Step into the frozen silence of the Arctic through the lens of Esther Horvath, award-winning polar photographer and visual storyteller for National Geographic and the Alfred Wegener Institute. In this deeply introspective interview, Esther shares the emotional and physical challenges of documenting life at the ends of the Earth — from the fragility of polar ecosystems to the resilience of the scientists who study them. We explore what drives her to capture some of the most remote and hauntingly beautiful places on the planet, how her work raises awareness about climate change, and what it means to find purpose in extreme isolation. If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to photograph the melting Arctic, live among icebreakers and polar bears, or find creative meaning in wild places, this conversation will leave you inspired — and changed.
🔹 Topics: Polar photography, climate change storytelling, art and science, female explorers, Arctic expeditions
🔹 Guest: Esther Horvath, Polar Photographer | National Geographic Contributor | World Press Photo Award Winner
🔹 Keywords: Esther Horvath interview, polar photography, Arctic photographer, climate change photography, women in exploration, nature documentary, environmental storytelling
Hungarian Esther Horvath is a multi-award winning polar photographer whose work focuses on climate research in the polar regions. By documenting the work and life of scientists who deliver important data, Esther hopes to help make a difference in how people understand what actually is occurring, and her collaborations with scientists help raise public awareness about these increasingly fragile environments. Esther was born in 1979 in Sopron, Hungary. Esther grew up behind the Iron Curtain and even though she lived only a few kilometers from the Austrian border she was ten years old before the ‘curtain’ came down and she was able to explore the Austrian mountains where the Alps start, discovering a world that held a fascination which would become a life-long passion for her as an explorer. Despite a childhood interest in art and photography Esther chose to study Economics at West Hungarian University for her Masters Degree. Upon graduating she worked in the private sector in Vienna and at 25 she owned her first camera which would prove to be life-changing. With a growing passion for photography she decided to go to New York to study Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at International Center of Photography, (ICP). After finishing ICP, she received an assignment from Audubon magazine, to the Arctic Ocean, which was the next most important milestone in her life. Today she documented 25 scientific expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctica. From 2019 – 2020, Esther spent almost four months on board the Polarstern icebreaker during polar nights in extreme conditions, documenting the MOSAiC expedition in the Central Arctic Ocean, the largest ever Arctic Ocean science expedition. In 2022 she was the official photographer of the Endurance22 expedition, searching and finding Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship the Endurance. Esther won the first prize in World Press Photo Award, Environmental single category in 2020. In 2022, she received the Infinity Award from the International Center of Photography in New York for her work in raising awareness about conservation, environmental justice and climate change. Esther is a contributing photographer and explorer for National Geographic Explorer, and a Nikon Ambassador and photographer for the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. Esther has homes in Sopron, Hungary and Hamburg, Germany even though she spends most of her time traveling.
Esther’s links:
https://estherhorvath.com/Back to Episodes
