"To roam the farthest corners of the Earth, where wild creatures live, is a privilege reserved for an adventurous handful. But even though most of us may never feel the chill of Arctic air through the frozen flap of an icy tent, images can help us understand the urgency many photographers feel to protect wild places. My work is about building a greater awareness of the responsibility of what it means to be a human. It is about understanding that the history of every living thing that has ever existed on this planet also lives within us. It is about the ethical imperative—the urgent reminder that we are inextricably linked to all other species on this planet and that we have a duty to act as the keepers of our fellow life forms."
Cristina Goettsch Mittermeier was born in Mexico City in 1966 and grew up in nearby Cuernavaca, in the sunny state of Morelos. She is a photographer and marine biologist who for the past 25 years has been working as a writer, conservationist and photographer. She graduated from the ITESM University in Mexico with a degree in Biochemical Engineering in Marine Sciences and later attended the Fine Art Photography program at the Corcoran College for the Arts in Washington, D.C. In 2005 she founded the prestigious International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP) to provide a platform for photographers working on environmental issues. In 2015 she co-founded Sea Legacy, a non profit dedicated to protecting the ocean, with her partner, Canadian photographer Paul Nicklen. The couple lives in Nanoose Bay, on Vancouver Island.
SeaLegacy is an organization dedicated to promoting the protection of the world's oceans through storytelling. Cristina's work has been published in hundreds of publications, including National Geographic Magazine, McLean's and TIME.
In 2010 Mittermeier was awarded the Mission Award from the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) and the Smithsonian Conservation Photographer of the Year Award. In 2016 she received the Imaging Award for Photographers who Give Back. She is a member of the World Photographic Academy. Cristina is a Sony Artisan of Imagery, and was recently recognized as one of the World’s top 40 Most Influential Outdoor Photographers by Outdoor Magazine.
Cristina has three adult children, John, Michael and Juliana; all of whom are passionate about nature.
