Author: Ami Vitale

Ami Vitale’s career stands as a testament to her deep dedication to documenting and addressing global crises. As an acclaimed National Geographic photographer, writer, and documentary filmmaker, as well as the founder of Vital Impacts, Ami has consistently spotlighted critical issues affecting our world. Her journey began in conflict zones, where she observed firsthand how environmental degradation—from resource scarcity to climate change—intensifies human suffering and conflict. This early exposure shaped her understanding of the profound connections between human and environmental crises. Vitale's work focuses on the stories of individuals living on the front lines of war, climate change, and extinction, who refuse to let cataclysm define their futures. Through her compelling journalism, she highlights stories of resilience and innovation, emphasizing the delicate balance between humanity and wildlife and the urgent need for conservation. Vitale’s work connects viewers to critical local conservation issues of global importance, underscoring our interconnectedness with one another and the natural world. In addition to her journalism and filmmaking, Vitale is the founder and Executive Director of Vital Impacts, a non-profit organization that leverages the power of art to inspire and mobilize youth as agents of change. Vitale and her non-profit have raised over $5 million to support vital conservation projects. Ami is an honorary fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and a recipient of the prestigious Lucie Humanitarian Award, the Missouri Honor Media for Distinguished Service, and an inductee into the North Carolina Media and Journalism Hall of Fame. She has also received the Daniel Pearl Award for Outstanding Reporting, been named Magazine Photographer of the Year at the International Photographer of the Year awards, and is a six-time recipient of World Press Photo awards. Instyle magazine featured her alongside Jane Goodall and Ruth Bader Ginsburg in its series "Fifty Badass Women," celebrating women who exemplify courage and action. Ami is currently serving as Conservation International's 2023/2024 Lui-Walton Innovators Fellow. A sought-after speaker, she continues to share her experiences and insights with audiences worldwide, and is featured on the National Geographic Channel Explorer TV series.

American Illustrator-American Photography

Posted on by Ami Vitale

American Illustrator-American Photography are juried showcases for established, emerging and student illustrators and photographers. The award annuals offer high visibility and recognition where it matters most. Winners are published in a large-format, luxurious, hardcover, showcasing  work that’s ahead of its time.

The AI-AP books, published annually in November, are the first go-to resourses for art directors, designers, photo editors and art buyers who insist on assigning only the best original, thoughtful and compelling pictures.

Canon Female Photojournalist Award

Posted on by Ami Vitale

The Canon Female Photojournalist Award is an annual prize for women photojournalists. Women photojournalists worldwide are welcome to enter the competition, for which there is no age limit. The 8,000-euro award enables the winners to finance their projects and have their work exhibited at the festival in Perpignan and later in Paris at the Cosmos Galery. I’m grateful to have been a former recipient.

Carmignac Gestion Photojournalism Award

Posted on by Ami Vitale

In addition to an award of 50,000 euros, the Carmignac Gestion Foundation supports the winner after completion of the project by financing an exhibition and a monograph. The Foundation also commits to buying four photographs from the work produced. In offering this award, the Carmignac Gestion Foundation aims to support photojournalists who find themselves working on the front-line of different situations. In choosing to support this profession which is critically underfunded, Carmignac Gestion wishes to provide these key witnesses of the contemporary world with the means to go where others don’t.

CDS Documentary Essay Prize in Photography

Posted on by Ami Vitale

The CDS Documentary Prize honors the best in documentary writing and photography in alternating years, with a focus on current or recently completed work from a long-term project. The winner of the competition will receive $3,000 and have his or her work featured in Document, a quarterly newsmagazine published by the Center for Documentary Studies, as well as in a virtual gallery on the CDS website.

Center: The Project Development Grant

Posted on by Ami Vitale

The Project Development Grant offers financial support to fine art, documentary or photojournalist works-in-progress. The grant includes a cash award to help complete a project as well as platforms for feedback and professional development opportunities for the works final stages. This grant is awarded to projects that are still in progress and have not been exhibited or published.