Stephen Wilkes, TASCHEN

Extraordinary panoramas depict famous landmarks from dawn to dusk. 

• Stephen Wilkes (American, b. 1957).
• TASCHEN, 2019.
• 60 epic panoramas created between 2009 and 2018, shot everywhere from Africa’s Serengeti to the Champs-Élysées in Paris, from the Grand Canyon to Coney Island, from Trafalgar Square to The Red Square. 
• Includes inkjet print of Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, 2016, on Legacy Baryta 310 smooth satin paper.
• Book and print are both numbered and signed by Wilkes.
• Edition of 100 (No. 1–100).
• Hardcover with two foldouts in clamshell box, 262 pages.

In Stephen Wilkes’ conceptual Day to Night series, day magically merges into night in a panoramic photograph. Offering a bird’s-eye view on bustling locations such as Brooklyn Bridge and D.C.’s National Mall, he curates the human experience in motion.

As a documentary photographer also known for his work in the commercial and fine arts, Wilkes’ Day to Night series was inspired after a challenging session on the set of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet. To capture the entire ballroom, he had to take numerous smaller photographs and digitally stitch them together. While doing this, he discovered that the central shot of Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio mismatched their image in the set’s mirror on the far end, which showed them kissing, giving the final panorama an unexpected narrative and sense of time.

Other works have included Ellis Island: Ghosts of Freedom, a five-year project photographing the abandoned medical wards on Ellis Island. Wilkes has also shot Hurricanes Sandy and Katrina, the Biden inauguration and directed Jay Myself, a documentary about his mentor Jay Maisel vacating the storied building at 190 Bowery. A National Geographic explorer with numerous accolades, Wilkes has been featured on NPR, TED Talks and CBS Sunday Morning.