Recording and communicating with tribes and peoples to produce remarkable photographs of cultures before they pass away.

In 1987, after 10 years at a Jesuit boarding school in the North of England, Jimmy Nelson set off on his own to traverse the length of Tibet on foot. The journey lasted a year and upon his return his unique visual diary, featuring revealing images of a previously inaccessible Tibet, was published to wide international acclaim. In early 1994 he and his Dutch wife Ashkaine produced Literary Portraits of China, a 40 month project that took them to all the hidden corners of the newly opening People’s Republic. From 1997 onwards, Jimmy started accumulating images of remote and unique cultures photographed with a traditional 50-year-old plate camera and awards followed. International exhibitions and acclaim created the Before they Pass Away in 2010. Jimmy Nelson spoke at TEDx Amsterdam in 2013 and at TED Global in 2014.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx