Certified Photo Instructor
Meet the top photographers who help you take home the photos of a lifetime
To help our guests take the best possible shots, a specially trained certified photo instructor joins every voyage to offer assistance with all of your photography needs, from camera settings to composition. Their goal is to help guests become better, more confident photographers—and to help them go home with amazing shots that tell the story of their journey.
Our photo instructors are also trained naturalists, which gives them advantage when it comes to photographing the natural world. They are well-versed in animal behavior and can coach guests as they prepare to photograph a bear fishing for salmon or a pod of killer whales on the hunt.
Lana Tannir
Photography Leader, Biologist & Science Storyteller
Lana’s Instagram
As a National Geographic Explorer and Girls Who Click Ambassador, Lana Tannir has spent the past decade capturing the intricate relationship between humans and nature in the Arctic and marine environments.
Lana Tannir’s work has been featured in publications and podcasts to TV appearances. Some of her latest features include National Geographic Germany and Serbia, Terra Mater, Oceanographic Magazine, Wildlife Photographic, Sony Alpha Universe, Sidetracked Magazine, and Female Explorer. Her stunning photos are regularly exhibited in Germany and the UK, with a recent showing at photoMUENCHEN 2019.
In 2021, Lana received an Honorable Mention at the International Photography Awards in the photojournalism category and was named an Emerging Photographer in Landscape Photography by National Geographic Germany. Since 2023, she’s been a judge for Nature TTL’s Photographer of the Year competition and will soon make her debut as a TEDxTUM speaker.
Paul Goldstein
Guide, Wildlife Photographer & Presenter
See Paul’s Work on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter
Paul is an outspoken conservationist, award-winning photographer and guide with a large following that fully embrace his unique style of teaching and leadership. With nearly 40 years of travel experience and working on all seven continents, Paul Goldstein has truly earned his reputation as an avid conservation campaigner and travel expert on wildlife tours in Africa, Asia, South America and the Polar regions. According to the Sunday Times, he is ‘preposterously vivacious, a guide of almost psychotic gusto’ and they also added ‘no-one will drag you up the wildlife photography ladder quicker.’
He has lectured and worked all over the world, his favorite places being the Arctic and Antarctic, the Pantanal, India, Baffin Island and his beloved Maasai Mara conservancies. Predators are his primary photographic subject, and tigers inspiration enough to run 20 marathons in his now-famous outfit, including the Everest marathon in 2022.
Paul may pull you out of your comfort zone at times, but this will inevitably result in you getting fantastic images to add to your wildlife collection. Never knowingly undersold, always outspoken and proactive and a vibrant and entertaining presenter/raconteur. You’ve been warned. ; )
Amos Nachoum
Expedition Guide, Speaker & Photography Leader
Amos Nachoum, a renowned wildlife photographer and explorer, has profoundly impacted photography and wildlife conservation. Celebrated for his close-up underwater shots of large marine animals like whales, sharks, leopard seals, crocodiles, anacondas, and polar bears, he has earned numerous awards and global recognition.
Beyond capturing stunning images, Amos passionately advocates for environmental conservation, using his work to raise awareness about endangered wildlife and natural habitats.
Since arriving in the USA from Israel in 1977, Amos has embarked on daring explorations, photographing wildlife from the North Pole to Antarctica. His work aims to dispel myths about “dangerous” wildlife, showcasing harmonious interactions between humans and animals.
He recently published BIG, a book featuring his wildlife photography, and was the subject of the documentary ‘The Picture of His Life’, which chronicles his quest to photograph polar bears underwater—twelve people landed on the moon, and only five have dived with polar bears!
Piet van den Bemd
Expedition & Photography Guide
During Piet’s childhood, he developed an intense fascination for nature and wildlife. Guided by his parents, he travelled to many different continents, experienced other cultures and became inspired by the wildlife he witnessed outside of his home country in the Netherlands.
Growing up with a father who was a professional photographer, Piet received his first camera at the age of 16 which cemented the path ahead of him into photography.
Inspired by the beauty, freedom and pure wilderness of the North, Piet is driven to share this through photography and create awareness and interest in this fragile environment. For him, it is important to keep moving forward to secure and conserve the future of the remaining “untouched” places in the world.
For the last few years, he’s travelled for over 280 days a year, mostly in polar regions. Working as a photo guide and exploring new places, he enjoys sharing knowledge and passion with his guests.
Virgil Reglioni
Expedition Leader & Photographer
Virgil has been an expedition leader in the polar regions since 2016. He is a professional photographer specializing in polar landscapes, with a particular focus on capturing the famous Northern Lights.
Virgil was awarded in several international photography competitions and was part of the 2021 & 2022 Best Northern Light Photographer of the Year collection, showcasing his powerful storytelling and unique impactful photography style. Following this accomplishment, he also made contributions to the European Space Agency, thanks to his renowned images. During late winters, he educates and teaches photography in Tromsø, Northern Norway, sharing his love for the untouched polar dark nights and remote locations.
After years of building connections, experiences and skills in the Arctic, he now works about five months a year on expedition vessels in wider polar regions, including Greenland, North West Passage, South Georgia and Antarctica.
Jeff Mauritzen
National Geographic Photography Expert
National Geographic photographer Jeff Mauritzen's assignments and adventures have immersed him in vivid landscapes on all 7 continents and in more than 60 countries around the world. Whether photographing penguin antics in Antarctica or komodo dragons in Indonesia, Jeff’s work expresses an unwavering passion, respect, curiosity, and awe for the natural world.
Jeff's photography has appeared in dozens of National Geographic books, several National Geographic Traveler magazine articles, the Wall Street Journal, and on the @natgeotravel Instagram account, where he’s a regular contributor. In addition to assignment work, Jeff enjoys traveling with National Geographic Expeditions, teaching photography on natural history-focused trips.
Sisse Brimberg
National Geographic Photography Expert
Born in Denmark, award-winning photographer Sisse Brimberg has produced and photographed more than 30 stories for National Geographic magazine over the past 40 years, covering a wide range of subjects--from the Hanseatic League and the Vikings to the global flower trade and the prehistoric cave art of southwestern France. As contributing photographer for National Geographic Traveler, she shot various city stories in Amsterdam, Paris, Copenhagen, Casablanca, Oaxaca, Saint Petersburg, and beyond.
Having photographed in more than 70 countries across the globe -- from Cape Verde to the Azores, and Antarctica to the Arctic -- she enjoys sharing her love of photography with travelers. Brimberg has earned first prize honors from the prestigious Pictures of the Year International (POY), and her images have been exhibited around the world in Germany, Greece, Brazil, Mexico, New York City (International Center for Photography), and Washington, D.C. (The Newseum).
Juan Arias
National Geographic Photography Expert
Juan Arias is a Colombia-based visual artist and National Geographic Explorer whose work has been exhibited around the world, including in Ecuador, Bolivia, and Switzerland. His artistic approach is rooted in the idea that visual language is intrinsic to humanity—that people can express themselves through images, much like they do through writing or speech. Believing strongly in the power of art to inspire reflection and action, he uses his work to collaboratively showcase community and cultural expressions.
Over the course of his career, Juan has traveled throughout Latin America in support of various projects. In Perú and Costa Rica, he used photography education to engage communities in cultural and wildlife conservation. On a remote Colombian island in the Caribbean Sea, he amplified the voices of those safeguarding an endemic lizard species. In the Chocó rainforest of Colombia, he empowered female-led initiatives to protect turtles, and in the Amazon jungle, he supported efforts organized by the indigenous peoples to protect monkeys.