National Geographic Experts
There are some careers out there that we all dream of having someday. An archaeologist or a filmmaker, perhaps, or a National Geographic photographer. On each expedition and field workshop, you'll be joined by a National Geographic expert -- photographers, writers, anthropologists, wildlife biologists, and explorers who have pursued their dreams and become leaders in their fields. Our experts will join each group for four to eight days to share their insights and experience, give you guidance in crafting your On Assignment project, and inspire you with their passion for the work they do and the places you'll explore. Meet a few of the experts who will join our expeditions.
Aaron Huey
Photographer Aaron Huey has shot more than 20 stories for the National Geographic magazines over the past seven years. He is contributing photographer at National Geographic magazine and a contributing editor at National Geographic Traveler. His stories have included topics as diverse as hitchhiking the 6,000-mile Trans-Siberian highway, sharks in French Polynesia, Indian reservations of the plains and southwest, Afghanistan, Beirut, cowboys of Montana, Ethiopia, the Salcantay of Peru, and many more. Aaron’s work has also appeared in the New Yorker, Harper's, the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, and the Smithsonian. Aaron will join the July 28 departure of the Grand Canyon & the Southwest field workshop during the San Juan River trip.
• Read an interview with Aaron.
Amy Toensing
National Geographic photographer Amy Toensing has covered stories from her own backyard like Monhegan Island, Maine and the Jersey Shore to places on the other side of the globe, including the remote jungles of Papua New Guinea and the Australian outback. Her stories are often intimate essays reflecting the lives of ordinary people. She is currently working on her thirteenth story for National Geographic magazine. Her work has also appeared in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, and National Geographic Traveler. Amy will join the June 29 departure of the London Photo Workshop for the duration of the program.
• Read an interview with Amy.
Betsy Robinson
Wildlife biologist Betsy Robinson is a naturalist guide and an avid outdoorswoman. As co-founder and executive director of a nonprofit wildlife research organization, she has studied wolverine and lynx populations in the northern Rockies and grizzly bears in Alaska. Betsy has also assisted with the National Geographic–supported Yellowstone Wolf Project. A former instructor at San Francisco State University's Wildland Studies program, Betsy has led numerous trips to Yellowstone for National Geographic. Betsy will join both departures of the Yellowstone & Montana field workshop. She will join us in Yellowstone National Park.
Christa Sadler
Christa Sadler is a geologist, educator, wilderness guide, and writer with a serious addiction to rivers, deserts, and mountains. She has pursued research in archaeology, geology, and paleontology across much of the globe. In 2003, Christa participated in a National Geographic research grant to find and catalog fossil vertebrate in the Grand Canyon. She also appeared in the July 1996 and June 2004 issues of National Geographic magazine as part of her work in the Gobi Desert and Grand Canyon. Christa is the author of Life in Stone, a book about the fossil history of the Colorado Plateau; and she has published an anthology of short stories by boatmen on the Colorado River. Christa will join the June 26 departure of the Grand Canyon & the Southwest field workshop during the San Juan River trip.
Dave Yoder
Milan-based photojournalist Dave Yoder was born in Indiana, but grew up on the foot of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. His most recent assignment for National Geographic magazine was on the search for a lost Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece. A regular contributor to National Geographic Traveler, the New York Times, and numerous other publications, he has pursued a spectrum of subjects ranging from bounty hunters to a children’s circus, and is most interested in projects with a strong human element. Dave will join several days of both Sicily field workshops.
David Scott Silverberg
Geographer David Scott Silverberg has worked on the Indian subcontinent for more than 24 years, conducting research funded in part by National Geographic grants. He is a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, has served as executive director for research at EarthWatch, and helped launch Americorps's environmental programs. In India, David designs, manages, and teaches regional studies programs for American universities with a focus on cultural and environmental sustainability. David will join our India expedition in Ladakh.
Ford Cochran
Environmental scientist, writer, and Web producer Ford Cochran descended into ice caves and an active volcano on his first visit to Iceland while on assignment for National Geographic Television. Ford was principal contributing writer for the Society's Historical Atlas of the United States and has written for National Geographic magazine. He helped launch nationalgeographic.com in 1996 and has been an editorial director and daily blogger for the website. Ford will join both departures of the Iceland expedition in Höfn.
• Read an interview with Ford.
Greg Marshall
Discover marine and terrestrial life of Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands with biologist and filmmaker Greg Marshall. Greg invented the Crittercam, a device that can be attached to an animal to study its behavior. Greg’s Crittercam has enabled him to document life in the oceans and on land from the perspective of animals such as blue whales, black turtles, manta rays, seals, and—most recently—great white sharks. Greg will join the July 17 departure of the Ecuador and the Galápagos expedition.
Ira Block
For more than thirty years, photographer Ira Block has been covering assignments around the world for National Geographic—in locations as diverse as Africa, the Australian outback, the Gobi Desert, Siberia, the North Pole, Greenland, and Baffin Island. The subject matter of Ira's photographs is as varied as the destinations stamped in his passport. Some of his assignments include "The Samurai Way" and "Race to Save Incan Mummies." From gold coins retrieved from Havana's sunken treasure ships to the largest discovered T-Rex dinosaur, to a lost Confederate submarine, Ira's lens continues to capture and document amazing stories from around the globe. Ira will join the July 14 departure of the London Photo Workshop for the duration of the program.
• Read an interview with Ira.
Ivan Kashinsky
National Geographic photographer Ivan Kashinsky fell in love with photography when he picked up his father’s Nikon and began documenting his teenage life. Based in Quito, Ecuador, Ivan has traveled from El Alto, Bolivia, documenting lucha libre to the Bogotá savannah, where he explored the mammoth flower industry. His work has been published in National Geographic magazine, Time, Smithsonian, and the New York Times, among others. In 2009 Ivan and his wife completed an epic journey from the Equator to Tierra del Fuego, the southern tip of South America. Ivan will join the June 28 and July 7 departures of the Ecuador & the Galápagos expedition.
Malcolm Campbell
Native New Zealander Malcolm Campbell is a professional naturalist and birder who has worked for 20 years on conservation and environmental issues in his country's national parks, forests, and coastal marine environments. He has led many National Geographic Expeditions in New Zealand and will share his in-depth knowledge of his country's people, political history, flora and fauna, and indigenous Maori culture. Malcolm possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of New Zealand, which he imparts with warmth and zest. Malcolm will join both departures of our New Zealand expedition on the South Island.
Marc Brody
Conservationist Marc Brody is a National Geographic grantee for his work to restore giant Panda habitats in China. Senior advisor to the Wolong Nature Reserve in Sichuan, Marc founded Panda Mountain, a (nongovernmental organization (NGO) entrusted by the Wolong administration to manage a panda conservation center and a sustainability initiative for indigenous villagers. Marc has also managed the U.S.-China Environmental Fund, an environmental NGO, in China for nearly 20 years. When not working in Wolong, Marc is actively restoring an oak savanna and prairie on his land near Madison, Wisconsin. Marc will join both departures of the China expedition in Sichuan Province.
Massimo Bassano
Meet Massimo Bassano, whose work has been published in National Geographic Traveler and on nationalgeographic.com. Massimo has developed quite a following teaching National Geographic photography workshops in Tuscany and Venice as well as leading expeditions around the world. His September 2011 story in National Geographic Traveler, “Italy’s Forgotten Towns,” recently had him traveling thousands of miles through the southern Italian countryside. His acclaimed photography book, The Color of Silence, details the 12 weeks he spent in a little-known Italian monastery. Massimo will join our Italy & Greece expedition and our Tuscany field workshop.
• Watch our Tuscany video featuring Massimo.
Pete McBride
Photographer Pete McBride has spent almost two decades studying the world with his camera. He has traveled on assignment to over 60 countries for National Geographic's magazines, Smithsonian, Outside, Men’s Journal, Esquire, and many others. He has worked in Tanzania and throughout Africa for a variety of publications, and in 2009 shot a story for National Geographic Traveler about Kenya’s Marsabit National Park. Most recently, Pete decided to focus his cameras closer to home. Combining his passions for aviation and conservation, he spent more than two years documenting his local river — the Colorado. This journey culminated in the book The Colorado River: Flowing Through Conflict and an award-winning short film, Chasing Water. Pete will join both departures of the Tanzania expedition during the safari.
Peter Frost
Peter Frost is a writer, photographer, and National Geographic grantee who has spent most of his life exploring Peru. His published works include a guide to the Cusco region and a well-known book on Machu Picchu. Peter has led National Geographic archaeological expeditions into the remote region of Vilcabamba, where he discovered the Inca and pre-Inca site of Qoriwayrachina (National Geographic magazine, February 2004). Peter lives in Cusco and will join both departures of our Peru expedition in Cusco and Machu Picchu.
• Watch our Peru video featuring Peter.
Roman Dial
A professor at Alaska Pacific University, Roman Dial teaches courses in ecology, outdoor skills, and math. He has climbed, hiked, and skied across the major mountain ranges of Alaska. Roman's 800-mile mountain bike traverse of the Alaska Range was featured in the May 1997 issue of National Geographic magazine, his "canopy trek" through Australia in the March 2003 issue, and his expedition to find Borneo's tallest tropical tree in the July 2006 issue. Roman will join the Alaska expedition on the Kenai Peninsula.
• Read an interview with Roman.
Taylor Edwards
Delve into the biodiversity of Costa Rica with conservation biologist Taylor Edwards, who is working on the National Geographic Genographic Project. Taylor has also worked in the Department of Mammalogy and Ornithology at the Arizona–Sonora Desert Museum, a world-renowned natural history museum dedicated to conservation. He says that he wishes he was raised by wolves, but he believes a career as a biologist is the next best thing. Taylor will join the July 10 departure of the Costa Rica field workshop on the northwest coast and the July 23 departure in Monteverde.
• Read an interview with Taylor.
• Watch our Costa Rica video featuring Taylor.
Tino Soriano
Born and raised in Barcelona, Tino Soriano divides his work between photojournalism and travel photography. A frequent contributor to National Geographic Traveler magazine, he has also photographed National Geographic Traveler guidebooks to Madrid, Sicily, Portugal, and Naples and southern Italy. Tino received a first prize from the World Press Photo Foundation and, in 2007, played the lead role in a documentary — Andalusia: The Awakening of the Senses — for the National Geographic Channel in Spain. Tino will join several days of our Barcelona field workshop.
Tommy Heinrich
Photographer and climber Tommy Heinrich was born and raised in Buenos Aires and has traveled the world combining his passions for photography and climbing the highest and remotest mountains. He has completed several solo and first ascents of some of the world’s highest peaks, and in 1995 he became the first person from Argentina to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Tommy was recently on assignment for National Geographic magazine, where he photographed a Polish team in Pakistan doing a winter ascent of the ninth highest mountain in the world. His photographs have been published in magazines throughout the United States, Argentina, and Europe. Tommy will join both departures of the Buenos Aires field workshop for several days.
Ulla Lohmann
Photojournalist, filmmaker, and adventurer Ulla Lohmann has sailed around the world, explored volcanoes in Vanuatu, and traversed the African continent using only biodiesel. She spends much of her time working with indigenous cultures in Australia and the South Pacific. Based in the German Alps, she is a regular contributor for the National Geographic Channel and National Geographic magazine (France), and has appeared in several television programs for National Geographic and BBC. Ulla will join our both departures of our Australia expedition at the Great Barrier Reef.
• Read an interview with Ulla.
Tino was ABSOLUTELY amazing. He had this incredible perspective and love for his job, and it definitely rubbed off on me. Meeting him and learning the ways that he sees everything changed how I photograph. Tino was friendly, helpful, hilarious, and wonderful to be around.
Laura Sislen,
Barcelona 2011
Ivan's fun, creative personality quickly spread throughout the group, making our trip even better! He shared his invaluable expertise on photography and I was absolutely honored to work alongside a photographer from National Geographic.
Miller Thornton,
Ecuador & the Galapagos 2011
Greg Marshall gave us a better view of what NatGeo stands for and what it is about. He allowed us to ask questions and added to the experience by feeding our curiosity. It was interesting to hear about his stories and all of us could only sit and hope we would experience the things he has someday. He is a genuine inspiration.
Keith Chew,
Ecuador & the Galapagos 2011
