Ian Shive
Ian Shive is an Ansel award-winning American photographer and filmmaker whose work documents some of the world’s most pristine environments and brings to the public important conservation stories from around the globe. In 2020, Ian launched a new series on Discovery Channel titled Nature in Focus, where he explores our planet as host and executive producer. In 2019, Ian led several expeditions to some of the world’s most remote coral atolls for the giant-screen film, Hidden Pacific, which he directed and produced. Hidden Pacific brings to life in IMAX 3D the vibrant marine national monuments at the far reaches of the Pacific Ocean — thriving ecosystems filled with colorful coral reefs, large colonies of birds, and threatened species that depend on these habitats for survival. He is the author of several, best-selling books including the award-winning The National Parks: An American Legacy, and is proud to announce the release of his next, hardcover book Refuge: America’s Wildest Places, which celebrates the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Based in Los Angeles, Ian is also the founder and CEO of Tandem Stills + Motion, a leading outdoor media company. Check him on Instagram.
3 words to describe Nature?
Peace. Indiscriminate. Foundational
3 things Nature taught you?
That beauty exists all around us, even in the smallest details.
To be at peace with all around me, and treat others with the same peace.
That we are all connected, not just as people, but as a part of nature.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Channel Islands National Park, California
Shoshone Lake, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Assunpink Wildlife Management Area, New Jersey
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Small. Curious to explore. Sad that something so big could suffer so much by our hands
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Tranquility. A part of it, as though I could blend in and not be seen
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
That I am witness to something still in progress.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
I sense time most acutely. I feel joy at both.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Excitement!
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Cozy. Time to light a fire.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Mountain, Desert, Forest, Ocean - in that order.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Where I lived in New Jersey, we didn't have access to the big nature of national parks, but we had small parks. Ducks, fish in a pond, turtles in a creek. It was the small things, little trips daily to the water's edge that I think really impacted me the most, and where I began an appreciation of all of nature, large and small. I remember my parents always being patient, taking me to those places where my young imagination could be so lit up by the natural world.
Mario Cyr
MARIO CYR is an internationally renowned expedition leader for Arctic and Antarctic missions. He is a cold-water diving expert and a world-class cinematographer. Cyr has participated in more than 150 films for broadcasters such as National Geographic, DiscoveryChannel, the BBC, IMAX 3D, Disney Productions, CBC and David Suzuki, la Société Cousteau, France 2, Arte and NHK Japan. In 2011, he won the Palme d’Or at the Festival d’Antibes for Walrus:Toothed Titans. His contribution to Oceans, directed by Jacques Perrin, helped the film win a César for Best Documentary. In 2013, his Ice Bear 3D got an Emmy nomination.
Originally from the Magdalen Islands, located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Mario has become one of the very few specialists of cold water diving, capturing spectacular and unique scenes from marine life in the Arctic and Antarctic poles. In 1991, he pioneered filming wild walrus packs and polar bears at a very close range. His expertise and knowledge has enabled him to film authentic and never-before-seen underwater images of swimming polar bears and a female walrus nursing her young.
3 words to describe Nature?
Imposing. Splendid. Fragile
3 things Nature taught you?
Patience. Listening. Time arranges many things
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The beach Old Harry Magdalen Island
Queen Charlotte Island
Tuvalu Island, South Pacific
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
I feel infinitely small.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
I keep repeating myself that all trees are alive.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
That we are tiny in front of such a power.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
That I am lucky to see such beauty.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
For some reason, I always think of past empires and the fear they instilled through their powerful conquests.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
I return to my childhood when I hid under the patio afraid of the high winds.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory
My summer on a splendid beach Bluff on the Magdalen Island.