The Rangers of Virunga
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Prize
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PhotographerBrent Stirton, United States
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Date of Photographonline
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Website
CNDP have occupied the Gorilla sector of Virunga National Park for 14 months and have prevented ICCN, the Congolese conservation authority from caring for the 220 extremely endangered mountain gorillas in this sector of Virunga National Park. The ranger's job is further complicated by the fact that the area is desperately poor and people have a hard time accepting this ban on one of the very few opportunities they feel they have to actually make some money. More than 120 rangers have died in the last ten years as a result of their work in Virunga National Park, arguably the most dangerous job in conservation.
Brent Stirton is a senior staff photographer for the assignment division of Getty Images, New York. He specializes in documentary work and is known for his alternative approaches. He travels an average of ten months of the year on assignment.
Brent work is published by: National Geographic Magazine, National Geographic Adventure, The Discovery Channel, Newsweek, The New York Times Magazine, The London Sunday Times Magazine, Le Express, Le Monde 2, GQ, Geo, Stern, CNN, and many other respected international titles. He also writes a blog for the Discovery Channel which regularly features pictures and stories from his travels.
Brent also works for the Global Business Coalition against Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria. He has been a long time photographer for the World Wide Fund for Nature, shooting campaigns on sustainability and the environment. He also works for the Ford and Clinton Foundations, the Nike foundation and the World Economic Forum.
Brent has received awards from the Overseas Press Club, the Frontline Club, the Deadline Club, Days Japan, P.O.Y, China International Photo Awards, the Lead Awards, Graphis, American Photography, American Photo and the American Society of Publication Designers as well as the London Association of Photographers. Brent has received 5 awards from the World Press Photo Foundation and has also received awards from the United Nations for his work on the environment and in the field of HIV.
?As journalists we often have to find new ways to tell an old story. I believe in trying to tell that story in the most powerful way I can under the limited circumstance that time brings to any assignment. I am trying to be less concerned with who I am working for and more concerned about what I am doing with my time. This is crucial period in our history on this planet and I want to feel like I am working on issues that matter beyond the sensationalism of the 24 hour news cycle.?
