Cristina Mittermeier has dedicated her entire professional life to championing the preservation of biodiversity and documenting the lives of indigenous peoples who struggle to continue to preserve their culture. Her commitment has been expressed for nearly 35 years through her photographic work, her involvement in environmental NGOs – since 2014 within her SeaLegacy NGO – and the writing of numerous works as author or co-author. Cristina’s work has been published in hundreds of publications, including National Geographic Magazine, McLean’s and TIME.
Cristina was born in Mexico City in 1966 and grew up in nearby Cuernavaca, in the sunny state of Morelos. She graduated from the ITESM University in Mexico with a degree in Biochemical Engineering in Marine Sciences and later attended the Fine Art Photography program at the Corcoran College for the Arts in Washington, D.C. In 2005 she founded the prestigious International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP) to provide a platform for photographers working on environmental issues. In 2014, she co-founded Sea Legacy, a non-profit dedicated to protecting the ocean, with her partner, Canadian photographer Paul Nicklen.
Her work makes a real distinction between simply photographing nature and what it means to use images to protect nature. As an environmental activist, she pioneered the concept and field of conservation photography.
Robert Redford is the most famous American actor. A producer and director, he also founded the American Independent Film Festival. A lover of the great outdoors, he has always been very attentive to the protection of nature and campaigns for the conservation of biodiversity. This preface text is further proof of his unwavering support for the work of Cristina Mittermeier and her SeaLegacy foundation.