Photojournalist

Brian Skerry is a photojournalist specializing in marine wildlife and underwater environments. Since 1998 he has been a contract photographer for National Geographic Magazine covering a wide range of subjects and stories. In 2014 he was named a National Geographic Photography Fellow.

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.

His year-round assignment schedule frequently finds himself in environments of extreme contrast from tropical coral reefs to diving beneath polar ice. While on assignment he has lived on the bottom of the sea, spent months aboard fishing boats and traveled in everything from snowmobiles to canoes to the Goodyear Blimp to get the picture. He has spent more than 10,000 hours underwater in his career.

For NGM, 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. His latest work is an unprecedented three consecutive feature stories about predatory sharks, published in June, July and August of 2016. Other features have focused on subjects such as the planet's last remaining pristine coral reefs, the plight of the right whale, marine reserves, sea turtles and squid. He is currently at work on his 27th story for NGM.

Brian has also worked on assignment for or had images featured in magazines such as Sports Illustrated, US News and World Report, BBC Wildlife, GEO, Smithsonian, Esquire, Audubon, Men's Journal. His latest monograph, Ocean Soul, has received worldwide acclaim.

Brian frequently lectures on photography and conservation issues having presented at venues such as 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. He’s been a guest on programs such as NBC’s TODAY Show, CBS’s This Morning and ABC’s Good Morning America. He is also the Explorer-In-Residence at the New England Aquarium.

Brian is a 10-time award winner in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition including sweeping the Underwater Category in 2008, winning First, Second and Third place awards. He has also won awards from Pictures of the Year International, Nature’s Best, Communication Arts is the only photographer to win the coveted Peter Benchley Ward for Excellence in Media. In 2010 National Geographic magazine named one of Brian’s images among their 50 Greatest Photographs Of All Time. He has had recent exhibits at Visa Pour l’Image in Perpignan, France as well as cities such as Geneva, Barcelona, Lisbon and Shanghai. An exhibit of Brian’s work is currently on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC.

Brian is the Explorer-In-Residence 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 also serves as a Marine Fellow with Conservation International, serves on the World Wildlife Fund’s National Council and the WWF’s Marine Leadership Council and on the Board of Directors of the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.