Photographer Wins 53 Awards Capturing Mexico's Wildlife

Alejandro Prieto traded his veterinary stethoscope for a camera lens, and Mexico's endangered wildlife couldn't be happier about it.

The Guadalajara native has won 53 international awards for his breathtaking wildlife photography, including the prestigious 2020 World Press Photo Award. His new 208-page book "Confluences" celebrates the incredible biodiversity of Western Mexico through 65 stunning color photographs.

Prieto's path to photography started with childhood trips into nature with his father. "That's where I fell in love with animals," he told Mexico News Daily. He studied veterinary medicine and zootechnology before discovering his true calling at the Colegio de Fotografía del Occidente.

His most challenging work came photographing wild jaguars for Alianza Jaguar, an organization protecting these magnificent cats' future in Mexico. Getting those shots required endless hours of patience and dedication in remote habitats.

Another project pushed him to document rare Mexican axolotls in the remote mountains of Michoacán. The assignment meant surviving ice-cold underwater temperatures to capture these elusive amphibians on film.

His border wall project brought different dangers entirely. Prieto risked encounters with both border patrols and drug runners while working in extreme heat and cold near the U.S.-Mexico border.

The effort paid off with his award-winning photograph of a roadrunner facing an insurmountable wall wrapped in razor wire. The powerful image highlights how wildlife corridors have been severed by border fencing, trapping animals on divided lands.

Why This Inspires

Prieto's work does more than create beautiful art. His photographs directly support conservation efforts by showing the public what's at stake when natural habitats disappear or become fragmented.

Western Mexico contains an astounding variety of ecosystems, from 500-meter-deep canyons to mangrove swamps, tropical jungles to desert scrublands. Each environment hosts unique species that Prieto documents with equal passion, whether photographing prairie dogs, flamingos, blue whales, or blue-footed boobies.

His veterinary background gives him unique insight into animal behavior. That knowledge, combined with technical photography skills and genuine love for his subjects, creates images that make viewers care about conservation.

Published by Artes de México in 2024, "Confluences" features text from seven naturalists explaining the ecological importance of these diverse regions. University of Wisconsin Professor Eduardo Santana notes that Western Mexico's identity comes from "the confluence of dissimilarities."

Prieto continues his conservation photography work today, balancing artistic beauty with environmental advocacy. His coffee-table book proves that one person with a camera can shine a spotlight on creatures that desperately need protection.