Suthep Kritsanavarin
Suthep Kritsanavarin is one of the most outstanding photojournalists to emerge out of Thailand in recent years. His photographic record of life in Xinjiang province in China was widely exhibited in Thailand to critical acclaim.

Kritsanavarin is currently working on a project documenting life along the Mekong ‘before development takes away the river’s charm’.

As a recognised photojournalist in Thailand and Southeast Asia, Kritsanavarin’s work has been published in a wide range of international magazines, including Far Eastern Economic Review, Geographical, The East, The New York Times, Aera, International Herald Tribune, Japan Times and CNN Traveler.

Tara Sosrowardoyo
Tara Sosrowardoyo started his professional career in photography in 1977 as a stills photographer in the Indonesian film industry. His work and interests have since encompassed a wide array of photographic disciplines, from advertising through to fashion, still life, aerial, corporate/industrial, editorial and portraiture.

Sosrowardoyo’s work has been featured in numerous publications, such as TIME, The New York Times, Fortune, Paris-Match, Far Eastern Economic Review, BusinessWeek, GEO, Asiaweek, Marie Claire and many other magazines of the region. He is credited with having shot seven TIME covers, and many other portraits of influential figures in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Sosrowardoyo has participated in numerous photography exhibitions in Indonesia and abroad. In June 2003, he was invited to participate in an exhibition curated by Edward Lucie-Smith entitled ‘Naked Before God’ at The Museum Of New Art in Estonia. His work was again featured by the same curator at another exhibition entitled ‘Gods Becoming Men’, held in conjuction with the 2004 Olympic Games, at the Frissiras Museum, Athens (14 July – 10 September 2004).

He has also held solo exhibitions at the Victorian Arts Centre in Melbourne, Australia in 1995, at Gedung 28 in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2002, and at Valentine Willie Fine Art gallery in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in June 2003.

Born in New York City, Sosrowardoyo now lives in Kuala Lumpur and maintains a foothold in his hometown, Jakarta.

Vicente Wolf
In the world of contemporary design, Vicente Wolf has been at the top for 30 years. He heads his own company, Vicente Wolf Associates, and his VW Home showroom carries everything for the home, including antique furniture, accessories and bedlinen that he handpicked while travelling the globe. VW Home also features furniture, upholstery, lighting, fabrics, wallpaper and mirrors designed by Wolf specifically for the showroom.

Over the last few years, Wolf has become known for his other passion — photography. He has held individual gallery shows, photographed his design projects for magazines, and photographed the advertising campaign for Anichini Linens. His latest series, ‘The “Plateau” Series’, is exhibited at the Naomi Silva Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia. His work is regularly featured in every major design magazine, including Architectural Digest, The New York Times, New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, Elle Décor, House Beautiful, Metropolitan Home, House & Garden and Interior Design.

Wolf’s first book Learning to See focuses on personal style and travel, and is available through Artisan Publishers. His latest title, Crossing Boundaries: A Global Vision of Design, depicts the many design inspirations found throughout the world from the perspective of an observant traveller, and is available from The Monacelli Press.

Waranun Chutchawantipakorn
Waranun Chutchawantipakorn is a native of Bangkok. In 1981, he enrolled in a photography course at Bangkok Technical College and became a member of the Photographic Society of Thailand the following year. He passed the required exam and was admitted as a member of the FRPS (Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain) in 1987.

Chutchawantipakorn actively participates in contests organised by photographic societies around the world and recognised by the Photographic Society of America (PSA). His entries have been ranked in the world’s top ten for the past 20 years and have been awarded first place 15 times in the Photo Travel Division. His work has also been published in such books as Siam In Focus, The Royal Barge, Images of Shanghai, The Sacred Buddha Images of Thailand and others.

Chutchawantipakorn is now an honorary adviser to the Photographic Society of Thailand, Siam Colour Slide Club, Bangkok Photographic Society and the Photographic Federation of Thailand. He also represents the Thailand chapters of the PSA and the Photographic Society of New York.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Born on 13 March 1946, Yann Arthus-Bertrand has always had a passion for nature.

From age 17 to 20, he does a brief stint in the cinema, first as assistant director, then as an actor. In 1967, he settles in the centre of France, where he is in charge of a nature reserve. At 30, he moves to Kenya with his wife, Anne, in order to study the behaviour of lions in the Massai Mara reserve. Feeling the need to tell the facts through images rather than writing, he then truly becomes a photographer… This experience is the origin of his first book, Lions (1981), and gives him the opportunity to discover the beauty of the world from the air aboard a hot air balloon.

Upon his return to France, he becomes a photojournalist specialising in adventure, sports and nature. He takes photographs of nature-lovers, such as Dian Fossey and her mountain gorillas in Rwanda. In 1989, he decides to gather 100 of the best French photographers and organise 3 days in France, an event and a book. As his passion for aerial photography develops, his work is recognised internationally and his pictures are published in famed magazines such as Paris-Match, GEO, Life, National Geographic and others.

In 1991, he creates ALTITUDE, a visual data bank of aerial views, bringing together the work of photographers from all parts of the world. In 1995, under the patronage of the Ecological Science department of UNESCO, he embarks upon the ambitious project of creating a scientific data bank of the Earth seen from above. This continuing survey of the planet’s ecosystems seen from a new angle still constitutes an important part of his work; it is reflected in exhibitions and publications allowing the public at large to better comprehend sustainable development and what is at stake there. In parallel, he carries on with the systematic inventory of house pets and domestic breeds, photographing the animals in the studio or outdoors against a canvas backdrop.

In 2003, he launches the project ‘6 Billions Others’ and sends three cameramen around the world to meet the people who live in places photographed from the air. In 2005, he creates Good Planet, a non-profit organisation that aims to develop projects which focus on issues of sustainable development.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand is a member of the French National Academy of Arts.
www .yannarthusbertrand .org
www .goodplanet .org