Stephen Wilkes

Stephen Wilkes (b. 1957, New York) is a photographer and National Geographic Explorer known for his innovative fine art, editorial, and commercial work. Since opening his New York studio in 1983, he has become one of America’s most iconic photographers. A 1998 assignment at Ellis Island led to a five-year study of its abandoned medical wards, culminating in Ellis Island: Ghosts of Freedom (2006), one of TIME’s 5 Best Photography Books of the Year. His work helped secure $6 million for the island’s restoration. In 2000, America in Detail, a 52-day cross-country project for Epson, was exhibited nationwide. 

Wilkes’ most defining work, Day to Night, began in 2009, capturing cityscapes and landscapes from a fixed vantage point over 30 hours, blending thousands of images into a single frame. Day to Night is a 14 year personal journey to capture fundamental elements of our world through the hourglass of a single day. It is a synthesis of art and science, an exploration of time, memory, and history through the 24-hour rhythms of our daily lives. The series, featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in major media, expanded with National Geographic Society grants. It has been exhibited at the National Geographic Museum (2018), National Museum of Wildlife Art (2019), and Palazzo Blu, Pisa (2023). The TASCHEN monograph was published in 2019 and reprinted in 2023.