Steve Winter
Photojournalist specialising in big cats and documentary filmmaker
Steve Winter has been a wildlife photojournalist for National Geographic Magazine for over two decades, producing stories on some of the world’s most elusive and iconic animals—and specializing in big cats. His documentary films on jaguars, leopards, tigers, and tree-climbing lions have aired on Nat Geo WILD and Disney+. He is a Nat Geo Explorer and his work has been recognized with numerous international awards: he’s been named BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year and BBC Wildlife Photojournalist of the Year; received top nature story honors from World Press Photo in 2008, 2014 and 2020; and he is two-time winner of Picture of the Year International’s Global Vision Award; and received awards from EXPOSURE 2019 and HIPA (2017). Steve has appeared on 60 Minutes, CBS Nightly News, NPR, BBC, CNN and other outlets and he speaks globally on big cats and conservation for Nat Geo LIVE. His work has impact. His iconic image of the cougar P-22 under the Hollywood sign helped create what will be the world’s largest wildlife overpass; his story on the Thai Tiger Temple proved wildlife trafficking and prompted officials to shut it down; his work on jaguars in Brazil has helped them rebound; and his story on captive tigers in the US helped pass a new law, the Big Cat Public Safety Act. In the field, he spends months working in steamy jungles and grasslands—or camping at 15,000 feet in the winter in the Himalayas. The reason: he wants to capture images of these animals’ stunning beauty and secret behaviors. But as a wildlife photojournalist and filmmaker, he says, “I also need to document threats that face these animals, many of which are endangered, as well as the scientists who study them and the conservationists who are working to save them. For me, my contribution is through storytelling: photos, magazine articles and documentary films. I hope my work inspires you to act to help protect big cats and the planet.”