Cristina Mittermeier

The urgency of preserving wilde nature and people living in the most remote places on Earth in the stunning images by the renowned National Geographic photographer.

Hailed as one of the most influential conservation photographers of our time, Cristina Mittermeier has dedicated her entire life to protecting the world's oceans - inspiring millions of people to do the same. She graduated from the ITESM University in Mexico with a degree in Biochemical Engineering in Marine Sciences. In 2005 Mittermeier founded the prestigious International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP) to provide a platform for photographers working on environmental issues and coined the phrase "conservation photography".

In 2014 she co-founded SeaLegacy, a non-profit organization using strategic communications at the intersection of art, science, and conservation to protect and rewild the ocean for the benefit of biodiversity, humanity, and climate within our lifetimes.

"Images can help us understand the urgency many photographers feel to protect wild places. My work is about building a greater awareness of the responsibility of what it means to be human. It is about understanding that the history of every living thing that has ever existed on this planet also lives within us. It is about the ethical imperative-the urgent reminder that we are linked to all other species on this planet and that we have a duty to act as the keepers of our fellow life forms."- Cristina Mittermeier