Frank Pictures Gallery - Mark Moffett

For his doctorate, Moffett spent 29 months in the field, collecting specimens and photographing ants in 14 countries. While still on expedition an editor from National Geographic saw his images and flew to India to convince him to shoot for the magazine. 28 National Geographic articles later Moffett has earned some of photojournalism's highest honors, including Best Picture and Best Story in the Picture of the Year awards.Using the unique perspectives he gained studying insects below sea level and over 200 feet above the forest floor, Moffett wrote The High Frontier (Harvard University Press) comparing terrestrial, marine, and microbial ecosystems and challenging prevailing trends in the field of ecology.In 2006 Moffett received the Lowell Thomas Medal—the highest honor in the field of exploration—from the Explorers Club in New York, following luminaries such as Carl Sagan, Sir Edmund Hillary and Jean Cousteau. While not on expedition, Moffett divides his time between two staff positions at the University of California at Berkley and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., for whom he will curate an exhibit in 2009 based entirely on his personal research and photography.Moffett is a modern day explorer with more than a little luck on his side. He has accidentally sat on the world's deadliest snake, battled drug lords with dart guns, eaten grubs, scorpions and spiders, and ascended a tree to escape bull elephants. To the stage he brings his wealth of experience, passion, and quirky humor for an unforgettable look inside our natural world and its complex systems.

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