Brian Skerry
Aliases: brian skerry Role: Underwater photojournalist, conservationist, author First appearance: 2002 ([1]) Affiliation: National Geographic (contract photographer since 1998)
Biography
Brian Skerry is a National Geographic contract photographer who has been on assignment for the magazine since 1998, producing more than 24 cover and feature stories as of 2015. He has logged more than 10,000 hours underwater and is known for his storytelling approach — documenting both the wonders and threats facing the world’s oceans.
Skerry spends eight to nine months per year in the field and shoots 60,000 to 70,000 frames per story. Under his National Geographic contract, he must deliver everything in RAW format and is not permitted to delete any images; the picture editor reviews every single frame ([2], [3]).
He has cited David Doubilet, Bill Curtsinger, Flip Nicklin, and Luis Marden as key inspirations for his career ([4]).
Contributions
- Conservation photojournalism: Uses underwater photography as a tool for ocean conservation advocacy through National Geographic assignments. Delivered a TED talk in 2010 revealing the ocean’s “glory and horror” to raise awareness of marine conservation issues ([5]).
- Competition success: 11-time Wildlife Photographer of the Year winner.
- Author: Co-authored Successful Underwater Photography with Howard Hall. Published Ocean Soul (2012, National Geographic Books, 263 pages), a career-spanning monograph reviewed on Wetpixel with an exclusive interview ([6]).
- Nikon Ambassador: Named a Nikon Ambassador in 2015 ([7]).
- Dolphin coverage for National Geographic: Shot a three-part dolphin series for the May 2015 issue — the first National Geographic dolphin feature since 1992. The project spanned nine locations across four countries ([8]).
Timeline
- 2002-10: Book signing at DEMA 2002 Gates booth; co-author of Successful Underwater Photography with Howard Hall. ([9])
- 2004-10: Mentions Visible Dust sensor cleaning product to Eric Cheng. ([10])
- 2005-03: Presents at Boston Sea Rovers 51st Clinic alongside Eric Cheng, Norbert Wu, and Stan Waterman. ([11])
- 2005-05: Goes digital with Nikon D2X for National Geographic assignments. ([12])
- 2008-03: Japan ocean wilderness story published in National Geographic. ([13])
- 2010-06: Delivered TED talk on ocean conservation, revealing the ocean’s “glory and horror.” ([14])
- 2012-05: Published Ocean Soul (National Geographic Books, 263 pages); Wetpixel ran an exclusive interview and book review. ([15])
- 2015-04: Named Nikon Ambassador. ([16])
- 2015-05: Three-part dolphin series published in National Geographic May 2015 issue — the magazine’s first dolphin feature since 1992; shot in 9 locations across 4 countries. ([17])
- 2016-06: Behind-the-scenes video featured on Wetpixel showing how Skerry photographed a great white shark off Cape Cod. ([18])
References
- [19] — editorial
- [20] — editorial
- [21] — editorial
- [22] — editorial
- [23] — editorial
- [24] — editorial
- [25] — editorial
- [26] — editorial
- [27] — editorial
Sources
- Wetpixel article, Oct 8, 2002: Gates Howard Hall And Brian Skerry At Dema ↩
- Wetpixel article, May 22, 2012: Book Review Ocean Soul By Brian Skerry ↩
- Wetpixel article, May 15, 2015: Interview Brian Skerry On Photographing Dolphins ↩
- Wetpixel article, May 22, 2012: Book Review Ocean Soul By Brian Skerry ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jun 30, 2010: Brian Skerry Reveals Oceans Glory And Horror At Ted ↩
- Wetpixel article, May 22, 2012: Book Review Ocean Soul By Brian Skerry ↩
- Wetpixel article, Apr 17, 2015: Brian Skerry Named As Nikon Ambassador ↩
- Wetpixel article, May 15, 2015: Interview Brian Skerry On Photographing Dolphins ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 8, 2002: Gates Howard Hall And Brian Skerry At Dema ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 4, 2004: Sensor Brush And Sensor Clean ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 17, 2005: Boston Sea Rovers 51st Clinic 2005 ↩
- Wetpixel article, May 9, 2005: Dive With Brian Skerry Or Nubile Nymphs ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 12, 2008: Brian Skerry Japans Ocean Wilderness ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jun 30, 2010: Brian Skerry Reveals Oceans Glory And Horror At Ted ↩
- Wetpixel article, May 22, 2012: Book Review Ocean Soul By Brian Skerry ↩
- Wetpixel article, Apr 17, 2015: Brian Skerry Named As Nikon Ambassador ↩
- Wetpixel article, May 15, 2015: Interview Brian Skerry On Photographing Dolphins ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jun 16, 2016: Video How Brian Skerry Got This Shot Of A Great White Off Cape Cod ↩
- Gates - Howard Hall and Brian Skerry, at DEMA (article) ↩
- Brian Skerry: Japan’s Ocean Wilderness (article) ↩
- Brian Skerry reveals ocean’s glory and horror at TED (article) ↩
- Book Review: Ocean Soul by Brian Skerry (article) ↩
- Brian Skerry named as Nikon Ambassador (article) ↩
- Interview: Brian Skerry on photographing dolphins (article) ↩
- Video: How Brian Skerry got this shot of a great white off Cape Cod (article) ↩
- Boston Sea Rovers 51st Clinic 2005 (article) ↩
- Dive with Brian Skerry (article) ↩