“I didn’t choose Big Cats. Big Cats chose me,” says Changemaker Steve Winter

National Geographic photographer Steve Winter and his partner in life and work, environmental journalist Sharon Guynup, are preparing the release of their powerful large-format book BIG CATS, due out October 2026.

This book features a lifetime of work, documenting big cats, with 170 photographs of tigers, cougars, jaguars, leopards, lions, and snow leopards paired with adventure tales and uplifting stories of how Steve’s photographs and Sharon’s investigative journalism have powered important conservation efforts on behalf of these mighty creatures.

An audience favorite, Steve—recent winner of Nat Geo’s Eliza Scidmore Award for Outstanding Storytelling—is back with new tales of up-close encounters, humorous anecdotes, and heartening examples of how people around the world are learning to coexist with, protect, and celebrate these extraordinary predators.