Jonathan Kingston

National Geographic photographer, climber and diver Jonathan Kingston is a visual storyteller passionate about supporting scientific research and documenting the natural history and human story of our world through photography.  From arresting photographs of vibrant tribal dances to underwater scenes of elephants swimming at sea to 3-D photogrammetric models of submerged archaeological sites, Jonathan’s penchant for travel and love of the wild have taken him to some of the most remote and unmapped corners of the globe.  His work has appeared in print and online in National Geographic, The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Wall Street Journal.

A passionate teacher, Jonathan taught a National Geographic Photo Camp on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana in 2016. This program uses photography to help young adults and children in underserved communities around the world to develop their own voices and tell their stories. More recently, as part of a National Geographic Society grant in the summer of 2018, Jonathan and an international team of marine archaeologists from the United States, Mexico, Spain, and Canada began searching for the remains of Hernán Cortés' fleet scuttled in the Gulf of Mexico in 1519. Along with documenting the expedition, he used underwater and aerial photogrammetry to support the archaeological exploration. In 2012 he participated in an expedition that helped uncover the Encarnación, a 17th century Spanish shipwreck off the coast of Panama – its well preserved cargo gave a rare glimpse into a major shift in world history during the colonial era. Jonathan has received multiple honors from the prestigious Communication Arts and PDN Photo Annual competitions.  National Geographic Creative and the National Geographic Fine Art Galleries represent his work.