Stefano & Stéphanie
French Guayana, 2006Stefano Unterthiner
Growing up in a small mountain village in northwest Italy, Stefano spent his early years photographing in the Gran Paradiso National Park, in Aosta Valley (Italy). He began serious photography at the age of 17, went on to study zoology and, in the fall of 2000, obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen (Scotland). After completing his studies, Unterthiner returned to Italy and began his career as a zoologist. But his camera was always at his side, and it was not long before his hobby turned into an all-consuming lifestyle and profession. Unterthiner now travels regularly around the world in search of new subjects for his photo story. He specializes in telling the life stories of animals, living in close contact with his chosen species for long periods. He also has a strong commitment to wildlife conservation and environmental issues, with a particular interest in the interactions between people and animals. Widely published in magazines worldwide, he is the author of eight photography books and a multi-award winner in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Stefano is a regular contributing photographer for National Geographic magazine. He lives with his wife Stéphanie in the Aosta Valley.
Stéphanie Françoise
Born in Caen (France) in 1983, Stéphanie Françoise always had a great interest in nature. She studied wildlife management in France and conservation of tropical forests in French Guyana, and then did a Master in journalism in Marseille (France). Since 2002, Stéphanie has been working and travelling with her husband, Stefano Unterthiner. She wrote the text for several of Stefano’s books (The king’s oddessey, 2008, ed. Contrasto; The nights of the bears, 2009, ed. Ylaios; The angels of winter, 2010, ed. Ylaios) and has produced the videos for all his assignments for National Geographic. She is also a regular contributor to Terre Sauvage, Animan and National Geographic Italy. Since December 2010, Stéphanie has run The Little Wild Gallery, and she is the owner and manager of the publishing house Ylaios.