Brian Skerry
Skerry at Boston Universityc. 2011
Born	1961 (age 63–64) Milford, Massachusetts
Education	B.A. in Media and Communications
Alma mater	Worcester State College (1984)
Occupations	Underwater photographer Film producer
Employer	Freelancer
Known for	National Geographic photography
Notable work	Secrets of the Whales
Awards	Primetime Emmy Award 2021Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series – Producer
Website	brianskerry.com

Brian Skerry is an Americanphotojournalist andfilm producer specializing inmarine life andocean environments. Since 1998 he has been a contributing photographer forNational Geographic magazine with more than 30 stories to his credit, including sevencovers. In 2021 Skerry won aPrimetime Emmy Award for his role as producer in theminiseries,Secrets of the Whales.

Skerry was born inMilford, Massachusetts in 1961, and grew up inUxbridge.^[1] Skerry beganSCUBA diving in 1977, at 15 years old and received his first SCUBA certification in 1978. He has stated that he was drawn to the water from a very young age and was always fascinated by ocean documentaries, along with the moviesJaws (1975) andThe Deep (1977)^[2]

After studying atQuinsigamond Community College, where he earned anassociate degree inLiberal Arts,^[3] he went on toWorcester State College earning aBachelor of Science degree in Communications Media in 1984.^[4]

Skerry worked on a diving charter boat based on the coast ofRhode Island from 1982–1992, taking divers out to exploreNew Englandshipwrecks.^[5] His early photography focused on marine life and shipwrecks. His first published photograph was in 1984 inThe Boston Globe newspaper, an image of a shipwreck inBoston Harbor.^[6] During the 1990s he published photos and wrote stories for a variety of scuba diving magazines.^[7] His first book was published in 1995,Complete Wreck Diving, with co-author Henry Keatts.^[8] In 1996 he was the first to photograph a livingOarfish, an animal that inspired sea serpent legends.^[9] In 2015 Skerry was named aNikon Ambassador (United States).^[10]

In 1998 Skerry received his first assignment forNational Geographic. In a 2021 article inThe Maine Magazine, Skerry recallsBill Curtsinger, one of the first underwater photographers, turning down aNational Geographic magazine photo shoot of the 1717pirate shipwreckWhydah Gally, buried in the sand offCape Cod. Curtsinger turned down the job due to a scheduling conflict but put in a good word for Skerry, who in turn, took the story assignment.^[11] Skerry had his photos published in the May 1999 edition ofNational Geographic.^[12]

Skerry has been credited with more than 30 stories forNational Geographic,^[13] including seven on the front cover of the magazine.^a The subjects of his stories have included species such asharp seals,^[14]squid,^[15]right whales,^[16]Leatherback sea turtles,^[17]bluefin tuna,^[18]dolphins^[19] andcoral reefs.^[20] Other stories have featured locations such as theSouthern Line Islands,^[21]Ireland,^[22]Marine reserves of New Zealand,^[23] thePhoenix Islands,^[24]Japan,^[25] theMesoamerican Reef,^[26] and in his homestate, theGulf of Maine.^[11]

In 2016 National Geographic published three consecutive stories photographed by Skerry about sharks.^[27][28][29] While on assignment forNational Geographic on September 1, 2016, he photographed U.S. PresidentBarack Obama snorkeling in the waters offMidway Atoll in thePacific Ocean, which lies within thePapahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.^[30] It was the first photograph ever taken of aPresident of the United States underwater.^[31]

Secrets of the Whales was a multi-platform project Skerry created forNational Geographic in 2017 about the science of whale culture. He credits the work ofCanadian whalebiologistShane Gero as his inspiration for this project.^[32] Skerry proposed the project toNational Geographic magazine,National Geographic Television andNational Geographic Books and each division approved their respective project.^[33]

Thecover story inNational Geographic magazine appeared in the May 2021 issue, written byCraig Welch and photographed by Skerry.^[34] A book was published in April 2021 by National Geographic Books with the same name, written and photographed by Skerry.^[35] The four part miniseries, executive produced byJames Cameron andnarrated bySigourney Weaver, premiered April 22, 2021, onDisney+. Skerry produced andstarred in theminiseries, as well as providing underwatercinematography.^[36]

The documentary series was nominated for threePrimetime Emmy Awards by theAcademy of Television Arts & Sciences. On September 19, 2021 the miniseries was a winner in the categoryOutstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series which was awarded to Skerry and the producers of the show.^[37] The film was also nominated for two awards from the Online Film & Television Association forbest narration andBest Cinematography in a Variety, Sketch, Nonfiction, or Reality Program.^[38] At theJackson Wild 2021 Media AwardsSecrets of the Whales was awardedWinner: Limited Series^[39] and at the 2021Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital, Skerry was awarded theShared Earth Foundation Award for Advocacy.^[40]

On July 8, 2025, while on assignment for National Geographic, Skerry captured what is believed to be the first-ever underwater photograph of aGreat white shark off the coast of Maine. About 15 miles fromHarpswell, in theGulf of Maine, Skerry came face-to-face with a curious juvenile female roughly 10 feet long. “She moved… within maybe four feet of me,” he recalled, managing to slide into the water and frame the iconic shot before the shark quietly vanished after a three‑minute encounter. After more than 10,000 hours spent exploring marine life beneath the waves, this shot marked a milestone not just for Skerry but for marine science in Maine, offering fresh underwater evidence of great white presence that until now had only been hinted at by tagged individuals and surface sightings.^[41][42]

Sea Change: The Gulf of Maine is a 3-Part,PBSNOVA special, documentary television series produced by Brian Skerry, Chun-Wei Yi and Stella Cha that debuted in July 2024.

Focused on the Gulf of Maine, the Gulf of Maine is a 36,000 square mile body of water stretching fromCape Cod, Massachusetts toNova Scotia, Canada that is warming 97% faster than the rest of the global ocean.

Sea Change blends science, exploration, stunning natural history, and stories of human experience, to illuminate how what happens here could have profound global implications. Viewers will encounter the spectacular wilderness and wildlife that still teems in these waters. The series also documents the range of people including scientists, Native Americans, fishers, and entrepreneurs working to reveal the Gulf’s complex history and helping to understand what role the ocean plays in all of our lives. It is a regional story with global implications.

In 2012 Skerry partnered with theConservation Law Foundation inBoston to create TheNew England Ocean Odyssey.^[43]

Skerry lectures on issues of visual storytelling andocean conservation and exploration, having presented at venues including TheUnited Nations General Assembly,^[44] TheWorld Economic Forum inDavos, Switzerland,TED Talks, TheNational Press Club in Washington, DC, TheRoyal Geographical Society inLondon and theSydney Opera House inAustralia.^[44] He's been a guest on several television programs includingCBS This Morning,^[45]Nightline,^[46]Anderson Cooper Full Circle^[47] and is a frequent guest on radio shows andpodcasts.^[48]

Skerry is a Founding Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers,^[49] and the Explorer-In-Residence at theNew England Aquarium.^[50]

• 11-time award winner ofWildlife Photographer of the Year from theNatural History Museum, London.^[52]
• 5-time award winner ofPictures of the Year International fromMissouri School of Journalism^{[53][54][55][56][57]}
• (2012)Peter Benchley Ocean Awards for Excellence in Media^[58]
• (2016)Photographer's Photographer Award -National Geographic^[59]
• (2017)Rolex National Geographic explorer of the year -National Geographic^[60]
• (2019)NOGI Awards - Art - Academy of Underwater Arts & Sciences^[61]
• (2022)Doctor of Humane Letters,Honoris Causa -Worcester State University^[62]
• (2025)NANPA’s Outstanding Nature Photographer of Year Award^[63]

Awards for theminiseries,Secrets of the Whales for which Skerry was aProducer.

• (2021) Winner -Academy of Television Arts & Sciences -Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series^[37]
• (2021) Winner -Jackson Wild 2021 Media AwardsLimited Series^[39]
• (2021) Winner -Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital,Shared Earth Foundation Award for Advocacy^[40]

• (2012)National Geographic MuseumOcean Soul (Traveling exhibit),Washington, D.C.^[64]
• (2013)Smithsonian National Museum of Natural HistoryPortraits of the Planet: The photography of Brian Skerry,Washington, D.C.^[65]
• (2014)United Nations Office at GenevaWild and Precious Exhibit -Geneva, Switzerland^[66]
• (2017)National Geographic MuseumSharks: On Assignment with Brian Skerry (Traveling exhibit),Washington, D.C.^[67]
• (2021)Visa pour l'ImagePhoto festival,Perpignan, France^[68]
• (2023) Bercy VillagePlanet Ocean: Free Exhibition by Yann Arthus-Bertrand and Brian Skerry,Paris, France^[69]

Skerry has seven published photographs on thecover ofNational Geographic.^a

Cover stories

#	Title	Year	About	Location	Ref
1	Harp Seals	2004	Harp seals	Canada	[14]
2	The Global Fish Crisis: Still Waters	2007	Commercial, Industrialoverfishing	Global	[70]
3	The Global Fish Crisis: Blue Haven	2007	Marine reserves of New Zealand	New Zealand	[23]
4	It's Time for a Conversation	2015	Dolphincognition	Global	[19]
5	Saving the Seas	2017	President Obama Protecting U.S.Oceans	Atlantic Pacific Caribbean Gulf of Mexico	[30]
6	Secrets of the Whales	2021	Whaleculture	Global	[34]
7	2021 The Year in Pictures	2022	Grey seal	New England	[71]
8	Gulf of Maine	2024	Gulf of Maine	New England andCanada	[72]

a.^ Eight articles in seven issues. There are two articles in the same issue (April 2007).

b.^ There were four versions of this issue of the magazine, each with a different photograph. Skerry's cover photo was one of these four.

• Official website
• National Geographic Photographers page

• People from Uxbridge, Massachusetts
• American photojournalists
• American underwater divers
• American underwater photographers
• Artists from Massachusetts
• Living people
• Worcester State University alumni
• 1961 births
• People from Milford, Massachusetts
• National Geographic photographers
• Primetime Emmy Award winners

• Pages containing links to subscription-only content
• Subscription required using via
• CS1: unfit URL
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Pages where birth or death is being automatically determined
• Articles with hCards
• Official website not in Wikidata