Model-turned-photographer Amber Arbucci is an environmentalist and adventurer, capturing images of the world’s most dangerous animals, at times even posing with them in precarious positions. With her interests rooted in animal conservation, she travels around the world using her unique ­­­style of photography to bring attention to endangered species.

Whether she travels through jungles, deep into oceans, or journeys through mountains photographing wildlife, Arbucci wants the viewer to feel as though he or she is on the voyage as well. Her vision to capture nature’s beauty and her childhood dream of being peacefully present among some of the world’s most threatening creatures are simultaneously fulfilled as she completely immerses herself into every project and puts her subjects into a meaningful perspective.

Shooting with a wide-angle lens instead of from afar with a zoom lens allows Arbucci to take breathtaking and incredulous images but also subjects her to the whims of the wild animals. Petting great white sharks, being charged by elephants and pushed by Rwandan Mountain gorillas are only a few of the experiences she has encountered while attempting to connect with the eyes and the emotions of the animals.

Arbucci notes a common thread exists and connects her works despite the varied subjects, which is her message that “life is the most precious gift that anyone has been given so then we must not live in it but live it.” Throughout her journeys, Arbucci has been actively involved with charities as well as starting her own organization (Identify) which protects endangered species. She currently sits on the board of the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival and films alongside animal researchers and crew members from Nat Geo and Planet Earth.