National Geographic Celebrates International Women’s Day

National Geographic published “How Women Photographers Access Worlds Hidden from Men” in celebration of their female photographers on International Women’s Day. In the piece, the women reflect on how gender influences their work. In an industry dominated by men, female photographers face additional hurdles to move their careers forward, but they also have an advantage when it comes to accessing personal stories of women around the world.

The story featured Ami Vitale’s photograph of one of the first women keepers at Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, Mary Lengees, affectionately stroking the head of a baby elephant, highlighting Mary’s devotion to caring for the animals. Ami reflects on the photograph, writing, “Though she and the women who work for her encounter resistance, the team at Reteti is united in its mission to rescue abandoned elephant calves, nurse them back to health, and reintroduce them to the wild. It requires vigilance and round-the-clock care, but Lowuekuduk’s passion for saving these 200-plus-pound babies knows no bounds. In a world where we focus only on the challenges and things that divide us, it’s important also to talk about the solutions.”

See the other photographs shared by female National Geographic photographers and read about their experiences telling women’s stories here.

B&H Feature: Ami Vitale Advocates for Mother Earth

B&H published an in-depth feature on Ami Vitale, covering the story of her career trajectory from conflict photographer to documenting the natural world. Thanks to one well-timed assignment focusing on people’s relationship to nature in remote locations worldwide, Ami’s whole photographic career shifted.

“That chance for reflection, to look at the natural world, helped me put all the pieces together,” Vitale says of this project. “I realized that all the conflicts I had been covering were ultimately about our resources. That the biggest story, which I had been missing, was our natural world and what we’re doing to it. It was one of the most transformative moments in my career.”

After receiving a Master’s degree in filmmaking, the scope of Ami’s work expanded further, which the story explores along with sharing her advice for other photographers and information on the gear she prefers. It emphasizes her mission to share stories of hope and to encourage people everywhere to take action to preserve the world for future generations.

Read the full feature here.

@natgeo Celebrates 100 Million Followers

When the National Geographic Instagram account, @natgeo, recently reached the milestone of 100 million followers, they celebrated by sharing albums of their most popular images from the account. Three of Ami Vitale’s photographs were included in these selections, which show the imagery that resonated most deeply with audiences worldwide.

Out of 20,000 photos that have been posted on their Instagram account, the photo of Sudan being comforted by his long time keeper Joseph elicited more reactions than all but one photo ever posted on their feed. The moment resonated across the globe and served as a powerful wake up call to tens of millions of people.

You can see all the galleries here.

Bust Magazine

The January/February 2019 print edition of Bust Magazine featured a story on Ami Vitale’s work with pandas, “Getting the Perfect Panda Photo Requires a Pee-Soaked Costume: This Photographer Tells Us How She Does It.” Ami shares behind the scenes information about how she made the photographs for her 2018 book, Panda Love, including the need for her to wear a panda suit that smelled like panda urine, to keep the bears she was photographing from habituating to human presence, as they were being raised for release back into the wild.

Though the number of pandas in the wild has risen in recent years thanks to various conservation efforts, especially in China, pandas remain a threatened species for a couple of reasons: their natural habitat keeps shrinking due to deforestation, and they’re hard to breed in captivity. Vitale believes that the recent incline in the panda population is a sign of hope for all of us, though, even as we’re bombarded daily with alarming headlines about climate change. “The story of the panda is a perfect metaphor for what we can do to turn things around,” she says. “We are at a turning point and the world is fragile and vulnerable. The choice is ours now. I want to tell people not to feel helpless and remind them that the power of individuals to make a difference is real.”

Read the full article here.

Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award

The nominees for the 2nd Annual Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award were announced today. Ami Vitale is one of the nominators for the prize.

This award is the first environmental award to single out innovators under the age of 40. It is created to serve as an early investment in our future, giving today’s top young minds the community and financial support that will take their ideas to the next level.

Ami nominated Asha de Vos, founder of Oceanswell, Sri Lanka’s first marine conservation research and education organization, and an important advocate for diversity in marine conservation.

Wildscreen Photo Story Panda Award

Ami was named one of the three finalists for the 2018 Wildscreen Photo Story Panda Award. To win this award is to have your work judged as one of the best examples in the natural world storytelling genre by the industry’s most respected and accomplished leaders.

The finalist gallery was recently featured in The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph.

Creative Review: How I Got Here

Over the last two decades, Ami Vitale has travelled to over 95 countries, writing, taking photographs and now making films, driven by belief that telling stories helps connect people rather than emphasize differences. Besides working with National Geographic Magazine, she conducts photography workshops all over the world and is publishing a book, Panda Love: the Secret Lives of Pandas.

In this piece, “How I Got Here: Ami Vitale,” she speaks to Creative Review about how she discovered photography, making an impact and more, and tells the stories of some of her images.

Smithsonian Feature

Smithsonian Magazine published a feature, “Why Photographing Pandas is More Challenging Than You Might Think,” coinciding with the release of Ami Vitale’s latest book, Panda Love: The Secret Lives of Pandas.

Through its 159 pages, the book takes viewers on an exclusive look behind the scenes of China’s panda breeding centers and captive release program, chronicling the lovable bears’ journey—from blind, hairless newborns no bigger than a stick of butter to full-furred adults who tip the scales at more than 300 pounds.

Native to the forested mountains of central China, panda populations suffered in the late 20th century from poaching, deforestation and encroaching human development. However, with the backing of the Chinese government, the creatures are slowly multiplying in the rugged terrain. And now, as Vitale details in Panda Love, scientists are working to not only breed baby pandas, but release them back into the wild.

Read more about Ami’s process photographing pandas here.

WBFO Buffalo: Photojournalist Views a Planet Under Duress

Ami Vitale spoke with Buffalo, NY’s local NPR station, WBFO, prior to her lecture, “Rhinos, Rickshaws, and Revolutions” in a piece entitled Photojournalist Views a Planet Under Duress.

Ami offers some background on her career and the stories she shares in her lectures, particularly focusing on Sudan, the last male Northern White Rhino. Ami had first met Sudan at a zoo in the Czech Republic, years before she captured the heartbreaking image of his final moments alive. It was this story that marked her shift from photographing conflict to focusing on stories about animal and environmental conservation.

Listen to the full radio piece here.