Picturing Earth: The Story of Life in Images

Derek E.G. Briggs is Frederick William Beinecke Professor of Geology and Geophysics and Director of Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History. A distinguished paleontologist whose primary research interest is the preservation and evolutionary significance of exceptionally preserved fossils, Briggs joined the faculty of Yale University in 2003.

One of the great nature photographers of our time, Frans Lanting’s images of nature and wildlife have been published in National Geographic, Audubon and Time as well as exhibitions around the world. His most recent work, LIFE: A Journey Through Time, is a multimedia event that combines the music of Philip Glass with incredible photographs that document the history of the big bang to life on present day Earth.

Chris Eckstrom is a writer, videographer, and producer. Her stories have appeared in National Geographic Magazine, Audubon, International Wildlife, National Geographic Traveler, and other publications. Her Traveler story, “The Last Real Africa,” won a 2007 Lowell Thomas Award for Best Magazine Article on Foreign Travel from the Society of American Travel Writers.

Michael Novacek has served since 1982 as a curator at the American Museum of Natural History where he is currently Senior Vice President and Provost of Science and Curator of Paleontology.