Georgina Goodwin is a conservation and documentary photographer born and based in Nairobi, Kenya, and an Associate Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP). With 20 years of experience across East and Central Africa, her work focuses on community-led conservation, Indigenous knowledge, and human–nature connection.
She is currently leading ROOTED: Land, Livestock & Legacy in the Masai Mara, a National Geographic Explorers Grant–nominated project reframing conservation through Maasai ecological wisdom; and Common Ground: Cradle of Mankind, a major collaborative storytelling film uniting 20 conservation organisations across Southern Kenya.
Georgina is also a Canon Certified Trainer, former Canon Ambassador, a mentor for Vital Impacts, World Press Photo, Women in Wildlife, and Girls Who Click, and founder of GGimages Media, an agency elevating African conservation storytellers.

Sebastian Kennerknecht is a conservation photographer focused on wild cats. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, BBC Wildlife, Smithsonian, The Economist, Science, and Conservation International. 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. Sebastian has photographed thirty-three of the forty species of wild felids, in twenty-nine different countries. Sebastian won NANPA’s emerging photographer award, and is an associate fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers.
Additionally, Sebastian owns and runs Cat Expeditions and Whale Expeditions with his wife Rachel, bringing people eye-to-eye with wild cats and cetaceans around the world.

Thomas Nicolon is a conservation photojournalist and National Geographic Explorer. For over a decade, his work has focused on the Congo Basin — the world’s second-largest rainforest and one of the planet’s most vital ecosystems. His stories document the complex relationships between people, wildlife, and the environment. Nicolon’s photography has been published by National Geographic, Le Monde, and GEO, as well as the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). He also runs a YouTube channel where he shares behind-the-scenes stories from his fieldwork. He is currently working on a photography book about the Congo Basin, celebrating the people and biodiversity of Central Africa’s rainforests. Recently, Nicolon was awarded first place in the Portrait category at the Siena Awards for a photo from his story on the Congo dwarf crocodile.

Sophie Stafford is a passionate conservation communicator who has judged many of the world’s top nature photography competitions. As Editor of BBC Wildlife Magazine, she judged and co-managed the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition for nearly a decade, and has served on international contest juries from Europe to Asia. An affiliate of the International League of Conservation Photographers, Sophie has been a Contributing Photo Editor and feature writer for bioGraphic, the California Academy of Sciences’ storytelling magazine. She’s been part of the BigPicture team since its 2014 launch, and was contributing editor of its 2023 book, Seeing It All: Women Photographers Expose Our Planet. Today, Sophie consults for global conservation charities including WWF-UK and London’s Natural History Museum, helping transform their member communications into powerful calls to protect the planet —using the power of visual storytelling to engage and inspire.

Michelle Valberg is an award-winning Canadian wildlife photographer and Nikon Ambassador whose work reveals the deep connection between wild creatures and the landscapes that shape them. A Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, the Explorer's Club and Member of the Order of Canada, she has travelled to all seven continents, devoting more than four decades to documenting the beauty, resilience, and spirit of wildlife with empathy and respect.Michelle is the Photographer-in-Residence for Canadian Geographic and the author of four books. Her imagery has appeared on Canada Post stamps, a Royal Canadian Mint coin, and in exhibitions and publications around the world. Alongside her photographic work, Michelle teaches, leads workshops, and mentors emerging storytellers, encouraging them to find their own voice through the lens.

Anand Varma is a National Geographic Explorer, award-winning photographer and creator of WonderLab, a one-of-a-kind storytelling studio in Berkeley, California. At WonderLab, Anand develops innovative visual techniques – even building his own equipment – to create intimate, dramatic and surprising images of nature.
With a degree in integrative biology from the University of California, Berkeley, Varma’s photography has revealed the science behind subjects ranging from honeybee health to hummingbird biomechanics. He has photographed numerous stories for National Geographic magazine, including the 2014 cover story, “Mindsuckers.” Varma is also author of “Invisible Wonders: Photographs of the Hidden World,” and featured in the Emmy-nominated National Geographic series, “Photographer.”