Stephen Wilkes
Overview
Featured Exhibitions
Times Square, NYC, Day to Night, 2010
Archival Pigment Print
After trying for a long time to arrange permission to shoot this view I was finally able to photograph in June of 2010. It was a beautiful summer day and I knew there would be many people in Times Square. I had been shooting for approximately 2 hours when the police entered the Square and asked everyone to leave due to a bomb scare. One of the only times I can imagine Times Square being completely void of people happened right in front of my camera. It was a sight to behold! There are always so many people in Times Square; the people represent a form of emergent behavior as their movement flows through the Square like schools of fish. And of course the naked cowboy who plays his guitar every day on the Square, no matter the weather is right in the middle of the picture. It is one of those iconic New York locations teaming with activity both day and night. Times Square is canyon-like and looking at the image you can see I captured day and night in a checkerboard effect – everything in the shadows of the buildings is night and everything in the sun is day.
View from The Savoy, London, Day to Night, 2013
Archival Pigment Print
The view from The Savoy Hotel in London is considered to be amongst the best for its panoramic views of The River Thames. I was drawn to this view because it encompassed the beauty of the park like setting and the river. I was able to capture London on a rare sunny day and follow the pattern of boats on the river form dawn to dusk. I also felt the London Eye gives the photograph a very contemporary feel while at the same time the historic beauty of London is ever present. Perched on the roof of the Savoy for 15 hours I saw people, boats and skies that reminded me of why I love the city of London. This photograph reveals all the many wonders of the city.
Grizzly Bears, Chilko Lake, B.C, Day to Night, 2022
Archival Pigment Print
Central Park view from Essex House, NYC, Day to Night, 2014
Archival Pigment Print
Four Seasons, Central Park, Spring, Day to Night, 2024
Archival Pigment Print
Four Seasons, Central Park, Summer, Day to Night, 2024
Archival Pigment Print
Four Seasons, Central Park, Fall, Day to Night, 2024
Archival Pigment Print
Northern Mountain Caribou, The Yukon, Canada, Day to Night, 2023
Archival Pigment Print
“The Great July Melt”, Ilulissat, Greenland, Day to Night, 2019
Archival Pigment Print
Santa Monica Pier, California, Day to Night, 2013
Archival Pigment Print
Pont de la Tournelle, Paris, Day to Night, 2013
Archival Pigment Print
Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, Day to Night, 2015
Archival Pigment Print
October of 2014 I decided I wanted to go to Tanzania, Africa during the migration for my next Day to Night. I had no idea of the incredible challenge that lay ahead of me. To find the perfect location would be difficult. How would I capture the changing of time with wild animals instead of my usual focus on a more human element? Photographing people is predictable, we’re likeminded, creatures of habit. In capturing the varied species of the Serengeti, I knew I’d be relying more heavily than I’d like to on luck. This became even more evident when I arrived to learn Tanzania was in the midst of a five-week dry spell, meaning the migration patterns were even more unpredictable than usual. After weeks of scouting, I discovered a massive watering hole which I decided on for the final location of the image. I would remain with my assistants hidden in a crocodile blind 18 feet above the ground for 30 consecutive hours, capturing these incredible species coming together to share this one sacred resource, water.
Campanile San Giorgio, Venice, Day to Night, 2016
Archival Pigment Print
Ipanema Beach, Rio, Brazil, Day to Night, 2017
Archival Pigment Print
Sandhill Cranes, Rowe Sanctuary, Nebraska, Day to Night, 2017
Archival Pigment Print
From mid-February to mid-April, half a million sandhill cranes gather along the Platte River. Emaciated when they arrive from Mexico and the southern United States, they fatten up to migrate on to the sub-Arctic and Arctic nesting grounds. From a blind 25 feet high, I shot 1,377 photos over 36 hours, and used about 200 to create this image. During the day the cranes gorge on waste grains left in fields; in the evening they return to the river in waves.
Lesser Flamingos, Lake Bogoria, Kenya, Africa, Day to Night, 2017
Archival Pigment Print
The lesser flamingos of Africa’s Great Rift Valley thrive in the extreme environment of high-altitude soda lakes, feeding on algal blooms that are toxic to many other creatures. The birds are not migratory but nomadic, traveling from one lake to another, wherever food is plentiful. I should 17,42 photos over 36 hours from a 30-foot scaffolding, capturing the endless movements of the flamingos and the marabou storks stalking them. He chose about 30 photos for this image.
Grizzly Bears, Bella Coola, British Columbia, Canada, Day to Night, 2018
Archival Pigment Print
Blue Lagoon, Iceland, Day to Night, 2019
Archival Pigment Print
Polar Bears, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, Day to Night, 2019
Archival Pigment Print