Ralph Lee Hopkins

Photographer Ralph Lee Hopkins travels to the world's wild places with Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic. He is founder and director of the Expedition Photography program for the Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic alliance, and for more than 25 years has photographed expeditions from the Arctic to the Antarctic and points in between.

Ralph's background in geology led to a deep appreciation for landscapes and wild places. He completed his masters degree at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, where he studied rocks along the rim of the Grand Canyon. A chapter on his research is published in Grand Canyon Geology. He was photographer on the 1990 Colorado River Expedition with the U.S. Geological Survey, matching historical photographs from the 1889-90 Stanton Expedition. Images from this project are included on the book Grand Canyon Geology Grand Canyon–A Century of Change. His connection with the Grand Canyon continues, leading photo expeditions down the Colorado River with Arizona River Adventures.

Ralph is author and photographer of the popular guidebooks Hiking Colorado's Geology and Hiking the Southwest's Geology. His most recent book, Nature Photography–Documenting the Wild World, chronicles his love for the creative and artistic aspects of photography.

His work appears regulary in publications such as Arizona Highways, National Geographic, Nature's Best, Outside, and Outdoor Photographer. A member of the International League of Conservation photographers (iLCP), ongoing work focuses on documenting conservation and environmental issues in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, and Baja California and Sea of Cortez, Mexico. His work was published in the story "Is Baja on the Block?" in the Nov/Dec 2008 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

An inspiring teacher, Ralph leads workshops for National Geographic Expeditions, Santa Fe Photographic Workshops, and Arizona Highways Photo Workshops.

His photos are represented by National Geographic Image Collection and  prints by the National Geographic Fine Art Galleries.