National Geographic Live Ocean Soul with photographer Brian Skerry
Photographer Brian Skerry was 13 the summer Jaws scared most people out of the water. Skerry felt differently; he wanted to be in the water, studying sharks. As a photojournalist, he has spent more than 10,000 hours under water and he brings his expertise, his passion and his photos to The Lyric Theatre in National Geographic Live Ocean Soul.
Skerry began his career shooting shipwrecks in New England. His first assignment for National Geographic was 20 years ago and he was always ready to take on any underwater story. Soon, he began to ask for stories on ocean-related issues that showed both the magic and the dark side of the ocean, from the harp seal’s struggle to survive, to the staggering decline in the world’s fisheries to damaged coral ecosystems rebuilding themselves. He has shown the world that its actions have consequences, whether it’s by choosing not to wear harp seal fur or having tuna for dinner.
Skerry dives eight months of the year, often in extreme conditions beneath Arctic ice or in predator-infested waters and has lived near the bottom of the sea to tell the oceans’ stories. National Geographic recently published Ocean Soul, a retrospective of Skerry’s photographs. In the book and in this presentation, Skerry takes his audience from the glacial waters of the North Atlantic to the balmy Pacific. A founding member of the International League of Conservation Photographers, his work is proof that photographs can make a difference. His images have helped sway policy-makers to implement marine protected areas and to pass legislation that will have a lasting impact on the world’s oceans.
Skerry was named a Nikon ambassador in 2015 and Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year in 2017. National Geographic has named one of his photographs among their 50 Greatest Photographs of All Times. He is the only photographer to win the prestigious Peter Benchley Award for Excellence in Media and has appeared on The Today Show and on CBS’s This Morning. He has given his presentations at TED, Harvard and London’s Royal Geographic Society. It’s a story no one who loves the planet should miss.