Ami Vitale is a Nikon Ambassador and National Geographic photographer, writer, speaker and documentary filmmaker. She has traveled to more than 100 countries, documenting the heartbreaking realities of war and witnessing the inspiring power of individuals making a difference.
Throughout the years, Ami has lived in mud huts and war zones, contracted malaria, and donned a panda suit— keeping true to her belief in the importance of “living the story.” Her award-winning work illuminates the unsung heroes and communities working to protect wildlife and finding harmony in our natural world.
She has been named one of the most influential conservation photographers of her generation and is Conservation International's Lui-Walton Innovators Fellow. In 2022, she was awarded with the prestigious prizes from the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service and the Lucie Humanitarian Award. Instyle Magazine named Ami one of fifty Badass Women, a series celebrating women who show up, speak up and get things done. She appeared alongside a group of incredible women including Jane Goodall, Christiane Amanpour and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She has also been named Magazine photographer of the year in the International Photographer of the Year award, received the Daniel Pearl for Outstanding Journalism award and is a six-time recipient of World Press Photos. She is the author of the best-selling book, Panda Love, on the secret lives of pandas.
Ami is also the founder and Executive Director of the non-profit Vital Impacts which uses art to empower and engage youth through the arts to become activists and influence their peers in the world. She lectures around the world for the National Geographic LIVE series, and will be featured on the National Geographic Channel Explorer tv series in 2023. Based in Montana, she can be reached at ami@amivitale.com.
Vital Impacts: Our Interconnected World at the Festival della Fotografia Etica
Never before has it been so clear that our fates are inextricably linked to the life around us, whether we see it or not. We can learn to live more deeply when our eyes are open to the wild. Vital Impacts mission is to use photography to transcend language and create empathy, awareness and understanding [ … ]
Learn MoreHope for Extinction
Hope for Extinction, an exhibition, featuring the work of Ami Vitale, documents the mutual interaction of humankind and nature, telling stories of the people who protect what remains of nature. It showcases stories from the Elephant Orphanage in Kenya and a project looking at the dramatic rescue of two Rothschild’s giraffes, transported across the lake [ … ]
Learn MoreEmpathy leads to Impact with The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
As part of the The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation’s Profiles and Perspectives program, Ami will be giving the talk, “Empathy Leads to Impact” at 7 p.m. on Oct. 6 at the Ardmore Convention Center in Ardmore, OK. Ami believes that we become our stories: those we take in, those we tell ourselves, and those we [ … ]
Learn MoreMissouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service
The Missouri School of Journalism has announced the 2022 recipients of the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service, a prestigious award recognizing lifetime or superior achievement in journalism or strategic communication. Two individuals and a nonprofit media organization will accept their medals at an evening reception and banquet on Wednesday, Oct. 19, beginning at 6 [ … ]
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The Lucies to Honor Ami Vitale
The Lucie Awards is the premiere annual event honoring the greatest achievements in photography. The photography community from around the globe pays tribute to the most outstanding people in the field. Each year, the Lucie Advisory Board nominates deserving individuals across a variety of categories. The goals of The Lucies are threefold: to honor master [ … ]
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Ami Vitale to Receive Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service
The Missouri School of Journalism has announced the 2022 recipients of the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service, a prestigious award recognizing lifetime or superior achievement in journalism or strategic communication. Two individuals and a nonprofit media organization will accept their medals at an evening reception and banquet on Wednesday, Oct. 19, beginning at 6 [ … ]
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Hat’s Off to You All!
My heart is exploding with love and gratitude to all of you who made the Vital Impacts fundraiser for humanitarian aid a huge success. Thanks to the outpouring of support, the print initiative sold over $800,000 of iconic, fine art prints by some of the world’s most fascinating photographers. I am grateful for the generosity [ … ]
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Impact Now for Humanitarian Relief
I am honored to launch a new Vital Impacts flash print sale with the photographers of National Geographic. 100% of profits will be donated to Direct Relief who are allocating these funds to the regions in the world in most need of humanitarian aid. They are working in Ukraine now to provide medical aid to [ … ]
