributor to National Geographic's Image Collection.
National Geographic Photographer
Flip Nicklin was born with both diving and photography in his blood. His grandfather dove while wearing hard hat gear for construction. His father, Chuck, is a diver and underwater cinematographer, who taught his sons to become scuba divers. By the age of fourteen, Flip was helping his father teach people to dive off of the coast of Southern California, in La Jolla.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Jamie is from England. He grew up in Oxford, about as far from the sea as you can get in the UK, yet somehow decided he would work in marine biology and conservation. Ever since he reached his teens, he has dedicated time to this passion, working and volunteering in various roles on nature reserves and in aquariums. It was no surprise that in 2007, he left home to study marine biology at the University of Newcastle.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Nathan grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. He developed his love for nature as a kid at his family’s cabin in Northern Wisconsin. Family fishing trips, camping, hiking and a trip to his first National Park in the Everglades, all vigorously shaped his passion for the natural world. After graduating with a degree in Cinema and Photography from Southern Illinois University in the heart of the Shawnee National Forest, he moved to Southern California to work as a camera operator and photographer in a wide range of projects including work for the National Geographic Society. His photography has also been exhibited in galleries and in publications.
National Geographic Photographer
For more than half his life David Doubilet has spent his days underwater. Doubilet took his first underwater photograph off the Jersey Shore when he was 12 years old, using a Brownie Hawkeye camera sealed in a rubber bag. Searching for brighter colors and more varied marine life than the continental U.S. could offer, Doubilet set his sights on the third largest barrier reef in the world, set off the coast of Andros Island in the Bahamas. There he spent his summers leading dives and photographing marine life. Doubilet shot his first story for National Geographic as a junior at Boston University in 1969.
National Geographic Photographer
One of the first women photographers to work for National Geographic, Griffiths has photographed in more than a hundred countries during her illustrious career. She has worked on dozens of magazine and book projects for the National Geographic Society, including stories on Lawrence of Arabia, Baja California, Galilee, Petra, Sydney, New Zealand, and Jerusalem.
National Geographic Photographer
Evgenia Arbugaeva was born in the small town of Tiksi, located on the shore of the Laptev Sea in Russia. In her photographic work, she often looks into her Arctic homeland, discovering and capturing the remote worlds and people who inhabit them. A contributing photographer to National Geographic magazine, she first covered a story on mammoth hunters—native people of Yakutia who excavate mammoth tusks from the thawing permafrost of the New Siberian Islands—that appeared in the April 2013 issue. Recently, for an October 2017 article, Evgenia migrated with nomadic reindeer herders on the Yamal Peninsula in the Russian Arctic to capture the impact of growing development of natural gas industry on the traditional lifestyle of Nenet indigenous people.
National Geographic Photographer
Michaela Skovranova is an Australia-based photographer specializing in nature and underwater photography. Michaela's work has focused on capturing environmental stories in extreme environments—from photographing the Great Barrier Reef and capturing the remote wilderness and diverse wildlife of the Kimberley to documenting the annual humpback whale migration in Tonga and exploring the underwater worlds of Antarctica. She has covered coral reefs and Great Barrier Reef restoration for National Geographic, and she completed the first ever underwater live video in Australia on World Ocean's Day 2018, as part of the National Geographic Australia ‘Planet or Plastic’ campaign focusing on the impact plastic has on the marine ecosystem. Michaela has amassed a variety of awards, including being named on Photoboite’s list of 30 Under 30 Women Photographers. She also runs regular photography workshops across Australia, and is a trained freediver and a scuba diver.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Trained as zoologist and geologist, Stewart 's passion is the natural world. He has been exploring, photographing, teaching, and writing about biodiversity, geology, and the American Southwest for forty years and has worked with Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic since 1981. Stewart also spent ten years as a field biologist for the Museum of Northern Arizona, a nonprofit institution dedicated to preserving the Colorado Plateau's natural and cultural heritage.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Carlos is a freelance wildlife photographer and photography instructor from Costa Rica. Passionate about travel and education, he also works as a certified naturalist guide on the beaches, jungles, and mountains of that beautiful tropical paradise. With 20 years of experience leading groups and making images and portraits of Costa Rican creatures and landscapes, he loves to share his knowledge and tricks with enthusiasm, simplicity, and a good sense of humor.
National Geographic Photographer
For more than a decade, Krista Rossow has worked as a photographer, photo editor, and educator for National Geographic. She began her career as a photo editor at National Geographic Traveler magazine, where she shaped compelling stories from world-class imagery. As a freelance photographer she has shot feature stories for Traveler in New Orleans, San Francisco, South Africa, Costa Rica, and most recently in Asheville, North Carolina. She regularly judges Instagram contests for @NatGeoTravel and photo edits for National Geographic Books.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Jennifer Davidson is a photographer and educator specializing in documenting travel and culture. She has photographed across the globe, including extensively in Colombia, where she visited remote fishing villages, as well as in Ecuador, where she focused her lens on indigenous cultures in the highlands and Amazon regions. Jennifer’s work in South America and the Galápagos Islands has been published in National Geographic Traveler (UK), and she has logged over 35 expeditions to the Galápagos, having traveled there with National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions since 2007.
National Geographic Photographer
National Geographic Explorer and photographer Octavio Aburto focuses his photographic outreach and scientific research on the conservation of marine habitats and commercially important species and their fisheries. He has been photographing marine ecosystems off the coastal waters of Mexico since 1994, and also works in Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and the United States. Octavio earned a Ph.D. at the Center of Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), where he currently serves as an associate professor and research scientist. His images have been part of several conservation projects worldwide and have won international photography contests.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Gemina Garland-Lewis is a Seattle-based photographer, EcoHealth researcher, and National Geographic Explorer with experience in 30 countries across six continents. She first picked up a camera when she was 12 years old and proceeded to spend the better part of high school in the darkroom in her hometown of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Both her photography and research explore the myriad connections between humans, animals, and their shared environments. She is passionate about integrating the worlds of visual storytelling and research to develop new ways of communicating social and environmental issues to broader audiences and building unique platforms for education and outreach. She is a past recipient of the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, during which she spent a year of travel in seven countries focusing on different cultural relationships with whales and whaling. She has worked as a trip leader and photography teacher for National Geographic Student Expeditions since 2010, leading in Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Tanzania, and Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks. Her photography and writing have been featured by National Geographic News, National Geographic Adventure, and REI, among others.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Lauren’s wanderlust has taken her from the Appalachians to the Rockies to the Southern Alps.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Christian was born on the island of Isabela in the Galápagos archipelago. He grew up on a farm and had a magical childhood devoid of cars, electricity, telephones—just pure nature and playful sea lions along the beach. At the age of seven, he moved with his family to Santa Cruz Island, the economic hub of the Galápagos Islands. His father began to work in tourism and took Christian around the islands during school vacations. It was during this time that Christian learned to love and understand the real value of this unique archipelago, and he decided to devote his life to its stewardship. A lifelong passion for nature and its creatures took root in his heart, and he eventually decided to become a naturalist, which he has now been doing for 18 years now.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Michelle Theall started her career as a photographer and travel writer over two decades ago and currently enjoys working as a senior editor and photographer for Alaska magazine covering the flora and fauna of the state. Beyond Alaska, Theall teaches photography across the globe with specialization in Arctic regions and Africa. Her award-winning work has been published in National Geographic.com, Sierra magazine, Backpacker, Outdoor Photographer, and in other titles across the globe, and she is represented by several stock agencies. She’s been featured in Oprah magazine and Health, and has appeared on Today, Fox Sports Network, and the Travel Channel.
National Geographic Photographer
For more than a decade, Erika Larsen has used photography to learn intimately about and document cultures that maintain strong connections with nature. She has been working with National Geographic magazine since 2011, and is currently a National Geographic Society Fellow and Explorer. Among her assignments, she followed Sami reindeer herders in the Scandinavian arctic and explored the significance of the horse in Native American culture. Erika was part of the multi-photographer team that produced the magazine’s 2016 single topic Yellowstone Issue, and she contributed to Yellowstone: A Journey Through America’s Wild Heart, published by National Geographic Books. She is also one of the featured photographers in Women of Vision: National Geographic Photographers on Assignment, which profiles the lives and work of important photojournalists and goes behind the lens of their individual assignments.
National Geographic Photographer
Documentary photographer Esther Horvath specializes in the polar regions. Telling scientific polar stories through the universal language of photography, she aims to document the work of scientists who are delivering crucial information, highlighting the changes in the Arctic Ocean. Her coverage of Station Nord, the northernmost base of Greenland, was featured in National Geographic.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Fabio Esteban Amador is an archaeologist and explorer and a host of the National Geographic Mundo television series Mysteries of the Underworld. Originally from El Salvador, Fabio Esteban studied fine arts at the Art Student League of New York and the School of Visual Arts. Following his dream to become an expedition artist, he then studied archaeology at Rutgers University and went on to earn Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Mesoamerican archaeology at the State University of New York, Buffalo. His doctoral research involved excavating and mapping ancient Maya settlements in the Yalahau region of the Northern Yucatan peninsula, seeking clues into how these early societies expressed their identity through art and iconography.
National Geographic Photographer
Bob Krist is a freelance photographer who works regularly on assignment for magazines such as National Geographic Traveler, Smithsonian, and Islands. During his work, he has been stranded on a glacier in Iceland, nearly run down by charging bulls in southern India, and knighted with a cutlass during a Trinidad voodoo ceremony. He won the title of "Travel Photographer of the Year" from the Society of American Travel Writers in 1994, 2007, and again at the 2008 convention. In 2000 his work was honored at the Eisenstaedt Awards for Magazine Photography in New York City.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Antonio is Ecuadorian, although he was raised in Catalonia. He has been a naturalist in the Galápagos since 1994. He studied sciences in a boarding school in England for two years, and he spent four years in medical school in Spain. He then dropped out, to follow Darwin’s footsteps around the wide world.
National Geographic Photographer
Michael Hanson is a travel and documentary photographer represented by National Geographic Creative. His images have appeared in National Geographic Traveler and National Geographic Adventure, and he is a frequent contributor to The New York Times and Outside Magazine. Michael began his photography career while playing professional baseball in the Atlanta Braves Organization, and in 2013, he was identified as one of the top 30 New and Emerging Photographers by Photo District News. Hanson later went on to create a Republic of Baseball series documenting the sport’s importance in the Caribbean nation of Dominican Republic, which was featured in The New York Times and earned Pictures of the Year International and Communication Arts awards in 2017.
National Geographic Photographer
Kirsten Luce is a photojournalist who began her career working for a small newspaper along the United States-Mexico border. She has worked for National Geographic in Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil, and her favorite story so far was “How Fireflies are Keeping this Tiny Mexican Town Alive" in Tlaxcala, Mexico, which was published in the August 2017 issue of National Geographic magazine. Her photos have also appeared in The New York Times, Harper’s, Bloomberg Businessweek, TIME, Newsweek, Der Spiegel, GEO, and Le Monde, among other outlets. Kirsten’s work has been exhibited in Italy, Germany, Trinidad, and the U.S., and was recognized by the Creative Arts Annual as well as American Photography, awarded a Getty Grant for Editorial Photography, and nominated for a National Magazine Award.
National Geographic Photographer
Award-winning photographer, journalist, and author Kike Calvo specializes in culture and environment. He has been on assignment in more than 90 countries, working on stories ranging from belugas in the Arctic to traditional Hmong costumes in Laos.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Jonathan was born into one of only a handful of families that reaches back five generations in Galápagos, in the town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, on San Cristobal Island. He first left the islands when he won a highly-coveted scholarship to finish his studies in the U.S. This was the start of his life-long passion for science and languages. He earned a bachelor’s degree in integrative biology from the University of Florida and later spent time in Europe, where he learned French. He is now fluent in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.
National Geographic Photographer
Award-winning filmmaker, photographer, and explorer Kip Evans has led or participated in more than fifty expeditions throughout the world, including recent assignments in Alaska, the Indian Ocean, Chile, and South Africa. As a photographer, he has worked on dozens of National Geographic Society projects since 1998, including the five-year Sustainable Seas project to explore and document the U.S. National Marine Sanctuaries. Kip has also served as an expert for National Geographic Student Expeditions in San Francisco and Monterey Bay. Kip’s images have been featured in books, exhibits, calendars, advertisements, and magazines worldwide, including National Geographic magazine, Patagonia, Apple Computer, The Wall Street Journal, Outside, Rolex, and Alert Diver. In 2014, Kip lived underwater for 17 days in the Aquarius underwater laboratory as an aquanaut with Fabien Cousteau's Mission 31. His photographs from the expedition were featured in hundreds of publications throughout the world, including the front cover of TIME for Kids and a double-page spread in TIME magazine.
National Geographic Photographer
Alison Wright, an award winning documentary photographer and visual anthropologist, travels to all regions of the globe photographing endangered cultures and people while covering issues concerning the human condition. Alison has led numerous photo expeditions from land and sea on all seven continents and is an Explorers Club member. She has been named a National Geographic Traveler of the Year as someone who travels with a sense of passion and purpose, is a recipient of the Dorothea Lange Award in Documentary Photography and a two-time winner of the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award. She is a National Geographic contributor and has produced ten books including three for the National Geographic Traveler series.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
For over 20 years, Brenda has used her photographs of the world to celebrate its beauty, and inspire others to protect what we have. Brenda grew up exploring the woods, lakes, and coastlines of New Jersey and New England and her family traveled regularly throughout the eastern U.S., camping, hiking, backpacking, and canoeing. She spent most of her childhood engaging with nature in some form or another and learning about animal behavior. When her father taught her some photography at 13, Brenda soon combined her love for nature with her newfound passion, and several years later her adventure began as a freelance photographer, teacher, and writer.
National Geographic Photographer
National Geographic photographer Jeff Mauritzen’s assignments and adventures have immersed him in vivid landscapes on all seven continents and in more than 60 countries around the world. Whether capturing 360-degree panoramas of wildlife along an African savanna or photographing elusive birds in the Amazon rainforest, Jeff’s work expresses an unwavering passion, respect, curiosity, and awe for the natural world. His photography has appeared in over a dozen National Geographic books, several National Geographic Traveler magazine articles (including a feature on Ireland), and on the @natgeotravel Instagram account, where he’s a regular contributor.
National Geographic Photographer
Sadie Quarrier has been a Senior Photo Editor at National Geographic magazine for 16 years and on staff for nearly 25. Sadie primarily led the adventure and exploration beat, planning, producing, and editing stories on all media platforms including print, digital, and social, and more recently she oversees National Geographic's efforts to create impactful mobile-first stories. She also teams up with photographers and filmmakers on a diverse range of other topics including the environment, conservation, wildlife, and indigenous cultures, and more recently. Her work has taken her around the globe, to such places as Everest Base Camp, eastern Nepal, Qatar, India, Australia, Costa Rica, Cuba, as well as Antarctica, where she went on a scouting trip in 2017 looking for future story ideas.
National Geographic Photographer
Photographer Heather Perry’s passion for places surrounded by water led to a specialization in underwater and surface images, lifestyle, and environmental portraits. Heather started swimming competitively as a child in pools and in Long Island Sound and knew from early on that she was most comfortable in the water. She went on to study marine biology and began her career as a photographer in tropical seas just a few years later.
National Geographic Photographer
Dan Westergren has spent three decades producing award-winning images as a National Geographic Society photographer, photo editor, and social media strategist. Years after being introduced to the camera by an indulgent eighth-grade science teacher, Westergren became Director of Photography at National Geographic Traveler, where he developed a photographic aesthetic that has defined the magazine’s visual impact in print, digital, and social media.
National Geographic Photographer
Chris Rainier is a National Geographic Society Fellow and documentary photographer who is highly respected for his documentation of endangered cultures and languages. In 2002 he was awarded the Lowell Thomas Award by the Explorers Club for his efforts on cultural preservation, and he was recently been elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society of London, specializing in Cultural Studies.
National Geographic Photographer
A biologist turned photographer and filmmaker, Ronan Donovan’s camera has taken him to all seven continents in search of elusive wildlife and stories about our natural world. His desire to use visual storytelling as a way to reach a greater audience was sparked after spending 2011 studying wild chimpanzees in the canopy in Uganda for Harvard University. Donovan's photographic journeys for National Geographic magazine include an entire year living inside Yellowstone National Park documenting the life of wild wolves, covering the human-wildlife conflict between wild chimpanzees and humans in Africa, and hiking volcanoes to photograph mountain gorillas. He has also made multiple trips to Alaska and Canada's western coast, from the Inside Passage to the San Juan Islands and beyond.
National Geographic Photographer
Macduff Everton is a contributing editor at National Geographic Traveler, where he has photographed more than 20 stories from Paris to Beijing to Big Sur. His other editorial clients include Condé Nast Traveler, Life, LA Times Magazine, NY Times Magazine, Outside, and Smithsonian.
National Geographic Photographer
Erika Skogg is a photographer, educator, and National Geographic Explorer with experience documenting cultural stories from the United States to Morocco, Greenland, Iceland, Colombia, and beyond. Born and raised in Wisconsin, Erika’s photographic research and storytelling ideas are driven by the desire to immerse, understand, and visually preserve the region’s local Nordic culture, and in 2018, Erika received a National Geographic Early Career Grant for her project “Scandinavian American.” Erika travels to Scandinavia regularly in search of the cultural connections to our emigrant history and promote an interest in one’s own genealogy to foster a respect for the continued immigration of today.
National Geographic Photographer
Photographer Katie Orlinsky has spent over a decade covering news stories and feature assignments around the world. Her work explores a variety of subjects from conflict and social issues to unique subcultures, wildlife, and sports, and has been featured in National Geographic magazine, the New York Times, the New Yorker, and Smithsonian. Katie has won numerous awards over the course of her career from institutions such as the Art Director’s Club, PDN30, Visa Pour L’image, and Pictures of the Year International, and was named the 2016 Paris Match Female Photojournalist of the Year.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
South Carolina native Anna Mazurek fell in love with traveling and photography while studying abroad in England during college. Since then, she’s been to 51 countries and lived in five.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Steve Morello has had a long and colorful career in the natural history world. Born in New Jersey he was lucky to be able to summer on the shores of Cape Cod. Whether it was exploring the tidal pools, snorkeling along the beach, or hiking in the dunes, it all came together to instill in him a deep connection to the natural world. It was no surprise that he would return to the Cape as a whale researcher in his adult years. It was on the Cape that Steve first became involved in guiding, and for 15 years acted as naturalist on whale watching boats in the Gulf of Maine. Steve worked with groups creating environmental education material for school programs and soon found another one of his passions, photography.
National Geographic Photographer
After starting out as a skateboard photographer in the 1990s, Keith Ladzinski began using the special lighting techniques he had learned from sports photography to shoot outdoor adventure stories. As a result, his unique photos have been featured in National Geographic magazine, Discover, Men’s Journal, Outside, Runner’s World, ESPN magazine, and the front page of the New York Times. His assignments for National Geographic have taken him to some of the most remote and untouched places of the world’s seven continents and have included a 45-day expedition to Antarctica’s Queen Maude Land, a climbing expedition on karst rock towers in Southern China, and a story about France’s Verdon Gorge. Also an accomplished filmmaker, Keith and his partners at 3 Strings Productions have produced more than 20 films around the world. Keith is based in Boulder, Colorado.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Adam is a British-born zoologist who has lived and worked in northern Australia since 1997. Before arriving in Darwin, Adam gained a Ph.D. on the flight performance and echolocation of insectivorous bats, but his passion has always been large predators and the relationship that different cultures have toward them.
National Geographic Photographer
Jennifer Adler is a conservation photographer and National Geographic grant recipient. Originally trained as a marine biologist, she worked as a biologist at the U.S. Geological Survey after graduating from Brown University. Jenny now uses her background in science to inform her imagery and tell visual stories that communicate science and conservation. A cave diver and freediver with extensive photography experience in extreme underwater environments, an ongoing theme in Adler’s work is the connection between people and water in a changing climate. Many of her stories also focus on women in science. Her grant-funded and assignment work has taken her all over the world to document science and conservation, including assignments for The Nature Conservancy and grant-funded projects for National Geographic and the International Women’s Media Foundation. Her story documenting an underwater dye trace study was featured on National Geographic’s website and her dissertation, called Water’s Story, was funded in part by the National Geographic Society. Her PhD research investigated how we can use photography as a tool in environmental education and communication, and her work teaching kids about freshwater and creating the first 360-degree virtual tour in Florida’s underwater caves was featured in National Geographic magazine. Jenny has taught conservation photography in Cuba through the University of Florida School of Journalism and in Belize for National Geographic Student Expeditions. She is also a frequent international speaker, including a 2015 TEDx talk, and has taught Impact Storytelling workshops for National Geographic. She is represented by the National Geographic Image Collection.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Nicknamed “Indio” (Indian) because of his powers of observation and quiet nature, José has almost two decades of experience working as a naturalist and photography guide; as well as being recognized as an expert birder and nature photographer in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is rich in biodiversity — over 893 bird species have been recorded in the country. Since very young José spent all of his free time in the outdoors in the forest, where he soon fell in love with the birds. He particularly enjoys listening to their calls, and watching their behavior. Oddly enough, another one of Jose’s passions is science and technology, and because of this, he was among the first in Costa Rica to experiment with digital photography. As the technology quickly improved so did his love for it. He truly believes that nature photography is the perfect combination of both of his passions.
National Geographic Photographer
During the past 25 years, Phil Schermeister completed more than 40 major assignments for the National Geographic Book Division, National Geographic magazine and other National Geographic publications. He has photographed on assignment in more than 40 National Parks around the United States and has published six single-photographer books with National Geographic, including Range of Light, Our National Parks and America's Western Edge. Some of his other assignments have included coverage of Quechua Indians in the Andes of Peru, Tarahumara Indians in Mexico’s Copper Canyon and Native Americans across the Western United States. Phil is drawn to high-latitudes, and has photographed all types of natural landscapes from National Parks, Seashores, and Recreation Areas to Wild and Scenic Rivers and National Wildlife Refuges. In his search for “decisive moments” in nature, Schermeister seeks to find drama in the changing light and seasons as the forces of nature continue to sculpt an unfinished natural landscape.
National Geographic Photographer
Photographer and adventurer Tommy Heinrich has traveled the world—from Patagonia to the Arctic—combining his passions for photography, climbing, and nature. Born in Buenos Aires, Tommy first learned to scale mountains at an early age in Patagonia and the Andes. In 1995, he became the first person from Argentina to reach the summit of Mount Everest. In 1998, he summited Lhotse, the world’s fourth-highest mountain, and has continued since with many more ascents in the Himalayas and Karakorum, documenting the thrill of the expeditions and life in the world’s greatest mountains.
National Geographic Photographer
Photographer Karen Kasmauski has produced 25 stories for National Geographic magazine on topics ranging from earthquakes in Japan to oil exploration in Alaska. She finds the personal stories behind the headlines, blending a warm human sensitivity with a photographer’s eye for detail to distill global issues into resonant images. As a senior fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers, she also specializes in looking at how the health of the land affects the communities on it.
National Geographic Photographer
Award-winning photographer Michael Melford has produced more than 50 stories for National Geographic and National Geographic Traveler magazines over the past 30 years. His work has been featured on the cover of National Geographic, as well as LIFE, Smithsonian, GEO, TIME, and Coastal Living, among other publications. Michael has traveled to numerous countries and all seven continents—from Antarctica to Alaska and from New Zealand to the Seychelles. His assignments have focused on conservation, preservation, and celebrating the beauty of wilderness and national parks around the world.
National Geographic Photographer
Randy Olson is a documentary photographer whose work has taken him to 50 countries over the past 20 years. Concentrating on population and resource issues, as well as disappearing cultures, Randy has shot over 30 stories for National Geographic magazine covering diverse subjects, including U.S. national parks, county fairs, the global fish crisis, indigenous cultures such as the Mbuti pygmies of Congo's Ituri rainforest, and island stories from Samoa and Rapa Nui (Easter Island) to the Palmyra Atoll south of Hawaii, among many others.
National Geographic Photographer
National Geographic photographer, climber and diver Jonathan Kingston is a visual storyteller passionate about supporting scientific research and documenting the natural history and human story of our world through photography. From arresting photographs of vibrant tribal dances to underwater scenes of elephants swimming at sea to 3-D photogrammetric models of submerged archaeological sites, Jonathan’s penchant for travel and love of the wild have taken him to some of the most remote and unmapped corners of the globe. His work has appeared in print and online in National Geographic, The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Wall Street Journal.
National Geographic Photographer
Trevor Frost is a photographer, filmmaker, and National Geographic Expeditions Council Grantee. At the age of 22, he received his first grant from National Geographic to map and photograph caves in Central Africa. At 29, he completed his first feature story as a photographer for National Geographic magazine on gelada monkeys in the highlands of Ethiopia. With the support of the National Geographic Society, he is now working on a multi-year project to photograph and film saltwater crocodiles in Northern Australia using specially designed remote cameras. In addition to his own photography, Trevor has worked as a cameraman on a number of projects, including a three-year effort to document wild orangutans in Borneo with renowned wildlife photographer Tim Laman for the National Geographic Channel. Trevor is currently working on a film on orangutans that will premiere later this year. He has won several awards, and was chosen by Nick Nichols and the prestigious LOOK3 Photography Festival as one of the world's top emerging photographers. Trevor also works as an advisor with Focused on Nature, a non-profit based in Geneva that supports conservation projects globally. Trevor lives in Richmond, Virginia next to the James River.
National Geographic Photographer
Dutch photographer Jasper Doest specializes in conservation issues and wildlife photography, emphasizing the beauty and fragility of our planet. After his studies as an ecology major specializing in Arctic ecosystems, Jasper decided to become a photographer in order to bridge the gap between the human and the natural world. As a Senior Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers, his photographs have received multiple awards and appeared in numerous publications, including National Geographic, GEO, and Smithsonian. Jasper's photographs of Japanese macaques, popularly known as "snow monkeys," received recognition in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition and appeared in the October 2016 issue of National Geographic.
National Geographic Photographer
Award-winning travel and editorial photographer Susan Seubert has photographed more than 20 feature stories for National Geographic Traveler since joining the magazine as a contributor in 2004. Her subjects range from Canada to the Caribbean and Texas to Thailand. Her work has been recognized by the department of journalism at Columbia University with an Alfred Eisenstadt Award and most recently by the North American Travel Journalists Association for excellence in photography. In addition to being widely published and exhibited, she also lectures regularly about her work at such institutions as Harvard University and the Portland Art Museum.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Ralph is a freelance underwater and environmental photographer based in San Diego, California. Having grown up in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, Ralph’s love of nature and the outdoors came at a young age. He holds a graduate degree in marine biodiversity and conservation from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography where he used the economic value of a surfing wave along with photography to stop the construction of a marina project that would have ruined a lagoon, a critical sea turtle nesting habitat, and a world-class surf break.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
From a young age James has had a passion for science and exploration. Growing up on the coast of Massachusetts with regular trips to New Hampshire's wilderness led to a love for the oceans and mountains. He earned a degree in Geological Sciences at age 21. Seeking adventure, he moved to the island of Maui. There he worked as a deckhand and naturalist for whale watching and snorkel charters. James honed his skill in photography before moving to Juneau, Alaska where he worked as a photography guide and naturalist. He has continued to work seasonally, Hawaii in the winter and Juneau in the summer for the past two years.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
David has worked for Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic since 1993 on six continents and in over 65 countries. David is interested in many of the natural sciences, particularly ornithology, geology and marine biology; he most enjoys contrasting the broad perspectives provided by world travel with detailed investigations of local ecosystems on land and in the sea.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Celso was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador. At the age of nine he arrived in the Galápagos for the first time and he was profoundly touched by nature, observation, and isolation. When he saw the sharks, rays and turtles swimming in the bay, he was triggered by a sense of wonder that he did not feel before. Celso believes education is key to preservation. After graduating from the Naval Academy at the age of 17 he moved to New York to continue his education.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
A childhood surrounded by the woods and streams of Pennsylvania initially sparked Alex’s curiosity about nature. That curiosity eventually led him to pursue degrees in biology and environmental studies at Boston College. During his time there he conducted research on carnivorous plants in Iceland and kelp forests in South Africa. Together these diverse experiences provided him with the background and passion to become a teacher.
National Geographic Photographer
Becky Hale has been a studio photographer on staff with National Geographic in Washington, D.C. for the past 15 years. Her work is wide-ranging and includes portrait, travel, and studio photography, illustrating complex scientific and cultural stories. She is a regular contributor to National Geographic magazine. Her images have appeared on multiple covers and alongside articles on subjects from advances in organ regeneration, to the future of edible kelp, to how redheads experience pain. Fieldwork has taken her on assignment throughout the United States and around the globe, from the Arctic Circle to southern Chile. Becky has photographed aerials of the whooping crane migration from an ultralight, shot portraits of ranchers and environmentalists in the western United States to document how they are grappling with the reintroduction of wolves, and even recreated her studio in the middle of cornfields and anatomy labs. She believes that anyone can learn to make great photographs, whether their tool is a smartphone or DSLR. Because of her own diverse photography background, Becky loves teaching all photography levels and helping people to make images that truly represent the wild environment they are in, from Svalbard to the Galapagos and beyond.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Born in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Linda and her Air Force family moved extensively throughout the U.S. when she was a child. Linda continues to travel and explore a broader spectrum of the world as a naturalist with Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic. Linda earned her B.Sc. in horticulture from the University of Arizona in 1985 and worked with this degree in the commercial cactus industry for sixteen years.
National Geographic Photographer
Mark Thiessen has been a photographer with National Geographic since 1990. He is widely published in all areas of the National Geographic Society, including National Geographic magazine, National Geographic Adventure magazine, and National Geographic Traveler magazine. National Geographic books that feature Thiessen's work include Return to Midway, which documents the discovery of the U.S.S. Yorktown, and Baseball as America, a look at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Juan Carlos was born in Quito, Ecuador. He spent part of his elementary schooling in the province of Cotopaxi, a beautiful area in the Ecuadorian Andes ringed by volcanoes. In 1989 his family moved to the Galápagos and settled in the highlands of Santa Cruz, the second largest island in this archipelago. It was here that Juan Carlos finished high school and gained his deep love for nature.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Walter was born in a very small town on the mainland of Ecuador. His first trip to the Galápagos was when he was 12 years old, visiting friends and aunt, who had moved to the islands. From the first moment he saw the Islands, he fell in love with them and knew then where his future home would be.
National Geographic Photographer
Acacia Johnson is a photographer, artist, and writer from Alaska, focused on human relationships to the Earth's polar regions. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Acacia received a Fulbright grant to Canada in 2014, to spend a winter documenting the Inuit’s evolving relationship with their environment on Baffin Island. Since then, she has been increasingly interested in anthropological themes in the Arctic and Antarctica. Johnson’s work has been featured by numerous publications, including digital stories for National Geographic about the Inuit community on Baffin Island, snow algae and sea ice in polar environments, and wildlife on Antarctica’s Deception Island caldera. Acacia has made over 55 expeditions to the polar regions—Greenland, Svalbard, the Canadian Arctic, and Antarctica—frequently lecturing on photography, Arctic indigenous culture, and visual representations of these unique regions. Most recently, Johnson returned to Baffin Island for two months in 2018 for her project Sea Ice Stories.
National Geographic Photographer
Maria Stenzel is a longtime Contributing Photographer to National Geographic Magazine and a documentary filmmaker. She first voyaged to Antarctica by icebreaker in 1995 on a winter science expedition to study the growth of sea ice in the Southern Ocean. Hooked by the vast spaces of Antarctica, Maria has returned to cover many other expeditions funded by the National Science Foundation. She has photographed geology in the Dry Valleys, astronomy at the South Pole, Emperor and Adelie penguin research at Cape Crozier, Weddell Seal studies in McMurdo Sound, NASA’s airborne surveys of the Antarctic Peninsula (Operation IceBridge), unmanned submarine surveys beneath ice shelves in the Amundsen Sea, humpback whale studies and the marine ecology of the Western Antarctic Peninsula, and the Weddell Sea.
National Geographic Photographer
Wildlife photographer, cinematographer, and author Matthias Breiter has spent most of the past 30 years researching the daily lives and habits of black, brown, grizzly, and polar bears. He was made a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society and a fellow of the prestigious Explorer’s Club in recognition of his contribution to our scientific knowledge of bears and the Arctic. Matthias is also a founding member of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP), and remains deeply involved with conservation efforts involving the American and Canadian Arctic and Subarctic.
National Geographic Photographer
Award-winning photographer Tyrone Turner has produced stories for National Geographic magazine on a wide range of subjects, such as New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina, and the Gulf Oil Spill; Brazil's maroon people, the quilombos; and energy efficiency and conservation. As a visual storyteller, Tyrone has had the opportunity to travel widely, live in other countries, and connect with people all over the world. He has joined National Geographic Expeditions for a number of years, including a trip along the Atlantic coast of South America and a voyage to Antarctica, South Georgia, and the Falklands, as well as photography workshops from Santa Fe to New Orleans. Turner has been named a Best of Photojournalism award-winner by the National Press Photographer’s Association and also earned recognition from the Pictures of the Year competition. Tyrone enjoys sharing his passion for photography and has also taught at National Geographic Photo Camps for youth from underserved regions of the United States and around the world.
National Geographic Photographer
Photographer and filmmaker Max Lowe was born into
traveling shoes. Son of famous alpinist Conrad Anker and writer and artist
Jennifer Lowe-Anker, Max was exposed from a young age to the magic in traveling
to and observing some of the world’s most remote cultures and environments.
Taking up storytelling as his creed, he received a National Geographic Young
Explorers grant in 2012, and since then, has shot on and produced for National
Geographic Adventure and National Geographic magazines, as well as
National Geographic Travel. Max has appeared on The BBC as well as in
the internationally released National Parks Adventure IMAX film, and in
publications including Science Magazine, Men’s Journal, and Outside
Magazine. He has also produced still and film content for brands such as
The North Face, Red Bull, Yeti Coolers, and Eddie Bauer.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Rich Kirchner has worked as a naturalist in Antarctica, Alaska, the Bering Sea, Baja and the High Arctic, including Greenland, the Canadian Arctic and Iceland. His 25 years as a professional wildlife photographer has granted him international publication credits included in magazines such as Geo Germany, Geo France, Natural History, Audubon, National Wildlife and Ranger Rick, as well as more than a hundred books.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Growing up at the base of the Cascade Mountains in the tiny Oregon town of Sisters meant that Ryder was surrounded by wilderness. A childhood of hiking, fishing, hunting for arrowheads, camping, and upland bird hunting resulted in the outdoors feeling far more comfortable than hectic city streets. His passion for the outdoors has perpetually grown and, upon graduating from the University of Oregon, he embraced his wanderlust with even greater vigor. His adventures eventually led him to working with Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic as a photo instructor.
National Geographic Photographer
Photographer Jim Richardson has produced more than 50 stories for National Geographic and National Geographic Traveler magazines. Jim’s work on environmental issues for National Geographic magazine has covered topics ranging from feeding the planet to protecting our night skies from light pollution. Proud of his Celtic roots, Jim has focused on the British Isles, Ireland, and especially Scotland for the last 20 years, including two years photographing the Celtic realm for the March 2006 National Geographic article "Celt Appeal.” Years later, he covered the Scottish Moors for the May 2017 National Geographic article “Who’s Moors Are They?” He also shot and wrote “My Scottish Obsession" for National Geographic Traveler, as well as stories on Orkney, Edinburgh, the Outer Hebrides, the Inner Hebrides, and Scottish Whisky Country. More recently, his photographs appeared in a guide to the best of Scotland in the October/November 2018 issue of National Geographic Traveler ("From Mist and Stone").
National Geographic Photographer
Born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark, Sisse Brimberg has been a regular photographer for National Geographic since 1976, when a Danish grant allowed her to study photojournalism at the Society. She worked as an apprentice in a commercial photo studio while attending photography school, and later operated her own studio in Copenhagen for five years before coming to National Geographic.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
David grew up in the Seattle area, where he fell in love with nature through outdoor sports in the Pacific Northwest. He first picked up a camera during a 14-day Grand Canyon river trip at the age of 18. Little did he know that his hobby would morph into a lifelong passion and career. He moved to Colorado to pursue a degree in International Political Economy from Colorado College. After receiving his degree, he applied his passion for media to documenting watershed conservation issues in the Colorado River Basin states through the lens of a 900-mile-long river expedition in 2012.
National Geographic Photographer
Drew Rush is a wildlife and natural history photographer with a passion for following wildlife in national parks around the world. Before embarking on a career in photography, Drew spent ten years guiding on the Snake River and taking people into the heart of Yellowstone National Park in the winter. Since he transitioned into a professional photographer, his work has appeared in numerous international publications and books, such as National Parks magazine and National Geographic: Complete Photography. Drew has a long history of working in and teaching about the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and Grand Tetons region on several long-term photographic projects for National Geographic magazine. He has also worked on collaborative projects studying long distance lynx migration through Alaska with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as monitoring wolf populations with the U.S. National Park Service.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Born and raised in Canada, Karen received her B.Sc. in biology from the University of Waterloo, her M.D. from the University of Western Ontario and interned at McMaster University in Hamilton. Detouring from hospital hallways, Karen soon became a whitewater guide and published photographer, fulfilling a passion for knowledge that began with botany and led to geology and ornithology.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
One steady constant in Ian’s life has been the ocean. Born by the rocky shores of mid-coast Maine, his family repatriated to far north Queensland in Australia early on in his life where he became a dual-citizen and sparked his passion for exploring new environments. Living only an hour away from the Great Barrier Reef served to direct, if not focus, the exhilaration of discovery and set him on his current path. Returning to native soil for education, Ian was fascinated by altogether too many subjects, leaving him with a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College in Psychobiology, focusing on animal behavior and perception, and with minors in Astronomy, History, and Environmental Science.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Jack is a Seattle-based guide, wildlife biologist and professional photographer. For the past thirty years his photographs have appeared in prominent magazines, calendars and books including publications by Smithsonian, Audubon, and National Geographic. He has co-authored a photographic book on Baja California, and also a photo identification guide to the killer whales of Southeast Alaska.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Colby’s love of exploration and adventure is infectious and immediately evident to those around him. His passion for guiding lies at the intersection where people, wildlife, and wilderness collide. “These are the extraordinary places just beyond one’s usual comfort zone, where we can at the same time discover things about the world around us as well as our own selves.” It’s no surprise then that Colby has developed a special affinity for the remote Polar Regions.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Wildlife photojournalist and filmmaker Morgan (Mo) Heim raises a camera for one purpose – to capture moments in an animal’s life that will make us consider what that life means. Inevitably, those stories involve people as much as wildlife.
National Geographic Photographer
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Jay Dickman's career has spanned a multitude of experiences. As a photojournalist for more than 40 years, Jay has covered topics as diverse as the Salvadoran civil war, Olympics and Super Bowls, national political conventions, and the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. Among his more than 25 assignments for National Geographic, he lived in a Stone Age village in Papua New Guinea and spent a week under the Arctic ice in a nuclear attack submarine. Jay has been joining National Geographic Expeditions for over a decade and has traveled to all seven continents. A popular photography instructor, he has also published a best-selling guide called Perfect Digital Photography, as well as numerous articles for National Geographic, LIFE, Sports Illustrated, Time, and Forbes.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Socrates was raised on Santa Cruz Island located in the heart of Galapagos Archipelago. After a childhood filled with swimming, scuba diving, rock climbing and volunteering in conservation projects, he grew very passionate about the outdoors and the natural world.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Aura’s connection with the islands dates generations as her grandparents had moved to the Galápagos in the 1930s. Her mother was born on Floreana Island and Aura fondly remembers childhood memories of family visits during summer vacations. Who knew those little black birds she observed so naively as a child were the world famous Darwin finches? Or that the lava lizards she was so scared of were unique in the world?
National Geographic Photographer
Award-winning photographer and filmmaker Rich Reid has specialized in environmental and adventure photography for over two decades. On assignment with National Geographic Adventure magazine, he cycled Alaska’s Inside Passage by ferry and explored California’s Gaviota Coast by bike and kayak. North American Nature Photography Association elected Rich as a Fellow for his significant contributions to the nature photography industry, and he was a finalist for the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year for his time-lapse video documenting forest fire ecology.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Eric began work with Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic in 2006 as a means to see the world, work with great photographers and engage his environmental studies degree beyond the classroom. His initial years with the company were spent working the waters of Southeast Alaska and Baja California. His move to the National Geographic Explorer in 2008 helped earn him the experience and knowledge needed to establish himself as a trusted boat handler, naturalist and respected photographer in nearly all the environments Lindblad-National Geographic travels.
National Geographic Photographer
Jeff Kerby is an award-winning natural history photographer with a passion for science. His work spans the globe—from the deserts of Namibia to the mountains of East Africa—but his focus on animals and plants in extreme environments inevitably draws him back toward the poles. After spending five seasons as a researcher studying caribou in Greenland, he photographed his first feature story for National Geographic magazine in 2017 on gelada monkeys living in the chilly highlands of Ethiopia. With support from the National Geographic Society, Jeff has since returned to the Arctic via Siberia and the islands of Canada’s far north to use photography to explore the widespread, but often subtle, changes to Arctic flora and fauna. This work blends classic natural history photography with technical scientific imaging to tell stories that span individual animals to entire landscapes captured in 3D and in colors beyond what the human eye can see.
National Geographic Photographer
National Geographic photographer Andrew Coleman has traveled around the globe in search of amazing wildlife and landscapes. He is a regular contributor to National Geographic Traveler and the National Geographic website, as well as other publications, and is represented in the National Geographic Image Collection. Andrew has an insatiable appetite to be in the wild and, through his images, attempts to capture the extraordinary beauty of the natural world. Andrew has joined National Geographic Expeditions to Yellowstone National Park, Borneo, the Galápagos, the Arctic, Around the World by Private Jet, and Cuba. Over the course of his career, he has traveled, camera in hand, to some of the world’s most remarkable places, including Alaska, Jordan, Easter Island, Kenya, Peru, South Africa, and Uganda.
National Geographic Photographer
Photographer, climber, and free diver Andy Bardon has traveled to some of the most remote regions on earth to document human interactions with the natural world. From the slopes of Mount Everest and the walls of Yosemite’s El Capitan to the clear blue waters of French Polynesia, Andy is driven by a passion to help people see the beauty in wild places, and ultimately, protect them. His work for National Geographic has included documenting an 85-day climbing expedition on Mount Everest with some of the world’s finest climbers and scientists, as well as a story about the pearl farming industry in French Polynesia that sought to gain a better understanding of its environmental impacts and sustainability. He was also selected by National Geographic to climb, ski, and help scientists measure the rate of glacial change in the highest mountains in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge of northeastern Alaska. Andy has won numerous industry awards, and has an active career as a photographer and director in the world of commercial advertising, often utilizing his outdoor skillset with clients such as Patagonia, Redbull, and The North Face. His work has been featured in scientific studies with prestigious organizations such as the Mayo Clinic and the Waitt Foundation, and he is currently represented by the National Geographic Image Collection.
National Geographic Photographer
Author, photographer, filmmaker, and National Geographic Emerging Explorer Sandesh Kadur uses images, both still and video, to expose the need for conservation and encourage protection of the world’s biodiversity. With subjects ranging from king cobras to clouded leopards, his documentary films have appeared worldwide on National Geographic, the BBC, the Discovery Channel, and elsewhere. His photographs have appeared in numerous books and magazines. Sandesh’s many awards include CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year, the Nature’s Best award, the International Conservation Photographer award, two Green Oscar nominations at the Wildscreen film festival, and the 2013 North American Nature Photographers Vision Award.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Sharon’s degrees in Psychology and Anthropology from Eastern Washington University have given her a good base to pursue her profession as a naturalist and photographer. With five generations of artists behind her, she has developed a portfolio of images covering many interests including indigenous cultures, ethnobotany, natural and cultural history. Photography gives voice and interpretation to her experience of the world. Spending many years with Native peoples has dramatically affected her attitude towards how and what she sees. She recognized, through these experiences, the diversity of peoples around the world. This began a lifelong curiosity about the variety of ways in which different cultures relate to each other and this planet.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Alberto fell in love with nature as a young child. Born and raised in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico, he spent most of his childhood exploring the Chairlel Lagoon and the Tamesi River. Each morning he would patiently wait in his rowboat for sunrise to witness the great groups of migrating birds that would land on the water. His father taught him from a very early age to understand, love, and respect nature. As a result of his upbringing, Alberto became biologist and decided to follow his passion and became a naturalist. At age 21, Alberto began working with Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic in Baja California. Since then he has been sharing interests that range from bird biology to undersea exploration to wildlife photography with thousands of guests.