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Cristina MittermeierTembo King2025
2025
$4,500
£3,477.03
€4,019.78
CA$6,358.83
A$7,131.85
CHF 3,734.84
MX$86,658.88
NOK 47,426.18
SEK 44,963.36
DKK 30,005.52
About the Item
"Tembo King"
Kenya, 2025
Available sizes:
20 x 30 in / Edition of 6 - $4,500
32 x 48 in / Edition of 6 - $7,500
40 x 60 in / Edition of 6 - $10,500
50 x 75 in / Edition of 6 - $15,500
Cristina Mittermeier Narrative:
Some beings carry time within them.
They don’t rush, they don’t hide. They simply are—monuments in motion.
He is known to some as Craig, but here, beyond the protective boundaries of Amboseli National Park, the Maasai people call him Tembo King—the Elephant King. One of the last of Kenya’s great tuskers, he moves through the landscape like a living myth, his presence felt long before it’s seen.
I had the immense privilege of photographing him in a conservancy owned and protected by the Maasai community—an ancestral land where the guardianship of elephants is not a job, but a calling. When these giants step beyond the national park, it is the Maasai who watch over them, walking with them, standing between them and the dangers that lie beyond the tall grass: roads, snares, hunters, indifference.
And it is no wonder; when Tembo King appears, the world seems to pause.
He moves with a patience that makes the earth feel older. His tusks curved like ancient ivory scrolls, etched by time. His eyes hold the weight of memory—of droughts and rains, of lives lost and spared. I chose to render the photograph in soft sepia—the first time I’ve ever done so. It felt right. Color would have shouted. Sepia whispers. It wraps the moment in timelessness, like an artifact unearthed from a dream.
The image is quiet. There is no drama. Just this majestic bull, walking calmly through his kingdom. But behind that quiet is a legacy of courage—his, and that of the people who walk beside him. The Maasai don’t see him as a relic or a spectacle. They see him as kin. As king. As someone who belongs.
And that’s the heart of this story.
Conservation isn’t just about fences and laws. It’s about relationships. About people who choose, every day, to protect something that cannot speak for itself—but whose silence echoes through the land like thunder.
Tembo King walks still. And as long as he does, there is hope.
Biography:
A virtuous mind and voice in conservation photography and one of the most influential female photographers in the world, Cristina Mittermeier began her career as a Marine Biologist working in her native Mexico.
For the past twenty-five years, she has dedicated herself to inspiring a global audience to care about the delicate balance between human well-being and healthy ecosystems.
Cristina's work has exhibited at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, The Miller Gallery in Cincinnati, The Paul Nicklen Gallery in New York, Xposure in the UAE , Art Basel Miami, Terras de Salitre/Mar de Mares Festival in Santiago, The Museum of Plastic Pop-Up in New York, The United Nations Headquarters in association with Disney and Girl Up, and at Fotografiska in Stockholm, Sweden.
Cristina is the co-founder of SeaLegacy, the founder and former president of the International League of Conservation Photographers, a board member for the WILD Foundation, an advisor on two major Conservation International programs, an esteemed public speaker, and a recipient of multiple internationally recognized awards for her photography. In 2016, Cristina received the Imaging Award for Photographers who Give Back and in 2018 was acknowledged as a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year.
She is the editor of 26 conservation photography books and her Fine Art Coffee Table book, Amaze, is in its second printing.
Today, Cristina is the Co-founder of the conservation society, SeaLegacy, a National Geographic contributing photographer, a Sony Artisan of Imagery and the editor of 26 coffee table books on conservation issues. She is the first female photographer to reach 1M followers on Instagram and was a 2018 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. She is acknowledged as one of the most Influential Women in Ocean Conservation in 2018 by Ocean Geographic, and The Men's Journal recently named her as one of the 18 Most Adventurous Women in the World.
Cristina is a pioneer in the use of powerful and emotive imagery to propel conservation efforts. Born in Mexico, Cristina is a marine biologist, photographer, and writer who specializes in issues surrounding fisheries and indigenous cultures.
- Creator:
- Creation Year:2025
- Dimensions:Height: 20 in (50.8 cm)Width: 30 in (76.2 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Chicago, IL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU388316380142
Cristina Mittermeier
Cristina Mittermeier is a Mexican contemporary artist who began her career as a Marine Biologist, working in her native Mexico. For the past 25 years, she has dedicated herself to inspiring a global audience to care about the delicate balance between human well-being and healthy ecosystems. Her work has exhibited at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, The Miller Gallery, in Cincinnati, The Paul Nicklen Gallery, in New York, Xposure, in the UAE, Art Basel Miami, Terras de Salitre/Mar de Mares Festival, in Santiago, The Museum of Plastic Pop-Up, in New York, The United Nations Headquarters, in association with Disney and Girl Up, and at Fotografiska, in Stockholm, Sweden. Cristina is the co-founder of SeaLegacy, the founder and former president of the International League of Conservation Photographers, a board member for the WILD Foundation, an advisor on two major Conservation International programs, an esteemed public speaker and a recipient of multiple internationally recognized awards for her photography. In 2016, she received the Imaging Award for photographers who give back and in 2018, she was acknowledged as a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. She is the editor of 26 conservation photography books and her fine art coffee table book, Amaze, is in its second printing.
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