Stephen Wilkes

Wilkes’ early career interpretations of Mainland China, California’s Highway One, and impressionistic Burned Objects set the tone for a series of career-defining projects.

A monograph based on the work, Ellis Island: Ghosts of Freedom, was published in 2006 and was named one of TIME magazine’s 5 Best Photography Books of the Year.

[4] Featuring epic cityscapes and landscapes portrayed from a fixed camera angle for up to 30 hours, the work was designed to capture fleeting moments of humanity over the course of a full day.

[7] Wilkes’ work documenting the ravages of Hurricanes Katrina[8] and Sandy were intended to heighten awareness and draw attention to the realities of global climate change.

Wilkes was a speaker at the TED2016: Dream Conference on his Day to Night series and he participated in the TED Countdown Summit in October 2020.

In addition to his work in the worlds of fine art and photography, Wilkes has also shot numerous advertising campaigns for companies such as: Netflix, Zillow, OppenheimerFunds, Gallup, SAP, IBM, Capital One, The New Yorker, Johnson & Johnson, DHL, American Express, Nike, Sony, Verizon, IBM, AT&T, Rolex and Honda.