Category: Climate

Announcing the Winner of the Polar Latitudes With Ami Vitale Antarctica Trip!

Posted on by Sophie

The moment we’ve all been eagerly awaiting has finally arrived and choosing a winner was no easy feat, each of the 515 applicants was nothing short of awe-inspiring! I want to sincerely extend my deepest gratitude to all of you who participated.  

 It was truly humbling to witness the immense talent and passion displayed by all the applicants for the Antarctica trip. Each submission was a testament to the incredible dedication and creativity within our community. The decision-making process for the judges was undoubtedly challenging, as every applicant brought something unique and valuable to the table. 

Drum roll please…. I am thrilled to announce that the winner of the Vital Impacts trip to Antarctica, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia with me and Polar Latitudes is Madison McKay!   

Madison is a marine biologist and science communicator, currently researching Bull Kelp restoration in Northern California as part of her master’s degree at Moss Landing Marine Labs. Known for her captivating work on Instagram as @its_mad_science instagram account and on TikTok as @nudibranch_nerd, she has enchanted millions with the marvels of tide pools and enlightened us about the enigmatic nudibranchs.   

Madison was surprised and said, “I was completely surprised and thrilled to hear I won this once in a lifetime opportunity! I am honestly still in shock! Visiting Antarctica is every marine biologist’s dream and I can’t believe it is going to become a reality.  I hope that by educating others on the importance and beauty of these ecosystems I can encourage others to get into this field and be good stewards of the environment. I can’t wait to learn more tools for communicating science and creating meaningful connections between our communities and nature.” 

And I too am honored and grateful to Polar Latitudes for allowing me to share this experience. Going to Antarctica is a rare privilege and one that I do not take lightly. I hope that we will do more than just showcase the beauty of this remote landscape but instead, nurture the next generation of advocates for our planet. By providing mentorship and firsthand experience in such a critical environment, I hope to empower our winners to create impactful narratives that resonate globally. The goal is to spark meaningful conversations, inspire action, and ultimately drive positive change for the future of our planet. 

If anyone is interested, we do have a handful of spaces left on this Polar Latitudes expedition to Falkland Islands/Malvinas, South Georgia and Antarctica! I am leading an immersive photography program onboard and you will not only make amazing photos but also come back with important visual storytelling skills. 10% Early Bird pricing is available if you book now! Learn more here.  

Finally, I am incredibly grateful to my generous sponsors Nikon who will be awarding a brand new Z8 camera, to Luminar Neo who will be awarding a one year license for Luminar Neo photo editing software, to ThinkTank Photo who will be awarding their Mirrorless Mover bag and Secure PPR card wallet and finally, we at Vital Impacts will be awarding 8×12 inch prints from our current initiative “The Nature of Hope: 90 Prints in Honor of Jane Goodall”  

Thank you again to everyone who shared their powerful work. It was an honor to spend time with your photography. I invite you all to apply for our 2024 Grant and Mentorship Program. Details on the program are available here.  

Join me in Antarctica!

Posted on by Ami Vitale

Embark on an unforgettable journey to Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia to learn the art of visual storytelling!

Any number of ships can take you to Antarctica. And the incredible landscape, the wildlife, and Antarctica’s ethereal light – it will all be waiting for you regardless.  But how you experience this wonderous place and how deeply it touches you will depend in large part on who you travel with.

I am thrilled to announce that I will be partnering with Polar Latitudes to journey to Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia inNovember 2024. This will be much more than just a travel experience, it’s a chance to immerse yourself in the breathtaking beauty of this icy wilderness while also becoming an ambassador for its preservation. I will be leading an Immersive Photography Program, curated by Polar Latitudes, and meticulously crafted to empower photographers with a profound love for nature to harness the power of visual storytelling. You’ll not only capture the mesmerizing landscapes and wildlife but also convey the urgency of protecting this remarkable ecosystem. 

Adding to the excitement, I’m thrilled to announce that we are giving away one spot to a female-identifying photographer or artist to join me on this unparalleled expedition. Applications are open until March 28! 

About this Antarctic Photography Adventure 

The trip to Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia begins November 1st in Ushuaia and returns on November 21st, 2024. I am thrilled to partner with Polar Latitudes, who are renowned for their expertise in small-ship Antarctic expeditions. This is a wildlife lover’s dream journey!  With beaches covered in fur seals, elephant seals, and hundreds of thousands of penguins, it’s one of the most jaw-dropping nature scenes you will ever experience. It’s an experience that promises to be both humbling and exhilarating. 

Over the course of our 22-day expedition, we will have small groups and I’ll be offering on-the-ground photography guidance and conducting personalized photo reviews. Together, we’ll not only capture remarkable images but also cultivate a deeper understanding of how visual storytelling can serve as a tool for conservation and preservation.

This will be an environment where creativity thrives. I’m eagerly looking forward to providing feedback to both aspiring and seasoned visual artists as they expand their skills and utilize photography as a tool for planetary conservation. 

If you book your space now, you can  secure a spot  and enjoy a 10% off Early Bird pricing special, plus an additional 5% if paid in full here.  

Win a trip to Antartica!

This month in honor of international Women’s Day, Vital Impacts, Polar Latitudes and I are teaming up to  launch a contest for one aspiring or experienced female-identifying photographer to accompany me on this trip. To enter, contestants are asked to tag @polarlatitudes, @amivitale and @vital.impacts on social media, share one photo and either post a video or send an essay about how they’ll use the experience to create a positive impact. The deadline to enter is March 28. 

The trip is valued at $28,000 and this package includes one roundtrip economy class airfare ticket to Ushuaia, Argentina (up to $2,500), airport transfer, shipboard food and accommodation (a shared cabin with one female Vital Impacts team member), and more. In addition to training, workshops, and inspiration, this Antarctica trip offers a chance to become immersed in Vital Impacts, my women-led nonprofit that uses art and storytelling to support grassroots conservation. 

To apply and to find the contest rules and conditions, visit the Vital Impacts website. Or skip the contest and reserve your spot today.

Either way, I can’t wait to see you on the other side of the world! 

The National Geographic Photo of the Decade

Posted on by Eileen Mignoni

There are no words to adequately describe the profound feelings of hope and melancholy inspired by Joseph Wachira’s final goodbye to Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhino. This image has been chosen as the best photo of the decade by the people who voted yesterday on National Geographic’s Instagram account. I will never forget what it felt like to witness what I believed to be the end of a species. Yet, in a beautiful twist of fate, this image – an image documenting extinction – is the beginning of something powerful, something hopeful.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Our world faces so many challenges. Humans are ushering in a new era of mass extinction. While that thought keeps me up at night, the profound care that Joseph showed for Sudan inspires hope and drives me to work even harder. Those who feel the urgency of this moment in history, are coming together around this image. As I write this, embryos created by Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Avantea, Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya Wildlife Service and Safari Park Dvur Kralove wait to be transferred into a surrogate mother. This would not have been possible without your support. Please keep supporting the Biorescue Project. This matters.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The coming decades will not be easy, but I believe we are making a real difference. You are my hope for a future that includes rhinos and other endangered species. The key thing is to not fall into the trap of thinking that these issues are too big to deal with or that someone else is taking care of the problems. It is up to all of us. It’s up to you. And to me. Be the VOICE for this planet. Don’t sit this one out. Without rhinos and elephants and other wildlife we suffer more than loss of ecosystem health. We suffer a loss of imagination, a loss of wonder, a loss of beautiful possibilities. Saving nature is really about saving ourselves. Sudan taught me that.

B&H Feature: Ami Vitale Advocates for Mother Earth

Posted on by Ami Vitale

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.

National Geographic Storytellers Seminar

Posted on by Eileen Mignoni

The National Geographic Storytellers Summit is a multi-day celebration of story, featuring the photographers, filmmakers, journalists, and data visualizers who witness the major events of our time, illuminate critical issues, and inspire action.

Photographer and National Geographic Explorer Ami Vitale delivered the talk, “How to Photograph Hope.” Ami has covered conflict, violence, and heartbreak—like photographing the last Northern white rhino during his dying moments—but she’s also made it her mission to find and capture stories of hope.

Bust Magazine

Posted on by Ami Vitale

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.

Creative Review: How I Got Here

Posted on by Ami Vitale

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.

WBFO Buffalo: Photojournalist Views a Planet Under Duress

Posted on by Ami Vitale

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.

REI: Wild Ideas Worth Living

Posted on by Ami Vitale

Ami Vitale was a recent guest on REI’s podcast, “Wild Ideas Worth Living.” Her wild idea? To use photography to help people from around the world understand each other and connect. To raise awareness about cultures, communities, animals, and the environment.

Ami is a world-class photographer who has traveled the world on assignment for publications like National Geographic and the Associated Press. She got her start in journalism working as a war correspondent, and now focuses on stories, videos, and photos about culture, wildlife and the environment. As a storyteller, she’s traveled to over 90 countries, lived in mud huts and war zones, contracted malaria, and even donned a panda suit.

To listen to the full podcast, visit here.

Momondo: A Photojournalist With a Vision

Posted on by Ami Vitale

Momondo published an interview with Ami Vitale about her work traveling the world, covering stories that unite humanity – be it endangered animals, local communities or social unrest.

Ami has spent the past 18 years traveling from country to country, telling one story at a time. Whether it’s social unrest in Asia, the last northern white rhinos in Kenya or the award-winning photo story of the world’s most iconic endangered animal, the giant panda – Ami has lived in mud huts, contracted malaria and even donned a panda suit, all in keeping her philosophy of “living the story.” Throughout the years, Ami has kept returning to the same places, engaging with the local communities. She has made it her mission to tell stories that challenge existing prejudices.

Read the full interview here.