Justin Mott’s personal projects bring together his photography and conservation work. Most are self-assigned, shot over months or years, and reported by staying with the people and animals at the center of each story.
Conservation work is the personal thread that runs through Justin’s career. It also informs how he handles editorial assignments. The long-form documentary discipline (time on the ground, trust with subjects, willingness to sit in difficult conditions) is the same discipline that translates to harder editorial briefs.
The work below follows rescue, rehabilitation, and the people working to protect life, human and animal.
OL PEJETA CONSERVANCY, KENYA
The Plight of the Northern White Rhino
The last two northern white rhinos on earth, a mother and daughter, under 24-hour armed guard. A close look at the animals and the rangers who won’t let the subspecies vanish.
SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST, KENYA
Orphaned elephants
Inside the Nairobi nursery where keepers raise orphaned elephants by hand, bottle-feeding them and sleeping in their stalls to stand in for the family they lost.
FINE ART DIPTYCHS, VIETNAM
As above, so below
Aerial and ground views paired as diptychs, a personal tribute to the country Mott has called home since 2006. He is giving the full collection to Vietnam, free for anyone to use.
TWO DECADES ON ASSIGNMENT
Vietnam retrospective
More than 100 assignments across Vietnam for The New York Times and other publications, drawn together after two decades in the country. Later featured by the BBC.
HUMANITARIAN, VIETNAM
The legacy of Agent Orange
The children and grandchildren still living with the effects of Agent Orange, decades after the war. At its center is Nu, a young woman Mott has visited every year since 2007.
WILDLIFE REHABILITATION, VIETNAM
Pangolin rescue
The most trafficked mammal on earth, poached for its scales and meat. This follows the work of pulling pangolins out of the illegal trade and returning them, when possible, to the wild.
GREEN HERITAGE FUND, SURINAME
The sloth lady of Suriname
Monique Pool, the CNN Hero known as the sloth lady, has rescued more than 1,000 sloths since 2005. This follows her rescue and release work, including the mass evacuation she calls Slothageddon.
SOI DOG FOUNDATION, THAILAND
Street dog rescue
A sanctuary in Phuket home to hundreds of dogs and cats pulled off the streets and out of the meat trade, then healed and readied for adoption around the world.
WILDLIFE REHABILITATION, MALAYSIA
Gibbon sanctuary
Gibbons taken young for the illegal pet trade, often after poachers killed their mothers, relearn how to be wild. The sanctuary rehabilitates them and returns those it can to the forest.
Plan an Assignment with Justin
For new editorial or commercial assignments, start with a contact form covering project type, location, dates, brief, and budget range. Justin replies within 24 hours on business days.