Conservation Photography

In Pursuit: Photographing the Porcupine Caribou Migration

“I’m inspired by great photography. I strive to create images to move people. Move people emotionally and move people to act.” Photojournalist and conservationist, Peter Mather, doesn’t just want to capture the perfect image. He wants to paint a picture with his photographs, to tell the story of an animal or a place and raise environmental awareness. We spoke to Peter to hear about his story, “In Pursuit”, to understand more about the expedition he undertook to photograph the migration of the Porcupine caribou in a habitat that is becoming increasingly under threat.

Caribou on snow

Your photography is very rooted in ideas of conservation and animal welfare. What sparked your focus in this? And how do you think your photographs send a message about conservation issues?

Nature and conservation have always been areas that have inspired me as a photographer but I started focussing on it seriously about three years ago, when I moved into full time, professional photography. I think I will always be a conservation photographer, because it’s what gives me purpose in photography – capturing these unique images of wildlife and telling their story through them.

On this expedition, you were after a unique photograph of the caribou migration in northern Canada. What caused you to initially be interested in the caribou and their migration?

I grew up in the Yukon and spent a lot of time on the land with my father. Growing up in the Yukon, everyone hears about the caribou. They are larger than life. Anyone who has seen the thousands of caribou moving together, never forgets it – it’s an unbelievable spectacle. So I’d heard many stories about them that really built my interest.

Why is the migration of the caribou so unique? And can you explain in more detail the photograph that you’ve set out to capture?

The Porcupine caribou herd is thought to have the longest mammal migration on the planet. The image I wanted to capture is hard to describe, but while doing research on the caribou, I saw videos of them migrating in long lines of thousands. It reminded me of images of the Klondike Gold Rush a hundred years ago, where there was a line of four hundred men following a trail straight up the mountain. I wanted to recreate this image, but with caribou. I wanted the image to be intimate, so it was important to have the lead caribou be very close to the camera. I was looking for caribou trails going up a mountain, where I could set up the camera trap so it would photograph the lead animal, but you would see a line of caribou leading down the mountain and across the valley floor to give you a sense of the sheer number of caribou and the teamwork that the employ when moving in winter.

Human interference is a problem that you’ve mentioned affects the caribou’s natural migration ground. What are your views on the problem and how it can be solved?

The main human interference is in the calving and nursing grounds of the caribou, which is in Alaska’s ANWR. This is where the caribou are most vulnerable because they are very sensitive to any human disturbance when their young are first born. This small area has been opened by the Trump Administration to industrial development – thousands of helicopters, roads, pipelines and pump stations. This could devastate the herd and is something that I’ve been working on preventing along with the the Gwich’in for decades. The Gwich’in are caribou people. Their subsistence lifestyle and culture are tied to the herd, so they can lose everything if the herd is decimated by this development. For the Gwich’in, this is a human rights issue, because a threat to the caribou is a threat their health and culture.

Unfortunately, you weren’t successful in getting the photo that you wanted on this particular expedition. Did you find that disappointment hard to deal with? What drives you to keep going, to keep trying to get the shot you want?

I didn’t find the disappointment hard to deal with – it’s simply part of the process. I know that I may spend a month chasing a perfect caribou photo on skis and not get it, but that I may be driving down some remote road a month later and get the best caribou photo of all time. It is all part of the process and things always work out in the end. All you can do is put the work in. The caribou are wild animals and part of that means they’re unpredictable. I didn’t get the shot that I specifically wanted but I got some incredible shots of them in their habitat, which for me is also a success.

Do you have any advice for young photographers who are just getting started and are looking to find their niche and style?

It is important to just go out and find your own stories and passion and just photograph it to death. It is the only way to learn. Simply go and do it. If you are passionate, you will have success and you might even be able to make an impact and incite change at the same time.

What are your hopes for the future, in terms of the caribou and their habitat?

I want the 200,000 strong Porcupine caribou herd to carry on migrating through these lands, just as they always have. I want it to stay the way it is, when I’m 100, when I’m gone and for another 5,000 years.

To read more about Peter’s expedition to photograph the Porcupine caribou, click here.

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Conservation Photography

National Geographic Explorer Thomas Peschak to Receive 2025 Eliza Scidmore Award for Outstanding Storytelling

This year’s award recognizes Peschak’s legacy of visually illuminating ecosystems, including the people advocating for them, while connecting audiences to the importance of conservation

Cover of the Amazon Special Single-Topic October 2024 Issue of National Geographic Magazine. Photo by Thomas P . Peschak/National Geographic.

Award-winning photographer and National Geographic Explorer T homas P. Peschak will receive the National Geographic Society’s 2025 Eliza Scidmore Award for Outstanding Storytelling for his long legacy of conservation storytelling at National Geographic and beyond.

The award — named for the writer and photographer Eliza Scidmore, the first woman elected to the Society’s Board of Trustees in 1892 — recognizes individuals whose work focuses on immersive storytelling to advance our understanding of the environmental and conservation issues we face, with the ultimate goal of supporting societies in making the best decisions for a healthier planet.

While Peschak began his career training as a marine biologist specializing in human-wildlife interactions, he eventually moved to photojournalism after realizing his impact on conservation could be greater through storytelling to inspire change. Now, Peschak’s accomplishments are world-renowned, with 18 Wildlife Photographer of the Year wins, seven World Press Photo Awards, and most recently, the 2024 Wildlife Photojournalist Story Award — all for his significant work documenting some of the most crucial conservation stories of our time.

Ariaú River, Brazil – A pink river dolphin cruises in the shallows of a flooded forest in Brazil’s Ariaú River. Its unique anatomy allows it to swim easily through these waters. Narrow dorsal fins, long snouts and large, flexible flippers let the mammals slip in and out of submerged branches. “They basically fly between the trees,” marine biologist Fernando Trujillo says, “following the fish.” Featured in the Special Single-Topic October 2024 Amazon Issue of National Geographic Magazine. © THOMAS P. PESCHAK/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

“Tom’s work is rooted in a commitment to drive meaningful impact. Whether documenting vital ecosystems, the plight of at-risk species or the stories of communities, his images open our eyes to the world, make it clear what’s at stake and inspire us to act,” said Jill Tiefenthaler, CEO of the National Geographic Society. “Tom’s dedication to illuminating and protecting the wonder of our world defines his work, and it’s why we are deeply honored to present him with the 2025 Eliza Scidmore Award for Outstanding Storytelling.”

Most recently, he was the lead storyteller on the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Amazon Expedition, a multiyear series of solutions-centered science expeditions spanning the entire Amazon River Basin. Working with fellow Explorers and local communities, Peschak immersed himself in the basin for 396 days to reveal its aquatic and wetland habitats. The single-topic October issue of the National Geographic magazine was devoted entirely to Peschak’s stunning images of the Amazon Expedition. Starting with ice axes and crampons in the icy high Andes and finishing with scuba gear in the Atlantic Ocean, he created the first-of-its-kind comprehensive photographic archive of our planet’s most iconic and biodiverse river system.

Wolf Island, Galapagos Islands – A ground finch pecks at the base of a Nazca booby’s flight feathers and drinks the blood. © THOMAS P. PESCHAK/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

To date, Peschak has photographed 20 National Geographic magazine features on various subjects, including manta rays, sea turtles, climate change in Antarctica and the global seabird crisis, the latter of which resulted from a Society grant in 2017. Seeking to address the loss of 230 million seabirds over 60 years, Peschak mined archives for images of seabird colonies in Peru taken 100 years ago and re-photographed those same locations, presenting these images side by side in an innovative multimedia display to visualize this staggering absence in the hopes of protecting this ecologically critical and unique species.

Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles Islands – Blacktip reef sharks wait for the tide to refill the lagoon at remote Aldabra Atoll. © THOMAS P. PESCHAK/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

In addition to his extraordinary photojournalistic work, Peschak has written and photographed eight books, including “Sharks and People,” which chronicles the relationship between people and sharks around the world, and “Wild Seas,” a collection of photos taken by Peschak documenting the beauty and fragility of underwater life and wild coastlines from around the world. He has also appeared as a speaker for the National Geographic Live! series, having presented over 20 shows in 15 cities on three continents.

Mexico – A manta ray being cleaned by Clarion angelfish. Today these animals play an important role in tourism in places like Mexico’s Archipiélago de Revillagigedo Biosphere Reserve, in the Pacific Ocean about 240 miles southwest of Baja’s southern tip. © THOMAS P. PESCHAK/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

“Photography and storytelling aren’t just about highlighting places with unique biodiversity, especially when areas like the Amazon basin are under siege every day from issues like overfishing, pollution and climate change,” said Peschak. “To capture the full scale, it’s imperative to highlight these challenges as well as the people who are facing them head-on: local communities, Indigenous peoples, researchers and other Explorers. The goal and hope with my work has always been to photograph places I love in order to help save them, so it is a true honor to receive this award and get to continue to work on important stories of conservation.”

Bahama Islands – Green sea turtles congregate near a dock in the Bahamas. © THOMAS P. PESCHAK/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

While remaining a cornerstone of storytelling work at the Society, Peschak continues to focus on marine conservation storytelling more broadly, serving as the director of storytelling for the Save our Seas Foundation — an organization he has been an integral part of for almost two decades. He is also a founding director of the Manta Trust and a senior fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers.

Peschak will be honoured as the 2025 Eliza Scidmore Award recipient during the annual National Geographic Society Storytellers Summit in February 2025. To learn more about Peschak and other Explorers’ work, visit our website here.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

The National Geographic Society is a global nonprofit organization that uses the power of science, exploration, education and storytelling to illuminate and protect the wonder of our world. Since 1888, National Geographic has pushed the boundaries of exploration, investing in bold people and transformative ideas, providing more than 15,000 grants for work across all seven continents, reaching 3 million students each year through education offerings, and engaging audiences around the globe through signature experiences, stories and content.

Conservation Photography

Manta Ray Magic: Witnessing a Feeding Frenzy in the Great Barrier Reef – Photography by Aliya Siddiqi

While working at an island that’s known as “the home of the manta ray,” it’s easy for most of us staff to get jaded at seeing one or two manta rays…per day. Maybe they do a quick cruise past, or maybe a stop at the cleaning station. But when these mantas do aggregate around this small island on the Great Barrier Reef, those are the days that turn into pure magic. And it reminds us all as to why these animals are so spectacular to interact with.

Manta rays, more specifically Manta alfredi, are unique in the contrast between their large size and inquisitive behavior around humans. Despite reaching average lengths of three to five meters wingtip to wingtip, they are filter feeders and seek out the smallest creatures in the ocean to feed on. The diets of manta rays are found to consist mostly of different types of zooplankton, small creatures that range from microscopic single-celled organisms to the larvae of larger animals like crabs, octopuses, and fish. Zooplankton are heterotrophic, meaning that they obtain their energy from feeding on other organisms including phytoplankton and other zooplankton. In this photo series, all of those small dots sparkling in the photos indicate a high number of plankton.

According to scientists studying the island aggregation site, the higher biomass of zooplankton seems to be a result of “local concentration and retention processes around the island”. Though still unknown why these zooplankton blooms around the island happen, when it does become what we call “manta soup,” the foraging behaviour of the manta rays gives guests and staff some unforgettable experiences. The elasmobranchs ensure filter-feeding efficiency by looping around consistently in nutrient-dense areas. All one must do is stay in that same spot and wait for the mantas to swoop in and detour around you – though with strong currents, this is often more easily said than done. However, some days you get lucky when the weather window blesses you with no wind, high zooplankton biomass, and an influx of manta rays.

These photos come from a day like that, making it almost too easy for an amateur photographer like me to capture these charismatic animals. The mantas were swooping in and out, with some of the females displaying quite pregnant bellies. Like any aggregation site, tourism operators greatly benefit from the frequency at which these animals appear. Their docile and curious nature also makes them excellent flagship species for marine conservationists. Listed as Vulnerable to Extinction by the IUCN, these experiences with the public allow for an opportunity to discuss the challenges our oceans are facing, and why protection is of the utmost importance.

Conservation Photography

Cleaning Stations & Coastal Cruising – Under the Waves with Karim Iliya, October 2024

This is a turtle cleaning station. You can see the turtle in the back getting cleaned by a fish which eats parasites and algae off the turtle’s skin, shell, and scales. The turtle in the front is waiting its turn. This is a symbiotic relationship in which the turtles get cleaned, and the fish get a meal.

A Hawaiian green sea turtle cruises beneath the waves off the coast of Hawaii. This turtle was eating algae off the rocks, seemingly unaffected by the powerful turbulent water all around. When not eating algae, these turtles spend much of their time laying on the nearby beach .

Karim was published in National Geographic magazine for his humpback whale photography. He now leads his own trips so that others can swim with whales.

If you are interested in swimming with or photographing humpback whales, Karim guides people on small trips between August and October every year in Tonga. Visit www.dancewithwhales.com to find out more

To see more of Karim’s work, visit his website at www.karimphotography.com