Louis (Louie) Psihoyos (born 1957) is a Greek-American photographer and documentary film director known for his still photography and contributions to National Geographic. Psihoyos, a licensed scuba-diver, has become increasingly concerned with bringing awareness to underwater life. In 2009 he directed and appeared in the feature-length documentary The Cove, which won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.
Psihoyos was born in Dubuque, Iowa in 1957, the son of a Greek immigrant who left the Peloponnesos region(Sparta) after World War II. Psihoyos took an interest in photography at the age of fourteen. As a teenager, he worked as a photo intern with the Telegraph Herald. During that time he also worked as an extra on the set of F.I.S.T.[1] Psihoyos attended the University of Missouri, majoring in photojournalism. In 1980, at the age of twenty-three, he was hired by National Geographic and remained with the magazine for seventeen years. During this time he married and had two children. He received multiple awards for his photography, including first place in the World Press Contest and the Hearst Award. In addition, he has worked with magazines such as Smithsonian, Discover, GEO, Time, Newsweek, New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and Rock and Ice.[2]