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. The series, featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in major media, expanded with National Geographic Society grants, documenting U.S. National Parks, global bird migration (Year of the Bird, 2018), and endangered species. 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.
Wilkes has covered major climate events, including Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and exhibited at the Annenberg Space for Photography. His directorial debut, Jay Myself, premiered at DOC NYC (2018) and was released by Oscilloscope (2019). A TED2016 speaker, his Day to Night talk has over 2 million views. In 2021 traveled to Antarctica to direct a film of a total solar eclipse for Sphere, Las Vegas.
Wilkes’ commercial clients include Rolex, Apple, Netflix, Nike, IBM, AT&T, and American Express. He has over 590,000 Instagram followers and has received numerous awards & honors.
He earned a B.S. in Photography from Syracuse University (Newhouse School, 1980) with a business minor from Whitman School of Management.
