“This portrait is of a Kayapo girl named Nhâktât with her pet spider monkey. She is part of the Kayapo tribe of Brazil, which I visited in 2012 on assignment for National Geographic. I’ve been working on an ongoing body of work photographing hunter-gatherer tribes around the world for several years. I am fascinated not only by the beauty of their cultures, but also by the ways they are adjusting to and being influenced by the outside world. It’s important to document their long-standing traditions before they are forever changed or, worse yet, completely disappear. I was lucky enough to spend three weeks with the Kayapo people, whose tribes have inhabited—and protected—the Brazilian rainforest for hundreds of years. Their way of life, perspective on the world, resilience and bravery were awe-inspiring.”