Stephen Wilkes

I really enjoyed hearing Stephen Wilkes speak because he seemed to really love photography and have devoted himself to the field. He spoke about going to China for the first time when he was a junior at Syracuse and compared his experience then to his experience recently visiting. He mentioned that there is a drastic shift to modernize and he admired Chinese culture for this but he also pointed out that there is a dark side to rapid modernization. He took several photos of the pollution problems in China for Vanity Fair and saw how complex China is today. He also spoke about his work on Ellis Island and his photos of Hurricane Katrina victims. His work has a wide range and it was interesting to her him speak last Thursday. Above is a photo he took in a factory in China. He said that he desperately wanted someone to look at him to have a human connection in the photo.