“It’s like a wildfire is raging under the ocean, and it is invisible to most people. I feel like my job is to raise the alarm and to keep saying, ‘We’re running out of time,’ ” says Cristina Mittermeier, considered one of the world’s most influential conservation photographers.
The Mexico native has spent over three decades traveling to more than 130 countries and every continent as a “voice for the ocean,” visually documenting the stories of both the species in the waters and the nearly 1 billion people who live along its shores.
“For those of us who spend time on the front lines of biodiversity laws and climate, it is looking pretty dire,” Mittermeier tells Alexa.
Despite that decidedly not optimistic prognosis, she has titled her latest book (available in the US in November) “Hope.” Its debut will be followed by an exhibition at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland next year.
Fans may be surprised to know that even though she has edited and co-authored more than two dozen books, this is only the second that exclusively features her own photographs.
Billed as an “artistic manifesto,” it’s a retrospective of 30 years of her photography, featuring more than 100 compelling images, along with text that, she says, “delicately weaves my own personal narrative with meaningful visual stories,” and boasts a foreword by none other than Robert Redford, who calls Mittermeier’s work “remarkable and important.”
For the past 14 years, much of that work has been done in collaboration with her partner, the photographer and filmmaker Paul Nicklen.
The couple founded the not-for-profit SeaLegacy, whose mission is described as “bringing together filmmakers, photographers, marine and climate experts, indigenous leaders and policymakers from around the world to build engagement and protect our oceans.”
In the 10 years since it debuted, SeaLegacy has completed more than 45 expeditions, documented more than 765 species and captured more than 7 million images. A 62-foot sailing catamaran was more recently added to the mix; it can sleep 10 and is used as a diving and filming platform.
“We travel around the world, find heroes that are doing the work, and tell their stories,” explains Mittermeier. “We wanted to be a megaphone, and shine the spotlight on these projects that people are heroically carrying out in the world — whether it’s replanting coral or saving turtles or protecting whales.” These stories stream on their YouTube channel and are also posted on Instagram, where the couple has a combined following of almost 9 million.
Two years ago, Mittermeier and Nicklen, who both studied marine biology and have been recognized as National Geographic’s Adventurers of the Year, also became partners with the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative.
“Part of the support they give us is we create beautiful content that is distributed in their platforms and in ours,” says Mittermeier, who (perhaps not surprisingly) sports a Yacht-Master. They’ve already created two films with Rolex’s support. A third film, about an indigenous leader and climate activist in Panama, is in production.
“I feel like the job of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible,” adds Mittermeier. “We need to arm ourselves with courage and positivity to keep fighting this fight, to bring people into this conversation, and work on solutions. That’s where the hope is.”
