INSTRUCTORS

Lucas Bustamante has been bitten by countless snakes, dived with hammerhead sharks, lived with Amazonian indigenous tribes and been chased by elephants. The Ecuadorian outdoors, where Lucas grew up, ignited a love for nature that inspired him to become a passionate biologist and a conservation photographer.

Lucas is the photographic director of Tropical Herping, an institution co-founded in 2009 to preserve tropical reptiles and amphibians through tourism, photography, education, and research. Lucas is an author of “The Amphibians and Reptiles of Mindo” and has described 4 new species to science. Lucas’ primary objective is to use photography as a tool to promote wildlife conservation.

His photographic work has been featured in National Geographic, BBC Wildlife Magazine, World Wide Fund (WWF), Conservation International, BioGraphic, Ranger Rick, and many other magazines, books, photo exhibitions and articles. His imagery is represented by Nature Picture Library. He is a Wildlife Photographer of the Year and Nature’s Best Windland Smith Rice prizewinner. Also, Lucas is an Associate Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP).

When taking a break from work, Lucas spends the time diving and playing soccer with his friends.

Photographer. Editor. Teacher. Guide. Raised in Saudi Arabia, Karine Aigner motorcycled through Vietnam, circumnavigated the globe by ship, taught English in Taiwan, and then there was the time the hyena pups chewed her shoes (while on her feet).  On her first trip to Africa, she fell in love with a continent.  From one chapter to the next, her adventures uncover her fervor to tell the stories of life through the lens of a camera.

Karine spent nine years as the Senior picture editor for National Geographic Kids magazine, where she learned all she could about storytelling and the makings of a “good picture.” In 2011 the freelance life beckoned.

Karine leads photographic tours across the globe. She has worked with children all over the world, using the camera as a tool to teach awareness and conservation. Karine is a fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP) and a member of NANPA. Karine’s work has been featured in National Geographic Magazine, Nature Conservancy Magazine, WWF and BBC Wildlife to name a few. Her imagery is represented by National Geographic Creative, and Tandem Stills & Motion.

Nick Kanakis is a Dallas, Texas based wildlife photographer and ecologist.

Nick began a lifelong passion (although most would say OBSESSION), for smaller wildlife at a young age. His early days were spent observing backyard jumping spiders. One of his most vivid childhood memories was watching loggerhead sea turtles lay eggs in Florida.

Nick’s love for the ‘small critters,’ only fuels his work; he believes that we care about what we understand. His work aims to ignite this same passion for a wide audience by bringing them into the lives of the critters: birds, insects, and reptiles, through ethical photography. Having worked in conservation he has seen worthy efforts fall short and research go unrecognized without community appreciation for wildlife. Photography changes this by engaging the public and creating a climate that values protecting wildlife and its habitat. Nick knows that powerful images can inspire admiration from those who once feared often misunderstood animals and give people a new respect for more familiar feathered inhabitants.

Nick’s work has been awarded in the 2022 edition of Wildlife Photographer of the Year, as a category winner as well as with a commended image, and the 2021 BigPicture Competition. See more of Nick’s work here.