11 time Wildlife Photographer of the Year Brian Skerry has spent more than 10,000 hours underwater, often in extreme conditions beneath Arctic ice and in predator-infested waters. Journey with him from the North Atlantic, where harp seals face the threat of declining sea ice, to the temperate waters of New Zealand, home of the fastest shark in the world—the mako. The stunning images he captures while on assignment offer a mesmerizing glimpse of the “soul of the sea.”
Doors Open at 5:30 PM • Arrive early to experience Peter Fee’s Arctic Immersion in The JAI. Dive into the Arctic 120 miles NNW of Point Barrow Alaska and hear a second of ambient and transient sound from a full year below the surface.
National Geographic Live is presented by Office Depot.
About Brian:
Brian Skerry is a photojournalist specializing in marine wildlife and underwater environments. Since 1998, he has been a contributing photographer for National Geographic Magazine, covering a wide range of subjects and stories. He was named a National Geographic Society Photography Fellow in 2014 and a National Geographic Society Storytelling Fellow in 2017. In 2017, he was also awarded the title of Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year.
For National Geographic Magazine, Brian has covered a wide range of stories, from the harp seal’s struggle to survive in frozen waters to the alarming decrease in the world’s fisheries to dolphin intelligence—all cover stories. A fourth cover story in February 2017 focused on protecting special underwater ecosystems in U.S. waters, and during this coverage Brian produced the first images of a sitting U.S. President underwater. He is currently at work on his 28th story for National Geographic Magazine.
Brian has also worked on assignment for or had images featured in magazines such as Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Paris Match, Esquire, and Audubon. Brian is the author of 12 books, including the acclaimed monographs Ocean Soul, SHARK, and the newly released Secrets of the Whales.
Brian is an 11-time award winner in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. He has also been recognized with awards from Pictures of the Year International, Nature’s Best, Communication Arts, and is the only photographer to win the coveted Peter Benchley Award for Excellence in Media. In 2010, National Geographic Magazine named one of Brian’s images among their 50 Greatest Photographs of All Time and in 2016, he was awarded the National Geographic Photographer’s Photographer Award, an honor bestowed by his colleagues, other National Geographic photographers. The Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences awarded Brian the 2019 NOGI Award for Arts, an award frequently referred to as the ‘Underwater Oscar.’
He has had numerous solo photographer exhibits, including Portraits of Planet Ocean, a two-year exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Other exhibits of his work have been held in cities worldwide, including Geneva, Barcelona, Lisbon, Shanghai, and Perpignan, France.
Brian frequently lectures on photography, exploration, and conservation issues, having presented at venues such as The United Nations General Assembly, The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, TED Talks, The National Press Club in Washington, DC, The Royal Geographical Society in London, and the Sydney Opera House in Australia.
Brian is the Explorer-In-Residence and a Trustee at the New England Aquarium, a founding member of the International League of Conservation Photographers, Director of The New England Ocean Odyssey for The Conservation Law Foundation, and a Fellow National of The Explorers Club. He is also a Nikon Ambassador and a Marine Fellow with Conservation International and serves on the World Wildlife Fund’s National Council and Marine Leadership Council.
