Steve Winter

Steve Winter is a National Geographic photographer renowned for his dramatic images of big cats in some of the world’s most challenging environments. From tigers in India to mountain lions in Los Angeles, his work reveals the beauty, power, and fragile coexistence between wildlife and the human world.

Winter has been a wildlife photojournalist for National Geographic for over two decades, producing stories on some of the world’s most elusive and iconic big cats. His documentary films on jaguars, leopards, tigers, and tree-climbing lions have aired on Nat Geo WILD and Disney+. His work has received international awards, including BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year and BBC Wildlife Photojournalist of the Yearl World Press Photo in 2008, 2014, and 2020; and twice Picture of the Year International’s Global Vision Award. Winter has appeared on 60 Minutes, CBS Nightly News, NPR, BBC, CNN and other outlets.

Together with three other partners, including his wife—award-winning science journalist and author Sharon Guynup, who works at the intersection of environmental issues and public policy—and wildlife filmmaker Bertie Gregory, Winter founded the nonprofit organization Big Cat Voices. Its mission is to turn issues into stories, and stories into change, by creating world-class media that gives cats a voice and highlights the most pressing threats they face.

Winter has sparked change on a global level. His iconic image of the beloved and recently deceased cougar P-22 under the Hollywood sign helped create what will be the world’s largest wildlife overpass. His and Sharon’s story on the Thai Tiger Temple proved wildlife trafficking and prompted officials to shut it down; his work on jaguars in Brazil has helped them rebound; and his story on captive tigers in the U.S. helped pass a new law, the Big Cat Public Safety Act.