Nathalie Bertrams is a documentary photographer and journalist focusing on environmental conflicts, natural resource extraction and the global supply chains driving biodiversity loss. Her work combines longform reporting with visual storytelling across photography, film and text.
Her work has been supported by the National Geographic Society, the Pulitzer Center, Journalismfund Europe, and the IWMF among others. Her stories and multimedia projects have been published by Süddeutsche Zeitung, The Guardian, El País, Al Jazeera and New Lines Magazine. She is a member of Women Photograph, Reporters Without Borders and the Red Line collective.
Freelance Journalist
- Features and reportage with photo/video for: Al Jazeera, BBC News, Christian Science Monitor, Courrier International, Daily Maverick, De Groene Amsterdammer, Deutsche Welle, El País, Internazionale, Mail & Guardian, MO*, Mongabay, New Internationalist, New Lines Magazine, NRC, OCCRP, Reportagen, Sunday Times, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Tages-Anzeiger, The Guardian, Trouw, Vreme
Documentary photographer
- Photos published in: Brand eins, China Dialogue, Chrismon, Dagbladet Information, Der Standard, Die Welt, Die Zeit, Financial Times, Granta, Irish Times, La Corriere della Sera, Lettre International, Nature, PRI/The World, The Telegraph, Voice of America, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post Magazine
- Contract photographer for The New York Times (2023–Present), Bloomberg (2020–2023), UNOPS (2019-2024).
- Photography assignments for NGOs including Greenpeace, ODI/Gage, Oxfam, Fairtrade, BMZ, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Irish Aid and Volkswagen Stiftung.
Documentary filmmaker
- Directed and filmed investigative documentaries on wildlife trafficking and trade.
Freelance artist
- Founder of PLUS, an independent art space in Düsseldorf (DE) (1999-2001).
- Member of Betonbox, an independent art space in Düsseldorf (DE) (2012-2017).
- Exhibited internationally.
Studies
1994 – 2002 Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Germany – MFA
2001 Nagoya Zokei University of Art & Design, Japan – Artist residency
1998 Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France – Artist residency
1997 – 1998 San Francisco Art Institute, USA – Postgraduate Studies
1988 – 1993 Akademie Beeldende Kunsten Maastricht, Netherlands – BA
Awards
2025 UNICEF Photo of the Year – Shortlisted
Hamburg Portfolio Review – Participant
Daylight Photo Awards – Juror pick
DIG Pitch Award 2025 – Shortlisted
Deutscher Preis für Klimajournalismus – Finalist
Lagois Fotowettbewerb – Shortlisted
Earth Photo 2025, Royal Photographic Society – Finalist
Gomma Grant – Finalist
Les Boutographies – Shortlisted
2024 Marilyn Stafford Foto Reportage Award – Shortlisted
True Story Awards – Finalist & Honorable Mention
2023 Kolga Tbilisi Photo Awards, Georgia – Shortlisted
Dejan Anastasijević Award for Investigative Journalism, Serbia – Winner
2022 Superscrieri Award, Romania – Winner (Local News) & Jury Prize
Dejan Anastasijevic Award, Serbia – Nominee
2021 Fetisov Journalism Awards – Shortlisted (Outstanding Investigative Reporting)
2020 N-Ost/Renovabis – Research Prize Eastern Europe, Georgia
2019 Kolga Tbilisi Photo Awards – Shortlisted
2018 Hostwriter Story Prize – Winner
2016 Martin Lagois Photo Prize – Finalist
Kuala Lumpur International Photoawards – Finalist
Hostwriter Story Prize – Winner
2015 Kolga Tbilisi Photo Awards – Shortlisted
Lorenzo Natali Media Prize, European Commission – Winner
Felix Schoeller Photo Awards – Finalist
2013 Joan Wakelin Bursary, Royal Photographic Society – Finalist
Grants + fellowships
Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Journalismfund Europe, NR/Olin Umweltstipendium, Stiftung Kulturwerk der VG Bildkunst, Fonds Bijzondere Journalistieke Projecten, IWMF (Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists),
Free Press Unlimited, National Geographic Society, IJ4EU, Robert Bosch Foundation (Reporters in the Field fellowship), Earth Journalism Network, Stiftung Kunstfonds
Books + studies
2025 TRAFFIC – Kenya’s trade in ornamental marine fish
2024 Women Photograph: A Year in Pictures
Karin Bodewits: Turf Adieu
2018 Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting: Toxic Planet
2017 Bertrams/Gazit: Outcast – Refugees in Israel
2016 International Journal of Media and Information Policy (MIPJ): Indigenous Edition
2015 World Future Council: Kinderrechte
2013 Bertrams: Madagascar. Travel photography
2012 Bertrams/Neuberger: Forests for People – Insights into Rwanda’s Forest Policy
Bertrams: Crossing Borders – Vom Atlas zur Goldküste
Bertrams: Crossing Borders – Vom Kap bis Kairo
Hefat training
2022 Cosain Consultancy & Acos Alliance, Birmingham, UK
Affiliations
Red Line collective, Reporters Without Borders, International Press Institute, Frontline Freelance Register, Women Photograph