VACA professor joins fellowship of world’s prime nature photographers

Steven Johnson, professor of Visual and Communication Arts (VACA) at EMU, continues to make a splash on the earth of conservation pictures. And, we’re not simply speaking in regards to the vernal swimming pools he’s been identified to wade into. 

The professor and photographer, whose colourful photographs of the seasonal ponds—and the aquatic life that inhabit them—have earned him 2023 Wildlife Photographer of the Year honors and graced the quilt of Nature Conservancy Magazine, has been named an affiliate fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP). 

Johnson was one among 16 completed photographers and filmmakers chosen to hitch the iLCP’s affiliate fellow program for 2025, the nonprofit lately introduced in a launch. “Each of them brings exceptional skill in visual storytelling, a deep engagement with conservation initiatives and a strong dedication to advancing environmental awareness through their work,” the release states. 

Established in 2005, iLCP helps environmental and cultural conservation by moral pictures and filmmaking. Its fellows are a gaggle {of professional} wildlife, nature, and cultural visible storytellers who, “in addition to displaying remarkable photographic and filmmaking skills, have each demonstrated a deep commitment to conservation efforts around the globe,” in response to its website. These 120+ fellows, based mostly in 26 nations and dealing in 190 nations, “shine a light on issues ranging from endangered flora and fauna to climate change to ocean health.”

For Johnson, conservation pictures permits him to share the identical sense of marvel he feels when encountering different creatures within the pure world. “Millions of animal and plant species coexist on Earth, but very few of these species enter our consciousness; that invisibility is a big problem when it comes to conservation,” he mentioned. “Even in the midst of an extinction crisis, most of our news and political discourse is very human-centered. Using visual communication to advocate for the natural world is a way to challenge that narrative and look for ways to share the planet with the ‘more-than-human’ world.”

The EMU professor had been an affiliate for iLCP for a lot of years the place he served as a technical marketing consultant and likewise related EMU college students to its photographers and employees. As a fellow, he’ll attend the group’s signature occasion, WildSpeak D.C., in mid-November, which brings collectively conservation photographers, filmmakers, scientists, advocates, and communicators from across the globe as they share highly effective tales and options for a sustainable future.

“It’s definitely affirming to be a part of a fellowship of passionate and committed peers in the conservation photography world,” Johnson mentioned.

Michael Horst, dean of Behavioral, Health and Natural Sciences at EMU, mentioned Johnson’s work brings viewers nose to nose with the miraculous components of the pure world that may in any other case be ignored, creating an emotional connection that heightens the significance of defending and conserving it.

“At EMU, we know the importance of deeply cultivating sustainable practices,” Horst mentioned. “For those who need encouragement, Steve’s work can make a big difference.”

About the professor

Johnson got here to EMU in 2005 and began one of many few full-semester conservation pictures programs provided to undergraduates within the U.S.

He holds an MFA from Savannah College of Art and Design and serves on the advisory board of the Virginia Wildlife Committee and Girls Who Click. At EMU’s VACA division, he teaches digital media lessons and a specialised course on conservation pictures. When he’s not in his workplace, he can typically be discovered crouched subsequent to a vernal pool or kayaking the North Fork of the Shenandoah River.

His photographs of the pure world have appeared in Wildlife Photographer of the Year, National Wildlife Magazine, Nature Conservancy Magazine, Ranger Rick, Virginia Wildlife, bioGraphic, Orion, National Science Teaching Association Press books, and quite a few conservation publications and journals. His long-term mission exploring vernal swimming pools was highlighted by the Southern Environmental Law Center in “The wonder of wetlands and 5 Southerners working to protect them” (selc.org).

Johnson mentioned one among his favourite issues about instructing is that EMU and VACA enable for a lot modern, interdisciplinary apply. For instance, in his conservation pictures class, he teaches a mixture of pictures, digital media, and science college students. 

“In some places, the sciences and arts barely mix,” he mentioned. “Here, I can talk to science students about making compelling images and teach visual arts students about vernal pools.”

Johnson will educate the category in conservation pictures once more throughout the fall 2026 semester.

View extra of his pictures at stevendavidjohnson.com.