Deanne Fitzmaurice

As a Pulitzer Prize-winning documentary photographer and filmmaker, Deanne is most known for her visual storytelling and unique ability to go behind the scenes to discover and convey personal, intimate and emotional stories through images. With a focus on contemporary culture, Fitzmaurice, a Nikon Ambassador, represents a wide variety of publications, including creating content for National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and many other respected outlets. Deanne has won awards from American Photography, Pictures of the Year, Communication Arts, PDN Photo Annual, NPPA Best of Photojournalism, UNICEF and the Casey Medal. After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Deanne worked as a staff photographer at the San Francisco Chronicle for 18 years and is now represented by National Geographic Image Collection.

Dave Black

A Nikon Ambassador and one of the pioneers in the conversion to all-digital photography, Dave Black is best known for his sports photography including covering Olympic games for more than 20 years for Newsweek. Constantly reinventing himself, he’s currently pushing new frontiers in combining lightpainting and western imagery, photography well suited for a gallery wall.

Clay Bolt

Clay Bolt is a Natural History and Conservation Photographer specializing in the world’s smaller creatures. He regularly partners with organizations such as the National Geographic Society, National Wildlife Federation, and Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. He is an Associate Fellow in the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP) and past president of the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA). His current major focus is on North America’s native bees and the important roles that they play in our lives. He was a leading voice in the fight to protect the rusty-patched bumble bee as a federally protected species under the Endangered Species Act, which became North America’s first federally protected native bee in 2017. In 2019, Bolt became the first photographer to document a living Wallace’s Giant Bee—the world’s largest bee—as a part of a four person exploration team to rediscover the species in the Indonesian islands knowns as the North Moluccas. Learn more at www.claybolt.com.

Jean Fruth

Photographer Jean Fruth does more than take pictures.  She tells stories — of vibrant personalities, local cultures, and distinctive communities.  From a small darkroom to the most iconic stadiums flooded with lights, Jean’s trajectory as one of photography’s preeminent visual storytellers has taken her on a round-the-horn tour of the world’s most indelible landmarks – from the world of baseball to the world at large.  Sports have always been Jean’s most compelling subject, and from her earliest days in sports photography, she covered everything from wrestling to sailing to basketball — and on any given Friday, she could be found taking full advantage of those Friday night lights, shooting northern California’s storied football rivalries.

Soon Jean was called up to the big leagues herself, as she spent nearly a decade shooting the crown jewels of Bay Area sports — the Giants, the A’s, the 49ers.  Her portfolio quicky expanded when she was invited to Cooperstown and the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum, where she helped build the museum’s archive and bring to life the story of baseball.  America’s most eminent historical institutions – including the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and the Smithsonian — have featured her work.

What drives Jean now is to serve communities through her storytelling – as the co-founder of Grassroots Baseball, a non-profit that promotes participation in baseball at the youngest levels, and as a traveling photographer for La Vida Baseball and La Vida Sports, digital media companies that shares the stories of Latino sports around the globe.  As one of Sony’s select Artisans of Imagery, and through her popular workshops, she shares her techniques, her insights, and her love of images — both the power of pictures and the stories they tell.

Jean’s first book, Grassroots Baseball: Where Legends Begin, was released in 2019. Her latest, Grassroots Baseball: Route 66, was published in spring 2022, with proceeds benefitting the non-profit program.

Savannah Cummins

Savannah is a photographer and filmmaker based out of Salt Lake City, Utah. Raised in the suburbs of Cincinnati, she grew up playing in the creek in her backyard. At 16, she had her first “real” outdoor experience, in Northern Minnesota, and since then she has been committed to combining her passion for the outdoors with her profession. When she picked up a camera for the first time in 2014, she knew she had found her niche. She was taken on to the North Face team in 2017, and in 2017 alone joined legendary climbers Alex Honnold, Jimmy Chin and Conrad Anker on an expedition to Antarctica, documented Katie Bono’s speed record on Denali, and traveled to the Kashmir region of Northern India on an all-female first ascent expedition. Her clients include Google, The North Face, La Sportiva, Five Ten, Black Diamond, Canon, Osprey, REI, Darn Tough, Point6, Big Agnes, Stio, PrAna, Patagonia, Climbing Magazine, Rock and Ice, Alpinist, Gripped Magazine, Women’s Health, Native Eyewear, Gnarly Nutrition, Arc’teryx, Mad Rock, and Eider.

Morgan Heim

Morgan (Mo) Heim raises a camera for one purpose – to capture moments in an animal’s life that will make us consider what that life means. Inevitably, those stories involve people as much as wildlife. How we treat them. Why we need them. What we love, or hate about them. Mo, used to work as a wildlife ecologist for NOAA on things like killer whale surveys and the Elwha Dam Removal project. She later earned a Master’s in environmental journalism and is a senior fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP). She has covered endangered fishing cats and shrimp farm development, and the environmental impacts of marijuana grows in our nation’s forests. In 2016, she became a National Geographic grantee for her collaboration on urban coyotes. Her photographic work has appeared in outlets such as Smithsonian, Discover, NationalGeographic.com, Nature Conservancy Magazine, and bioGraphic.com.

Jim Richardson

Jim has work appearing regularly in National Geographic magazine and National Geographic Traveler in addition to Geographic books. Jim is on assignment for Nat Geo projects almost full time and for good reason. Richardson, a onetime newspaper photographer in Kansas and Colorado, brings amazing story-telling techniques along with detailed research to his pictures. Thirty years ago, he began photographing the area around his hometown in north central Kansas.

Jen Edney

In a practical sense, Jen Edney is a photographer and burgeoning filmmaker. But use a wider scope; these are just titles for a person set to take us on a visual journey. A self-proclaimed “water baby,” Edney is an adventurer and a storyteller whose aim is to capture the expeditionary heart of any situation she shoots. She is a sailor, a traveler, and thus a participant in the images she captures and the stories she tells, from mountains to seas—all begninning from her home on the Plains of Nebraska. Jen was named to a list of the “Nine Top Female Adventure Photographers” by National Geographic. With over 40,000 nautical miles sailed en route to visiting over 30 countries, there is no doubt as to her adventurous spirit. Edney has been selected to the OBR squad for the Volvo Ocean Race 2017/18 and is the only female on the squad.

Darren Carroll

Darren is an accomplished sports action and portrait photographer, having done editorial work for the likes of Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Golf Digest and the NBA for over 20 years and commercial campaigns for Dick’s Sporting Goods, ClubCorp, and Golf Galaxy, among others. He serves as a photography consultant to the PGA of America, and is also part of the photography team for both the U.S. Open Golf and U.S. Open Tennis championships.

Doug Gimesy

Doug is a conservation, wildlife and animal welfare photojournalist, with a focus on Australian issues. He holds a Bachelor of Science with majors in zoology and microbiology, a Masters of Environment and a Masters of Bioethics. His work has been published by National Geographic, Audubon, BioGraphic, BBC Wildlife, Australian Geographic, and in papers such as the NY Times, The Australian and various NewsCorp mastheads.

His recent work has focused on the conservation and animal welfare issues that face the platypus and Grey-headed Flying-foxes, as well as a series of images to highlight the important work conservationists and wildlife rescuers do, entitled ‘Wildlife Warrior, Conservation Champions and Animal Advocates’ portraits.

An Associate Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP), in 2017 he co-established the Victorian Alliance for Platypus-Safe Yabby Traps that facilitated a ban on the use and possession of platypus-drowning fishing traps, and in 2021 (after 2 years) successfully had the platypus listed as a threatened species in his home state of Victoria – giving the platypus and its habitat greater protection.

Doug has been a finalist in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition and the Big Picture Natural World competition, has won the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year ‘Our Impact’ and ‘Monochrome’ categories, and Wildscreen Panda Photo Story Awards.

In 2020 he published a children’s book with his partner Heather, on Flying-foxes called ‘Life Upside Down’.

His hope is that the images and information he shares will inspire people to stop, think, and treat the world a little more kindly.

Brad Smith

Brad Smith is an award winning photo editor, with 35 years experience in visual storytelling. He’s the former DOP at Time Inc., Sports Group, which included Sports Illustrated and Golf Magazine. He was also with the New York Times as the Senior Sports Photo Editor and Assistant Director of Photography for the White House during the Clinton administration. He’s on the Board of Directors for the NPPA, Photo Start and the Eddie Adams Workshop, as well as the Creative Board for NYC Salt. He’s on the faculty for the Summit Photo Workshops, FOTOFusion and SWPJC. He’s the founder and director of Brad Smith Creative, a visual consulting group. Currently, he’s the Vice President for Photography, for the WWE.

Ted Hesser

Ted is a freelance adventure photographer, focusing on rock climbing and alpinism. His work has been published by National Geographic Online, Outside Magazine, Rock and Ice Magazine, The Alpinist Magazine, Escalando climbing magazine and various others. Ted has worked on assignment for The North Face, covering some of the company’s highest profile expeditions in Nepal, Angola and Kenya. He shoots TNF’s athlete summits each year. Ted also works closely with Black Diamond Ltd, shooting commercial photo and video projects throughout the year. He is an official ambassador for Goalzero and Boulder Denim. Other clients have included Columbia Sportswear, DJI, Travel Alberta, Destination BC, ReelRock Films, Royal Robbins, ThermaRest, Cascade Designs, Utah Tourism, Feathered Friends & La Sportiva. Prior to focusing full-time on photography, Ted worked for nearly a decade in the clean energy industry. He received a masters degree in renewable energy engineering from Stanford University, and a bachelors degree in Physics from Colorado College.

Katie Schuler

An advocate for the planet’s most at-risk species, Katie operates at the nexus between science, empathy, and storytelling. More than a decade of filmmaking across six continents has afforded Katie expertise in the field and in the editing room. Using her signature storytelling flair, Katie’s films explore how we live alongside nature, garnering accolades, accruing millions of views, and inspiring meaningful conservation victories. Her production company, Coral & Oak Studios, has partnered with many of the most recognizable names in wildlife filmmaking, including National Geographic, Smithsonian, BBC, HBO, and PBS. Katie’s film, Pangolin, is the winner of six best short awards including Jackson Wild’s 2017 Best Short category. Since its premiere, Pangolin has been translated into four languages, reaching over 75 million people while serving as an important tool for conservation. Two of her latest films, Where Life Begins, and Nigerians Fight to Protect the World’s Most Trafficked Mammal, have won awards at festivals in 2019. Katie is a National Geographic Explorer, a graduate of the Corcoran College of Art and Design, a Henry Luce Fellow, and a member of the International League of a Conservation Photographer’s Emerging League.

Dave Showalter

Dave Showalter is based in Colorado and focused on the American West. Dave has published two books – Sage Spirit, The American West at A Crossroads by Braided River (2015); and the award-winning Prairie Thunder by Skyline Press (2007). Dave’s photographs and articles have appeared in numerous publications, including Audubon, Conservation Biology, Outside, Outdoor Photographer, National Parks Magazine, High Country News, Wilderness, Colorado Life and elsewhere.

Allen Murabayashi

Allen Murabayashi is the Chairman and Co-founder of PhotoShelter, the worldwide leader in photography portfolio websites, photo sales, marketing and archiving tools for photographers. Allen previously served as a founding employee and Senior Vice President of Engineering at HotJobs.com.

Ben Liebenberg

Ben Liebenberg is a 2-time Emmy award winning, Los Angeles based photographer. Photography has always been his number one passion. What began as a hobby at a young age, quickly became his career.

His passion and drive has allowed Ben to travel the world. For the last 14 years, Ben has worked for the National Football League as the Director of Photography and Lead Photographer. He has covered and managed the imaging of hundreds of games and professional media events, including many Super Bowls. Ben’s newly found hobby of dirt bike riding, has extended his dynamic photography skills.

Matt Hernandez

Sebastian Kennerknecht

Sebastian Kennerknecht is a wildlife and conservation photographer with over fourteen years of experience visually covering wildlife and environmental issues internationally, focusing in particular on wild cats. He has produced high quality editorial photographs, time-lapses, videos, and web content featured in and by the New York Times, Washington Post, BBC Wildlife, Smithsonian, The Economist, Science, and Conservation International, among others. Using highly customized SLR camera traps, along with conventional photographic techniques, he works closely with field biologists to both effectively and ethically capture photographs of some of the rarest cats on the planet while also highlighting the threats they face. Working for conservation organizations and on magazine assignments, Sebastian has photographed twenty-three of the forty species of wild felids, in twenty-nine different countries.

Sebastian graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Evolution from the University of California – Santa Cruz, won NANPA’s emerging photographer award, and is an associate fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers.

Catherine Aeppel

Catherine Aeppel is a Director, Photographer and Emmy-winning Cinematographer passionate about telling soulful stories. She is drawn to exploring humanity through her lens, and her cinematography breathes life and emotion into the stories she captures. She is an outdoor adventure, action sports and conservation photographer and filmmaker based in Hermosa Beach, California. From the beaches of Israel to the slot canyons of Utah, from remote islands in the Pacific to as far as Western Australia, Catherine’s explorations through the lens have taken her around the world. She thrives with a camera in hand — and lives the adventures she captures. When she’s not shooting, she’s playing in mountains, deserts and oceans far away from crowded cities and civilization.

Catherine won a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Camerawork for her role as Director of Photography for Red Bull’s “One Shot.” Her work has been featured by National Geographic Adventure and her awards include first place in the GoPro Mountain Click Photo Competition at the 2018, 2016 & 2014 GoPro Mountain Games. Her short film, “Why I Ride,” was featured at Mountainfilm, and her short film, “My Desolate Eden,” won Best Cinematography during its premiere at No Man’s Land Film Festival. She has shot projects for clients including Red Bull, The North Face, Patagonia, Toyota, Bridgestone, Panasonic, Outside TV and GoPro.

Ryan Taylor

Ryan is an action sports photographer and commercial cinematographer based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Focusing on wakeboarding and snowboarding, Ryan strive’s to create something new and unique every time he shoots — this often means implementing new lighting techniques as well as working with athletes to think of new creative ways to showcase their sports.

Maxx Wolfson

Maxx has been one of the top editors at Getty Images for 13 years. As Managing Editor for Sport in North & South America he is onsite at the biggest sporting events all over the world. Maxx will be leading the Getty Images team at his 11th Super Bowl and then leading the editing team at his sixth Olympic games in February. He also works directly with staff and freelance photographers assigning events and hiring photographers to cover events in his region. Through his work with many sports leagues, Maxx possesses a deep institutional knowledge of the industry.

Jen Guyton

Dr. Jen Guyton is a photographer and ecologist with a passion for science communication and telling stories at the junction of global environmental change and human culture. She is a National Geographic Explorer, a 2019 Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellow in Mozambique, and a member of Women Photograph. Her work has been published in National Geographic Online, bioGraphic, BBC Wildlife, and others, and has won awards in several competitions, including as a category winner in Wildlife Photographer of the Year.