Peter Menzel

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Menzel became a professional photographer in 1970 and soon began to focus on high-tech stories, including virtual reality, DNA fingerprinting, micro-machines and solar cars.

His work on the Kuwait oil well fires of 1991 ran as a 26-page cover story for German Geo and won a Communication Arts award.

The 1996 companion volume to Material World, this book focuses on women from 24 different countries, along with short essays on subjects such as marriage, childcare, and work.

Similar in style to Material World, Hungry Planet presents what 30 families eat in a week through a combination of photographs and essays.

The centerpiece of each photoessay is a portrait of the subject with that day's worth of food and an exhaustively researched list detailing every item consumed, along with the total calorie count.

Peter Menzel (left) at the opening of his exhibition Hungry Planet, Photographymuseum The Hague