New York City-based photographer Kirsten Luce was the winner of this year’s wildlife photojournalism category. Her photos highlight the plight of animals kept in captivity for tourist entertainment.
In what began as an assignment for National Geographic, Kirsten travelled from the Amazon to Thailand and eventually Russia, documenting the animals that are captured and exploited for the tourism industry. Kirsten’s work focussed on sloths and caimans in the Amazon, elephants and tigers in Thailand, and bear and whale shows throughout Russia.
Beginning with the concept of ‘selfie tourism’ in the Amazon, Kirsten noted how ‘often it appears innocent enough, as if they are pets, but what we were finding is that the animals are actually living in really deplorable conditions whenever the tourists would…
