Each year, the Visa pour l'Image – Perpignan festival celebrates those who push the boundaries of photojournalism.
In 2025, the Figaro Magazine Lifetime Achievement Visa d'or Award was attributed to George Steinmetz, an American photographer who is famous for his breathtaking aerial images. His work, which is as much artistic creation as it is documentary record, explores the major environmental and societal issues of our time.
The flying photographer
American photographer George Steinmetz won this year's Figaro Magazine Lifetime Achievement Visa d'or Award, which was presented at the Visa pour l'Image festival in Perpignan . The prize, worth 8,000 euros, recognizes his career as a whole and the aerial images that have had a profound impact on contemporary photojournalism.
For more than three decades, Steinmetz has traveled the world with a unique perspective, between exploration and reporting. From his motorized paraglider or using drone photography, he captures the landscapes and transformations of our planet: deserts, megacities, agriculture, industrial zones... His striking images give insight into the relationship between humans and the Earth.
A regular contributor to National Geographic , he has produced over thirty major features for the magazine, including several cover stories. His Feed the Planet project focuses on food production and consumption around the world.
By awarding him the Lifetime Achievement Visa d'or Award, Figaro Magazine and the Visa pour l'Image festival recognize the consistency and power of a photographer who, for more than thirty years, has been renewing the way we see the world.
📚 Buy his book Feed the Planet : https://www.georgesteinmetz.com/p/books
