Brian Skerry

A photojournalist specializing in marine wildlife and underwater environments, Brian has been a contract photographer for National Geographic magazine since 1998, covering a range of subjects and stories. His award-winning photography celebrates the mystery and beauty of the sea and brings attention to issues that endanger our oceans and its inhabitants.

While on assignment he has lived at the bottom of the sea, spent months aboard fishing boats and traveled in everything from snowmobiles to the Goodyear Blimp to get the picture. He estimates he's spent more than 10,000 hours underwater during his career.

He is the author/photographer of ten books and, in addition to National Geographic, has worked on assignment for, or had images featured in, People, Sports Illustrated, GEO, Paris Match, Smithsonian, Esquire and Audubon. In 2010, National Geographic cited one of his photographs among the 50 greatest images ever published in the magazine.

Brian frequently lectures on photography and conservation issues and has presented programs at The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, TED Talk, the National Press Club and the Royal Geographical Society. He has also appeared on PBS, C-SPAN, NBC’s Today Show, CBS’s Sunday Morning and ABC’s 20/20 and Good Morning America.

Photography can be a powerful instrument for change, and it's my hope to find new ways of creating images that celebrate the sea and highlight environmental problems.