Karen Kasmauski

Photographer Karen Kasmauski has produced 25 stories for National Geographic magazine on topics ranging from earthquakes in Japan to oil exploration in Alaska. She finds the personal stories behind the headlines, blending a warm human sensitivity with a photographer’s eye for detail to distill global issues into resonant images. Raised in southern Virginia’s tidewater region, Kasmauski grew up spending weekends roaming the coastline, crabbing and fishing with her family. One of her first National Geographic stories explored the Gullah culture of the Sea Islands. That experience led to extensive work in Africa, where she has photographed in over twenty countries for National Geographic stories and non-profits assignments. A Senior Fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers, Kasmauski specializes in examining how the health of the land affects the communities on it, and the land’s role in preserving cultural ties to the past.

Kasmauski 's book Impact: From the Front Lines of Global Health, published by National Geographic, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. She received an inaugural Getty Images Grant to develop compelling new imagery for the non-profits she supports. Her next book, Nurse: A World of Care, tells stories of dedicated medical professionals—“frontline soldiers” in the war against suffering and disease—from the frozen rivers of Alaska to the slums of Nairobi. Karen has photographed in destinations all over the world, from Japan, Vietnam and India to Africa, Antarctica and the Arctic. Kasmauski also serves on the board of The Park Institute of America.