Photographer Power Couple: Paul Nicklen & Cristina Mittermeier | Photographer | National Geographic

I think we are gonna spend the rest of our lives trying to save the ocean. If anybody's uncomfortable, they call the dive, we go up together. Okay. It's so difficult to photograph and film in the ocean. Not many people can do it. And until we cannot physically do it, we are going to continue doing it. National Geographic Magazine is revealing its adventurers of the year. They are chosen for embodying the spirit of adventure in groundbreaking ways. Two of them did so as a couple.

Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier are photographers; they met in the cafeteria of National Geographic's headquarters. Their dramatic images of the natural world have won millions of social media followers, turning them into conservation superstars. While Paul specializes in wildlife at the frozen ends of the Earth, Cristina captures the lives of indigenous people all over the world.

In 2015, the two marine biologists co-founded SeaLegacy, a non-profit organization working to save our seas.

Cristina: In the beginning, all we had was our Instagram account. People really wanna know what it feels like to be a photographer. What it feels like to be sitting there in the stream when a bear comes walking in. I was cold, I was hungry, I was scared, I was excited. And so, we started posting those stories. And it was like a scene out of Forrest Gump. One day you look behind you and there's thousands of people following you, millions of people following you.

Paul: I really see the journey we're going on as to be a Jacques Cousteau 2.0. Using modern technology, beating that drum constantly, you can elicit an emotional response from your followers. You can make them care, you can make them angry. I just want them to feel it. And then from there, decide what they wanna do. I think a lot of people have already given up. You know, why care if everything's already doomed? We still live in a beautiful planet. There are still so many amazing animals out there. I wanna be an ambassador for nature, for all of us, for my children, for yours. And so, making that connection, from here's a photograph to here's how we begin a movement of people who care.