The big freeze

How did your career start? I took an interest in birds when I was around four, saved money for my first binoculars at seven, got my first SLR at 12 and shot my first nature pictures for a national mag

Documentary photographer Richard Cross rises above the shortbread tin romanticism that colours so much of our outdoor heritage, with the perspective provided by drone photography applied to land use issues of our day

Spotlight on readers’ excellent images and how they captured them

Damien Demolder pays tribute to the legendary photographer Sebastião Salgado – a man who drew attention to the injustice and suffering of the world’s poor through his astonishing style and patience

How Claire Macdonald’s film photos from Everest helped her find strength after breast cancer

OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS, ELLE HAS CELEBRATED CREATIVITY OF ALL KINDS. HERE, A RANGE OF TODAY’S LEADING ARTISTS, WRITERS, PHOTOGRAPHERS AND DIRECTORS SHARE THE RITUALS, ROUTINES AND REALITIES BEHIND THEIR GREATEST WORKS, FROM MIND-BLOWING EXCEL SHEETS TO THE MAGIC OF THE DARK ROOM