Joanna Pinneo Named Ranger Rick Magazine Photographer of the Year

Have you ever wondered who takes the incredible photos that appear in the pages of Ranger Rick magazine? Joanna Pinneo, of Boulder, Colorado, is one of our very talented photographers. She loves to travel the country in search of compelling stories to photograph. And that’s exactly what she did for us this past year.

Her first stop was the Mississippi State Veterinary Camp, where kids who aspire to become veterinarians get hands-on experience in the field.

Joanna hit the road again just a few weeks later and joined a family on their shrimp boat in southern Louisiana, photographing the bayou life of fishing, boating, and alligator-watching. Then she spent a week in the Colorado Rockies, photographing the International Snow Sculpture Championships in the bitter cold.

For these amazing photos, we named Joanna the winner of this year’s Ranger Rick Photographer of the Year award. This award is given to the photographer who best advances the magazine’s mission–to inspire in kids a greater understanding and love of the natural world, and a lasting commitment to environmental stewardship–with exciting, informative, and spectacular eye-popping photos.

Joanna doesn’t just shoot pictures on these trips. She gets to know the wildlife, the natural surroundings, and the people in each of her stories before she ever reaches for her camera. Add Joanna’s great photographic eye, and you get a fantastic story every time.

“Joanna is a true Ranger Rick trouper. She will trek for days by foot or horse to keep up with the kids. Regardless of the mud, insects, heat, snow, cold, or rain mother nature has in store, it never stops her from finding the photo that will tell the story for the Ranger Rick reader,” says Mary Dalheim, Editorial Director of Ranger Rick and Ranger Rick Jr. magazines at the National Wildlife Federation.

Congratulations, Joanna!