American photographer Jim Brandenburg’s photographs have won many national and international awards – among them two awards for Magazine Photographer of the Year by the National Press Photographer’s Association (NPPA). He has worked as a photographer for National Geographic magazine for over 20 years, resulting in 19 magazine articles, several television features, and more than 19 books. Jim Brandenburg has published many bestsellers, including Chased by the Light, Brother Wolf and White Wolf.

David Doubilet is honored to have his underwater imagery considered to be among the best by editors, peers and colleagues the world over. He has photographed over 60 stories for the National Geographic Magazine. David’s challenge to himself is to redefine photographic boundaries each time he enters the water. His passion is the undersea majesty of light and how to capture it. Completely at home on a coral reef, a World War II wreck, a deep dark fjord or among the great giants in our sea, David has relentlessly pursued the many hidden layers of coral reefs around the globe. His cold water work has immersed him in the rich waters of New Zealand, Tasmania, Scotland, Japan, the Northwest Atlantic and Northeast Pacific. Recent photographic journeys have taken him into some of the largest freshwater systems on our planet such as the great Okavango Delta system in Botswana and the St. Lawrence River. David has authored seven books on the sea. The most recent are: Fish Face by Phaidon Publishers (2003), The Kingdom of Coral: Australia’s Great Barrier Reef by National Geographic Books (2002) and Water Light and Time by Phaidon Publishers (1999). He is the recipient of the many prestigious awards, including: The Sara Prize, The Explorers Club Lowell Thomas Award and the Lennart Nilsson Award in Photography. David is a member of both the Royal Photographic Society and International Diving Hall of fame.

French photographer Vincent Munier’s photographs have been exhibited in over thirty-five countries and his reportages published in magazines such as National Geographic. He became internationally known as an animal photographer after winning the Eric Hosking Award in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition in 2000, 2001 and 2002. He has published many books, including White Nature, Clair de Brume, Au Fil des Songes, Solitudes I & II, Arctique, then Terre Adélie. And his latest book, Tibet, was published at Kobalann Editions.

Matthieu Ricard is the son of the philosopher Jean-François Revel and the painter Yahne Le Toumelin. He traveled to India for the first time in 1967 where he met remarkable tibetan spiritual masters. After completing a doctoral degree in molecular biology with Nobel laureate François Jacob, he decided to move to the Himalayas to concentrate on buddhism. He has lived there for the last forty years and is a monk at the Shechen monastery in Nepal. He has been the Dalaï-lama’s french interpreter since 1989. For forty years he has photographed the spiritual masters, the culture, art and landscapes of Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal. He is the author of numerous photography books, including Tibet: An Inner Journey, Motionless Journey: From a Hermitage in the Himalayas, and Kalachakra, a mandala for peace. His photographs have been exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide. Matthieu Ricard offers all the profits from his rights as an author to humanitarian projects in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and India through the international foundation he has created : Karuna-Shechen. To learn more about Karuna-Shechen : http://karuna-shechen.org