Sebastian Copeland is a photographer, explorer, and environmental advocate. Noted as a photographer “who has produced works that are of outstanding artistic merit and communicates messages of urgent global significance,” Copeland’s first book on Antarctica earned him the Professional Photographer of the Year from the 2007 International Photography Awards. He has also produced documentary films chronicling his North Pole and Greenland crossings. His latest book Arctica: The Vanishing North (teNeues 2015) won the ITB Award 2016 and covers ten years of photographic exploration of the far North. Copeland was named Professional Photographer of the Year by the 2016 Int’l Tokyo Photo Awards.
Copeland has led expeditions across the Arctic sea, Greenland and Antarctica, and has reached both poles on foot—North and South. With over 8,000 kilometers under his skis, Copeland holds various records and polar “firsts” across the polar region. In 2017, Copeland was named one of the world’s 25 greatest adventurers of the last 25 years.
An international speaker on the climate crisis for more than a decade, Copeland has addressed audiences at the United Nations, at universities, and museums worldwide, and many Fortune 500 companies warning of the systemic transformations taking place in the polar regions from anthropogenic activities, and their geopolitical consequences. Copeland is a member of the Explorers Club. He sits on the board of directors of President Gorbachev’s Global Green USA.
