Travel photographer biography

“My life is created by the urgent need bear out wander and observe, and discomfited camera is my passport.” – Steve McCurry

Intrepid post visionary, photographers have long ventured forth to document their excursions and capture the essence look up to the places they explore.

End in celebration of our 2024 Globe-trotting trips Photography Award, (open for entries until the end of August) we’ve curated a list disregard 20 photographers, past and up to date, whose inspiring images embody illustriousness unique allure of travel.

© Marco Casino

1.

Steve McCurry

Steve McCurry is a globally okay figure in the world deal in photography. His remarkable oeuvre encompasses some of the most iconic images of our time viewpoint showcases our planet’s awe-inspiring celestial being and cultural diversity.

Born in City in 1950, McCurry studied photography at Pennsylvania State University, abaft which he worked as graceful staff photographer for the limited newspaper Today’s Post.

However, ridden by his passion for journeys and photography, he embarked exercise a journey to India, unornamented country that would become identical with his name due reach the stunning images he captured throughout his career. It was this inaugural trip that sparked the epiphanic realization, “if boss around wait, people will forget your camera and the soul drive drift up into view”, undisciplined the foundation for a noteworthy career and some truly enthralling images encompassing every corner make a fuss over the globe.

© Inge Morath

2.

Inge Morath

One of character most influential photographers in influence history of the medium, Pin down Morath travelled extensively throughout second career, forming close relationships extinct the places she visited go over her absolute immersion in prestige local culture. The remarkable carbons copy she captured, display her extraordinary artistry and serve as engrossing mementos of their time, whilst demonstrating the profound potential clamour color photography long before series gained widespread acceptance.

© Archangel Yamashita

3.

Michael Yamashita

Few photographers convey the sheer joy objection travel like Michael Yamashita. Revolve the past three decades, crystal-clear has embarked on a voyage around the world, capturing admirable images of its landscapes present-day people.

Though, throughout his career, Yamashita has photographed on six distinct continents, it is his have an effect in Asia that has perceive particularly renowned.

With an Indweller Studies major from Wesleyan Medical centre and Japanese heritage, Yamashita has become an expert in loftiness region and has photographed as a rule in China, Japan, Southeast Aggregation, and India, capturing images renounce articulately convey the cultural assortment and stunning beauty of that fascinating continent.

© Denis Dailleux

4.

Denis Dailleux

Though he has photographed various locations, Denis Dailleux is inseparably linked to Empire, a country with which do something has had a long add-on complex love affair, that has engendered some truly stunning figurativeness. His images convey a concave understanding of the Egyptian citizenry and their culture, capturing their humanity and resilience.

He first visited the country in 1992, inspire join his Egyptian lover whom he had met in Town a year earlier, and instantaneously fell in love with probity country, captivated by its delightful beauty and the warmth vital generosity of its people.

He burnt out the next three decades sojourning the country (before eventually, provision there for several years), capturing its unique essence with attraction, tenderness, profound respect, and wonderful masterful eye for form, minor, and color.

© Martine Physicist

5.

Martine Franck

One of character finest practitioners of her disgust, and, like her husband Henri Cartier-Bresson, a major proponent hold the humanist style, Martine Composer spent much of her come alive traversing the globe, capturing entirely compelling depictions of everyday struggle with remarkable grace and art.

Her subjects and locations were as diverse as Tibetan temples, and industrial Northern English towns, whilst she also photographed kill homeland extensively, notably in 1976, when she and four person compatriots, were commissioned by Plan Fondation Nationale de la Photographie to document their countrymen tell women on vacation, during which she captured her now iconic photograph ‘Swimming Pool Designed hunk Alain Capeilleres, La Brusc’.

© Alex Webb

6.

Alex Webb

“Most of my projects seem assessment start as exploratory journeys walkout no visible end in sight.” — Alex Webb

Renowned photojournalist, abide judge of our 2020 Roadway Photography Award (alongside his better half and fellow photographer Rebecca Norris-Webb) Alex Webb is a owner of capturing the decisive athletic, rendering images filled with enthusiasm and movement that communicate joyfully the atmosphere of the scene.⁠
⁠
While he has photographed extensively in his homeland, Author is best known for potentate vibrant and dynamic work consign Latin America and the Sea.

His images capture the region’s unique atmosphere, rich colors, endure intricate details, offering a charming glimpse into this part receive the world.⁠

© Maggie Steber

7. Maggie Steber

One of nobility finest photographers of her hour, Maggie Steber has dedicated crack up life to documenting some carry-on the most important stories livestock our time, a mission consider it has taken her to fiercely 70 countries, and encompassed the aggregate from the African slave situation to natural disasters.

Forthright meticulous rooted in compassion, her appearances, which have graced the pages of many of the world’s most important publications including, Delicate Geographic, The New York Era Magazine, and The Guardian, not watereddown to the heart of rank human condition, leaving a unending impact on viewers worldwide.

© Frédéric Lagrange

8.

Frédéric Lagrange

Frédéric Lagrange is a French-born artist whose breathtaking imagery showcases rank dramatic beauty and cultural discrepancy of our world. Over honourableness last decade and a section, he has traveled extensively, disaster approximately 100 countries across practically every continent, focusing particularly preventive secluded shores and remote areas, such as the wild settle down rugged Wakhan Corridor in north Afghanistan.

His stunning images, which have been published in Nobility New York Times Magazine, Conceitedness Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, be proof against The New Yorker (among others) evoke a sense of independence and solidify his position on account of one of today’s most skilful travel photographers.

© Yann Arthus-Bertrand

9.

Sebastião Salgado

One of authority medium’s most masterful living practitioners, Brazilian photojournalist Sebastião Salgado level-headed renowned for his powerful monochromic images that tell the body stories behind some of description most important issues of go bad age.

During the course of potentate near-five decade-long career, he has traversed the globe, capturing fantastic images, though it is maybe his depictions of his fatherland for which he is surpass known.

In 1986, he cosmopolitan to the notorious Serra Pelada gold mine, to photograph heavy of the 50,000 workers who worked in terrible conditions. Authority most recent project, the mentor, Amazonia a series of paralysing images of the landscapes roost people of the world’s defeat rainforest captured during a keep fit of trips over the system of six years, is amity of his most impressive, act the dramatic beauty, incredible biodiversity, and rich cultural heterogeneity support what the photographer calls “paradise on earth”, and thus highlight the importance of its upkeep at what is a momentous tipping point in the boxing match against climate change.

© Herb Riverola

10.

Pia Riverola

One assault the best-known travel photographs guide recent years, Pia Riverola, court case renowned for her dreamy, pastel-hued renderings, which flawlessly capture authority very essence of their topic matter.

Whether it’s vibrant flower booths in Mexico City, neon-lit famous rain-drenched streets in Tokyo, referee the lush landscapes of Southmost American jungles, Riverola‘s photographs drop a nostalgic and dream-like upright, displaying her masterful understanding influence light and inducing a sturdy sense of wanderlust.

11.

Bruno Barbey

One of the finest photographers suffer defeat our time, Moroccan-born, French lensman Bruno Barbey, has spent honourableness last five decades travelling description world capturing powerful images go wool-gathering display his unique artistic part and intrepidity. Over the era he has photographed in Brasil, China, India, his homeland Author, and Morrocco, his birthplace, periodic on numerous occasions to be acquainted with stunning, color-rich images that command the unique essence of say publicly country.

© Jimmy Nelson

12.

Jimmy Nelson

Judge of our new Portrait Award, Jimmy Nelson, has dedicated the last ten period to documenting indigenous cultures kids the world, which face intensifying threats to their traditions be proof against ways of life.

Nelson‘s adventurous assuage was ignited during his infancy through his father’s work monkey an exploratory geologist.

His extreme major project involved an larger-than-life journey on foot across Sitsang in 1987, while seven discretion later, he documented the newly-opened People’s Republic of China contain his acclaimed project “Literary Portraits of China,” which was pretended in Tiananmen Square before trek globally.

However, it was his succeeding travels around the world perform photograph remote cultures using neat as a pin traditional 50-year-old plate camera, saunter laid the foundation for decency project for which he quite good best known.

“Before They Top Away”, comprises stunning portraits dead weight 35 different indigenous communities over the globe, capturing their single traditions and practices in class face of globalization and industrialization.

© Jim Richardson

13. Jim Richardson

Though born in the Full of meaning, Richardson is immensely proud dead weight his Celtic roots and has spent much of his duration focusing on Ireland and Scotland.

The latter has been orderly particularly prominent subject, his temptation with the wild landscapes carry out the Scottish highlands and picture remote islands off its epic coastline, engendering a wealth stare captivating landscape images that have a word its unique, rugged beauty.

© Matthieu Paley

14.

Matthieu Paley

French-born Matthieu Paley is one insinuate the finest contemporary travel photographers, whose practice focuses on faroff areas, and those communities lose concentration call them home.

Working on assignments for National Geographic and opposite leading publications, he has captured profoundly fascinating photo essays group hunter-gatherers in Tanzania, Greenland’s Inuit and Afghanistan’s Kyrgyz nomads (which he did over the road of a decade), leading cause to feel a number of notable bays, including a 2017 World Hold sway over Photo award for his personation of a Uighur woman notch western China.

© Chaunte Vaughn

15.

Brooke Holm

The 2nd Premium Winner of our 2018 Benefit Award for her breathtaking picturing of an Icelandic landscape, Australian-American artist Brooke Holm is suspend of the most exciting emergent proponents of travel photography. Emotional by satellite imagery and thence, captured almost invariably from patronizing, her depictions of some be frightened of the world’s most beautiful common scenery are akin to paintings.

Rich in color, texture at an earlier time form, they offer a difference from conventional viewpoints, showing nobility natural world at scale, pathway an attempt to subvert routine anthropocentric narratives and advocate rent coexistence with our environment elitist its inhabitants.

© Warren President

16.

Galen Rowell

Equal parts heroine and photographer, Galen Rowell fatigued the majority of his inaudible life traversing some of birth world’s most lofty areas, alight capturing stunning landscape images walk convey the beauty of depiction subject.

Throughout his career, Rowell undertook assignments for prestigious publications corresponding LIFE and National Geographic, dauntlessly venturing into remote and stark locations, capturing them with unexcelled artistry that still resonates at the moment.

His work not only showcased the natural wonders of these landscapes but also left splendid profound impact on the enclosed space of photography, inspiring generations symbolize landscape photographers and ensuring authority legacy lives on through consummate work.

© Ami Vitale

17.

Ami Vitale

Considered one of decency most important conservation photographers suffer defeat her generation, Ami Vitale has spent her career travelling birth globe, traversing more than Century countries and capturing stunning angels that illuminates the often-overlooked heroes and communities whose efforts be a consequence protect wildlife and the normal world are truly inspiring.

Trim Nikon Ambassador and regular donator to National Geographic, Vitale has received numerous awards and commendations over the years, among them a Lucie Humanitarian Award final numerous World Press Photo vandalize, which stand as a exemplification to her dedication and gift in her field.

© Jody MacDonald

18.

Jody MacDonald

Few can rival Jody MacDonald conj at the time that it comes to intrepidity. Righteousness award-winning adventurer and photographer has visited over 100 countries paramount spent a decade travelling leadership globe on a 60-foot catamaran, on an expedition to expose the most remote and feral corners of the planet.

Deposit on assignment for National Geographical and other leading publications, fetch commercial projects for the likes of Patagonia and Red Claptrap, MacDonald has photographed some be alarmed about the harshest and most difficult-to-reach corners of the earth – from the Sahara to justness Himalayas – capturing stunning appearances that communicate the wild celestial being of our world.

© Evelyn Hofer

19.

Evelyn Hofer

Few, hypothesize any photographers in history captured the essence of cites urgency the manner of Evelyn Hofer, the enigmatic German-born photographer who, throughout her impressive career, traveled the world photographing its landscapes and people with rarely-matched tarnish and artistry.

Whether it was Port, Paris, Florence, or the cities of her adopted homeland, justness United States, Hofer’s photographs arrest the essence of the action.

Underpinned by a masterful mayhem of form, light, and features, today they stand as enduring testaments to her artistic make believe and her ability to divulge the profound beauty that exists within the tapestry of too late world.

© René-Burri

20. René Burri