Expedition Photography

Where geography and photography meet

What will you create with top photographers to guide and instruct you?

The logic is simple—bring people who love making images to the planet’s most spectacular places and most thrilling subjects. Expedition Photography takes it to the next level by adding to the mix some of the world’s top visual storytellers who travel at your side and at your service. Not only are they deeply knowledgeable professionals versed in the technical aspects of photography and storytelling methods, they are also experts on wildlife—and sharing their knowledge sets you up to get some of the best images of your life.

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Go ‘on assignment’ with National Geographic Photography Experts

Every expedition aboard National Geographic Endurance, National Geographic Resolution, National Geographic Explorer, and National Geographic Orion sails with a National Geographic Photography Expert as part of the expedition team. Sharing in the journey, they will offer tips at the deck rail, share engaging stories during presentations in the lounge, and with a little prodding over dinner or drinks in the lounge likely share amusing anecdotes of their time in the field. They are full participants in the expedition and engaging travel companions. 

Learn from Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic certified photo instructors

They have each been specially trained to assist you with your camera model and settings; the basic elements of framing, composition and light; and to provide shooting tips in the field to ensure that you return home with fantastic photos. 

Unlike a photography class or workshop, an expedition is a highly dynamic environment, where an incredible sighting can occur at any moment. So, the fact that your photo instructor is also a skilled naturalist is invaluable. He or she can help you better understand the wildlife, so you can be at the right place at the right time to capture amazing behavior—whether you’re shooting from the ship’s deck, a Zodiac or on a walk. Take an expedition with us, and you’ll not only have the experience of a lifetime, you’ll have the incredible shots to prove it.

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Photo Expeditions 

On designated departures, a combination of CPIs and a National Geographic Photography Expert come together to provide a program that includes multiple photo presentations and editing sessions and is designed to maximize the best photographic conditions. They work closely with the Captain and the expedition leader to take advantage of sunrise and sunset opportunities (whether by foot, Zodiac, or ship) and unique wildlife viewing. Whether you’re a smartphone user, advanced hobbyist, or serious photographer, photo expeditions are select departures in remarkable geographies, designed by photographers, for photographers. Since these voyages also offer so many active options, you can invite a spouse, companion, or friend along, certain that they’ll have a wonderful time doing their thing, too.

Upcoming Photo Expeditions

Departure Date Expedition National Geographic Photography Expert

Apr. 1, 2024 Baja California: A Remarkable Journey Gemina Garland-Lewis

Apr. 17, 2024 A Remarkable Journey to Alaska, British Columbia, and Haida Gwaii Drew Rush

May 19, 2024 Exploring Alaska's Coastal Wilderness Gabby Salazar

Aug. 16, 2024 Galápagos aboard National Geographic Endeavour II Rich Reid
Ask about our photo-exclusive pre-voyage extension to the Ecuadorian Amazon. Limited availability.

Sep. 3, 2024 A Remarkable Journey to Alaska, British Columbia, and Haida Gwaii Mike Libecki

Sep. 27, 2024 Galápagos aboard National Geographic Endeavour II Lucas Bustamante
Ask about our photo-exclusive pre-voyage extension to the Ecuadorian Amazon. Limited availability.

Sep. 28, 2024 Upper Amazon Aboard Delfin II Federico Pardo

Oct. 13, 2024 Panama and Colombia: Exploring the Caribbean Coast TBD

Nov. 9, 2024 Upper Amazon Aboard Delfin II Tim Laman

Nov. 29, 2024 Galápagos aboard National Geographic Endeavour II Krista Rossow
Ask about our photo-exclusive pre-voyage extension to the Ecuadorian Amazon. Limited availability.

Dec. 7, 2024 Upper Amazon Aboard Delfin II Kike Calvo

Dec. 14, 2024 Costa Rica and the Panama Canal TBD

Jan. 10, 2025 Galápagos aboard National Geographic Endeavour II Michael Melford
Ask about our photo-exclusive pre-voyage extension to the Ecuadorian Amazon. Limited availability.

Apr. 1, 2025 Baja California: A Remarkable Journey Jennifer Davidson

Apr. 15, 2025 A Remarkable Journey to Alaska, British Columbia, and Haida Gwaii Todd Gipstein

May 10, 2025 Exploring Alaska's Coastal Wilderness Annie Griffiths

Sep. 9, 2025 A Remarkable Journey to Alaska, British Columbia, and Haida Gwaii Greg Winston

Nov. 9, 2025 Panama and Colombia: Exploring the Caribbean Coast TBD

Nov. 30, 2025 Costa Rica and the Panama Canal TBD

Photo Program Exclusives

OMSysLogo-Square_RGB-wht.jpgThanks to our partnership with camera manufacturer OM System (formerly Olympus), guests have the opportunity to field test top-of-the-line gear during their expeditions. Eager to try a powerful new lens? Researching a new camera purchase? Take advantage of the onboard OM System Photo Gear Locker with our compliments. The Locker is available on all National Geographic-flagged ships (except Galápagos). View a pre-voyage photo webinar and enjoy exclusive gear discounts as well! Ask an Expedition Specialist.

B&H Photo Video

BH-Logo-Color-2021.jpgSince 2014, Lindblad has partnered with B&H Photo Video to produce the popular photography event, OPTIC. Past speakers and presentations can be found here. 

What I love about photography is how it invites you into a world of wonder and anticipation, where it's no longer about the camera but being in the moment.
Ralph Lee Hopkins, Former Director of Expedition Photography
Expedition staff are subject to change.

National Geographic Photography Experts

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Todd Gipstein

Todd Gipstein has been a photographer, writer, producer and lecturer for more than 50 years. A graduate of Harvard University, he has worked with National Geographic since 1987 and has served as the Society’s Director of Multi-Image and Executive Producer for Multimedia. His award-winning documentaries have dealt with a diverse range of topics, including photography, the environment, history, and travel. Known worldwide for his evocative visual storytelling, Todd has journeyed across the globe—from Cuba and the Galápagos to the South Pacific, the Artic and more—in his pursuit of inspiring images. His photos have been exhibited internationally, displayed frequently in European media festivals and have appeared in countless publications, including National Geographic magazine. An enthusiastic teacher and lecturer, he has presented his documentaries and led photography workshops around the world on behalf of National Geographic. When he is not traveling on his many assignments, Todd enjoys a wide range of activities: he has published 4 historical fiction novels, performed magic and spent a decade restoring a lighthouse near his home in Groton, Connecticut together with his wife, Marcia.

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Jason Edwards

Jason Edwards has been at the forefront of natural history photography for three decades. A passion for animals and the environment defines his extensive career. Since embarking on that career at the Royal Melbourne Zoo, Jason has been recognized globally for his contributions to science, the environment, and the arts. Among other accolades, he is a two-time winner of the Eureka Prize for Science Photography, three-time winner of Communication Arts Photography Annual, two-time winner of the ProMax Golden Muse, and winner of the Australian Geographic Society's Pursuit of Excellence Award. Through his commissioned work and as the face of the National Geographic Channel’s Pure Photography, Jason has taken his storytelling to dozens of countries and to every continent. He is an associate fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers and uses his lens to narrate and highlight issues affecting wildlife, the environment, and indigenous communities. His work has been featured in hundreds of publications including National Geographic magazine, BBC Wildlife, Australian Geographic, Sports Illustrated, Condé Nast Traveler, and The New Yorker. Jason is also an author of science education books, and his imagery has appeared in everything from environmental campaigns to Hollywood blockbusters.

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Macduff Everton

Photographer Macduff Everton has shot multiple stories for National Geographic Traveler, and covered diverse regions on projects from Patagonia to Japan to the Scottish Highlands. His other editorial clients include Life, LA Times Magazine, NY Times Magazine, Outside, and Smithsonian. Macduff’s photography focuses on sense of place, whether portraits of individuals or portraits of a landscape. His books include Patagonia La Última Esperanza (University of Texas Press), The Western Horizon (Abrams), The Modern Maya Incidents of Travel and Friendship in Yucatán (University of Texas Press) and Los Mayas Contemporáneos Incidencias de Viaje y Amistad in Yucatán (Universidad Intercultural Maya de Quintana Roo), the latter two he wrote and photographed over a period of decades. His work is in the collections of many public and private institutions, such as the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, the British Museum in London, the International Center of Photography in New York, the Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Macduff has also taught workshops nationally as well as in Mexico and Tuscany.

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Mike Libecki

Mike Libecki was named a 2013 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year for his commitment to exploring the world’s most remote places. He has completed more than 90 major expeditions in over 100 countries—from Afghanistan to Antarctica, Greenland to Guyana, Siberia to Socotra Island and everywhere in between. His adventures support science, conservation and humanitarian projects, as well as shed light on powerful, emotional stories that inspire us all to take care of our world. Libecki is a producer, director, videographer, photographer, conservationist, humanitarian with his own nonprofit and a leader of cutting-edge science teams. He is also a math and tech nerd at heart, using the latest technologies—virtual reality, 3D imagery and artificial intelligence among others—on his expeditions to share stories of the planet’s magic, power and beauty. Mike has also received numerous grants and awards. He has appeared on PBS, the National Geographic Channel, the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, the Travel Channel and more.

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Drew Rush

Drew Rush is a wildlife and natural history photographer with a passion for following wildlife in national parks around the world. Before embarking on a career in photography, Drew spent ten years guiding on the Snake River and taking people into the heart of Yellowstone National Park in the winter. Since he transitioned into a professional photographer, his work has appeared in numerous international publications and books, such as National Parks magazine and National Geographic: Complete Photography . Drew has a long history of working in and teaching about the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and Grand Tetons region on several long-term photographic projects for National Geographic magazine. He has also worked on collaborative projects studying long distance lynx migration through Alaska with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as monitoring wolf populations with the U.S. National Park Service. Drew’s images have been displayed at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyoming, and he is represented by the National Geographic Image Collection.

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Erika Skogg

Erika Skogg is a photographer, educator, and National Geographic Explorer with experience documenting cultural stories from the United States to Morocco, Greenland, Iceland, Colombia, and beyond. Born and raised in Wisconsin, Erika’s photographic research and storytelling ideas are driven by the desire to immerse, understand, and visually preserve the region’s local Nordic culture, and in 2018, Erika received a National Geographic Early Career Grant for her project “Scandinavian American.” Erika travels to Scandinavia regularly in search of the cultural connections to our emigrant history and promote an interest in one’s own genealogy to foster a respect for the continued immigration of today. Represented by The National Geographic Image Collection, Erika’s images highlight commonalities of the human experience and ignite a genuine interest in the unknown to encourage a fascination instead of fear. Erika has also joined National Geographic Expeditions in Morocco, Cuba, Alaska, and the Arctic, as well as led photography workshops for the past eight summers with National Geographic Student Expeditions to inspire the next generation of photographers and storytellers.

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Jonathan Irish

Travel and conservation photographer Jonathan Irish specializes in documenting adventure lifestyles, landscapes, and cultures with a keen eye on highlighting important conservation issues. He spent eight years on the National Geographic staff, where he launched and directed the National Geographic Adventures program, bringing travelers and photographers around the world on active adventure trips. As a freelance photographer, Jonathan’s work has appeared in publications in print and online, including National Geographic and National Geographic Traveler, The New York Times, Condé Nast Traveler, Smithsonian Magazine, Travel + Leisure, The Telegraph, BBC, and CNN. For the 2016 centennial of the U.S. National Park Service, Irish went on assignment for National Geographic Traveler on a year-long road trip visiting and photographing all 59 of America’s national parks. From this project, he published a U.S. National Parks book, and was featured on Good Morning America. Jonathan is also a skilled Virtual Reality shooter, having shot assignments with 360-degree cameras on six different continents for Discovery Communications and Google. Through his photographic work, Jonathan seeks to share the beauty of the natural world while highlighting important conservation stories and the need for continued and increased protection, so that future generations may enjoy the same beautiful natural world in which we live today. He also enjoys traveling with National Geographic Expeditions teaching photography around the world–from Antarctica to the Arctic and Africa to the Amazon. Jonathan’s images are represented by National Geographic Creative and National Geographic Fine Art Galleries and have appeared in National Geographic books.

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Ken Garrett

In a career spanning over 40 years, Ken Garrett has photographed more than 60 feature stories for  National Geographic  and  National Geographic Traveler  magazines, and has been involved with multiple National Geographic books and museum exhibits. Ken grew up in a world of photographers and spent his childhood traveling in Canada, Mexico, and around Alaska and the continental United States. He knew from an early age that he wanted to be a photographer, and he was offered his first National Geographic assignment in 1976 for the American Bicentennial. Ken sailed as a training cadet on the Polish tall ship,  Dar Pomorza , to capture the story of the voyage from Poland to New York City to cap off with celebrations of the American Bicentennial. Building a career in magazine journalism, Ken worked for a variety of publications, including  Time ,  Fortune ,  Forbes ,  Smithsonian ,  Audubon ,  Natural History ,  Science 80 ,  German GEO ,  Air and Spac e, as well as clients such as Marriott, IBM, Starbucks, UNC Aviation, and The Aluminum Association. With an academic background in anthropology and investigative inquiry, Ken’s work gradually focused on his passion for the Origin of Civilization. He has documented ancient cultures, archaeological sites, and dramatic landscapes worldwide. The subject of his work has ranged from Meso American civilizations and Egyptian history to human evolution stories and more. Ken has photographed on all seven continents, and he looks forward to sharing his photographic and storytelling insights with travelers.

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Phil Schermeister

During the past 25 years, Phil Schermeister has completed more than 40 major assignments for National Geographic Books, National Geographic magazine and other National Geographic publications. He has photographed in dozens of countries on four continents—from Antarctica to Iceland and Greenland, and from the Canadian Maritimes to the Pacific Northwest. His coverage of Alaska has taken him up the Inside Passage to Haida Guia and along the glacier-carved coast to the remote Aleutian Islands. Phil also has documented more than 40 national parks around the United States and has published six single-photographer books with National Geographic, including “Range of Light”, “Our National Parks” and “America’s Western Edge”. In his search for “decisive moments” in nature, Phil seeks to find drama in the changing light and seasons as the forces of nature continue to sculpt an unfinished natural landscape. Some of his other assignments have included coverage of Quechua Indians in the Andes of Peru, Tarahumara Indians in Mexico’s Copper Canyon and Native Americans across the Western United States.

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Andrew Coleman

Photographer Andrew Coleman has traveled around the globe in search of amazing wildlife and landscapes. His images and travel stories have appeared online for National Geographic Travel and the @natgeotravel Instagram account, and he is represented by the National Geographic Image Collection. Andrew has an insatiable appetite to be in the wild and, through his images, attempts to capture the extraordinary beauty of the natural world. Over the course of his career, he has traveled, camera in hand, to some of the world’s most remarkable places, including Alaska, Antarctica, Iceland, Easter Island, Kenya, Patagonia, Peru, South Africa, Bhutan, and Uganda. Having been to all seven continents, he has joined National Geographic Expeditions from Yellowstone National Park to the Galápagos, and from Borneo to Antarctica and beyond.

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Jen Hayes

Underwater photographers David Doubilet and Jennifer Hayes are married partners who work together as a team to produce National Geographic stories from equatorial coral reefs to beneath the polar ice. David estimates he has spent nearly half his life in the sea since taking his first underwater photograph at the age of 12 with a Brownie Hawkeye camera sealed in a bag. Between them, Jennifer and David have photographed and explored the ocean depths in such places as New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Tasmania, Scotland, and Antarctica. David has photographed stingrays, sponges, and sleeping sharks in the Caribbean, as well as shipwrecks in the South Pacific, the Atlantic, and at Pearl Harbor. He has produced more than 70 stories for National Geographic magazine and several books, and has received the Explorers Club’s prestigious Lowell Thomas Award and the Lennart Nilsson Award in Photography.  

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Nick Cobbing

Photojournalist and filmmaker Nick Cobbing aims to highlight themes of science and natural history through personal stories. A native of the United Kingdom, Nick frequently works in Antarctica and the Arctic, and has accompanied scientists on research expeditions based on icebreaker ships or even camped on the Arctic ice. His story on the future of Arctic sea ice appeared in the January 2016 issue of National Geographic magazine. He has also worked for media brands like GEO (Germany), The Sunday Times Magazine, and the BBC . Nick’s work has been exhibited and screened worldwide in galleries and at festivals, as well as to policymakers in the U.S. Congress and the Stockholm Parliament.  He has won many awards for his photography and short films, including from World Press Photo, Pictures of the Year, and American Photography. Nick’s films have been commissioned by Look3 Festival of Photography and National Geographic, and he is a contributor to @NatGeo, a book and exhibition featuring the most popular photos from National Geographic’s iconic Instagram account. He teaches regularly in Antarctica, Norway, and the Arctic, using the camera to connect students with the landscape and themselves.

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