Digital media has become one of the most prevalent, if not the most prevalent, modes of expression in modern society. Print/film media served the purpose of allowing messages and ideas to spread, but the speed of this spreading was significantly dependent on the speed at which the media could be printed, published, and manually distributed through magazines, books, and other physical collections. The spread of digital media is remarkably fast compared to print media, mainly due to the birth of the internet. By sharing a video, image, article, or any form of idea online, it can reach thousands of people in seconds rather than taking days to reach the public in print form. This new mode of spreading media has allowed social movements, such as Black Lives Matter, to gain much more support worldwide than they would have through local campaigns alone. It also allows the general public to be more personally connected to the ideas and actions of politicians, instantly holding them accountable when corruption begins to pry away the interests of the people in the government.

Photo by Amanda Akansassy Harris

Art Wolfe was born on September 13, 1951 in Seattle, Washington. He has been recognized as a critically acclaimed nature photographer, photojournalist, and filmmaker. Wolfe graduated from the University of Washington with a BS in Fine Arts in 1975. In 1996, Wolfe received Photo Media Magazine’s Photographer of the Year Award for his outstanding conservationist photography and nature-oriented photojournalism. Wolfe’s photography is so prolific, it has been featured on US Postal Service stamps. Wolfe himself is a fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and International League of Conservation Photographers.

While Wolfe focuses on all aspects of nature in his work, one of the most striking characteristics of his style are his use of patterns, texture, and motion to portray nature as more than just still life. He portrays urgency, conflict, family values, and the reality of life in the wild in order to bring viewers of his work much closer to nature than they have ever been.

Flight, Mallard Ducks, Fraser River, Canada, by Art Wolfe

Abstract Reflections, Inle Lake, Myanmar, by Art Wolfe