Sean Gallagher (British, born in 1979, in Irvine, Scotland, United Kingdom) is a British photographer and filmmaker currently based in China. His work focuses on environmental issues, specifically stories surrounding the climate crisis. Gallagher was made a Fellow of the UK Royal Geographical Society (FRGS) in 2014 for his work documenting environmental issues in Asia.
Sean Gallagher graduated from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the United Kingdom, majoring in Zoology (BSc. Hons) in 2002. After graduation, he was awarded an internship at the photojournalism agency Magnum Photos in London between 2004 and 2005, where he assisted photographers such as Philip Jones Griffiths and Peter Marlow. Upon completing the internship he began photographing in China in late 2005 to begin his work photographing environmental issues in Asia.
Since 2006, Gallagher has lived and worked across Asia, primarily based out of Beijing, China during this time. His work has been featured with some of the world’s leading news publications, including with National Geographic, CNN, the BBC, the Guardian, and Smithsonian Magazine.
DESERTIFICATION IN CHINA
In 2009, Gallagher was awarded his first grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting to extend his work on desertification in China. In the spring of 2009, he travelled across the breadth of China, overland from Beijing to Xinjiang province, documenting issues including abandoned cities, environmental refugees and drought. The subsequent work was published with the New York Times and National Geographic China.
CHINA COVERAGE
Between 2009-2018, Gallagher has covered stories from China including, China’s Disappearing Wetlands (2010), North Korea’s Addicting Export: Crystal Meth (2011), China’s Fragile Forests (2011), Meltdown: Climate Change and Environmental Degradation on the Tibetan Plateau (2012), Air Pollution in Beijing (2015) Exotic Pets in China Fuelling Biodiversity Loss (2017).
TUVALU – BENEATH THE RISING TIDE
In early 2019, Gallagher travelled to the remote South-West Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, to report on the effects of climate change in the Pacific. This work was published in extensive features in the The Guardian and with CNN. Gallagher was awarded the Environmental Photographer of the Year Changing Environments Prize in 2019 for an image from this series.
CAMBODIA BURNING
In January 2020, Gallagher travelled to Cambodia to work on a story documenting the effects of deforestation and forest fires in Cambodia. This work was published with both Yale Environment 360 and National Geographic. The subsequent work was recognised by the British Journal of Photography, the Earth Photo Awards and Drone Photo Awards 2020.
PULITZER CENTER ON CRISIS REPORTING
Gallagher has collaborated extensively with the Washington DC based news organisation, the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. He is an 8-time recipient of their travel grants working on projects including; Desertification in China (2009), China’s Disappearing Wetlands (2010), North Korea’s Addicting Export: Crystal Meth (2011), China’s Fragile Forests (2011), Meltdown: Climate Change and Environmental Degradation on the Tibetan Plateau (2012), Toxic Development: The Cost of Pollution in India (2013), Exotic Pets in China Fuelling Biodiversity Loss (2017) and Cambodia Burning (2020).
In 2013 the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting published Gallagher’s eBook, Meltdown, chronicling his travels across China photographing the country’s environmental issues.
FILMS
Gallagher has directed and produced a series of short films, focused on environmental issues. These include:
– The Toxic Price of Leather (2014) – Produced with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting – Winner of the Atkins CIWEM Environmental Film of the Year 2014.
– The Broken Land- Drought in India (2016)
– Exotic: The Rise of Alternative Pets in China (2017) Produced with National Geographic and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
– Uncaged (2019) Produced with the Guardian. Awarded Pictures of the Year Award of Excellence in Documentary Daily Life, 2020.
– Cambodia Burning (2020) Produced with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
