Born in 1955 in Ontario, Edward Burtynsky is internationally recognized for his spectacular large-format photographs displaying the impact of human activity on human and natural environment. Tackling subjects such as mines, quarries, oil industry, construction sites and ship dismantling sites, water as a threatened resource and the emerging China, his photographs have been published so far in thematical monographs, presented as award-winning documentaries and throughout exhibits that were displayed around the world.

Edward Burtynsky was awarded many prizes, among which the Prix Dialogue de l’humanité at the Rencontres d’Arles in 2004, the TED Prize in 2005 and the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award in 2014 for the documentary Watermark.
He lives and works in Toronto.