Brian Skerry remembers vividly the first time he put on scuba gear and was able to breath underwater. Sure, it was in his parents’ backyard pool, but it was life-changing nonetheless. It’s a sensation he’s become intimately familiar with over the last 30 years as he’s built a laudable career as a photojournalist, with more than 25 National Geographic stories to his name. He’s even spent time below the surface with Barack Obama, shooting the first-ever photos of a U.S. president under water. There’s a passion that hasn’t wavered much over the years. What has changed though, is the ocean itself and with that, Brian’s drive to find a delicate balance between documenting human-caused impacts and reasons to be hopeful.

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Here’s the photo of Brian’s assistant with a southern right whale as well as his picture of former U.S. President Barack Obama. Click here for his online portfolio.

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