John Catto

JOHN CATTO is a veteran photographer / cameraman / field-producer with 20+ years experience shooting cultural, political, and social events in over 35 countries. A news cameraman and editor for many years, John’s assignments now tend to focus on documenting scientific explorations, mountains sports, and expedition adventures. Of late, John has been photographing the volcanic research of Dr. Ken Sims of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. In 2007 he joined Dr. Sims and a group of scientists to the volcanoes of the Virunga National Park in the Congo. (see "Sniffing for Clues" National Geographic - Oct. 2004.)

In 2001, John produced and directed the film “JUMP!”, which has won over a dozen film festival awards.

Hitting the Wall”, a climbing documentary for National Geographic TV (2001), won him a 2nd Emmy for electronic cameraperson. The popular and multi award-winning "La Escoba de Dios" was the first joint venture of his passion as an alpinist and of his profession as a cameraman.

Numerous television and film festival awards later, he has earned a reputation as an outstanding cameraman and independent filmaker, working for groups such as National Geographic TV, the Discovery Channel, ESPN, and OLN.

When not toting around a camera, John has spent a large part of the last 30 years struggling against gravity. With many first ascents of crags and peaks in the USA, Canada, Patagonia, and the Karakoram mountains of Pakistan, John is also an accomplished alpinist and rock climber.