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PHOTOGRAPHS BY ACACIA JOHNSON
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By Whitney Johnson, Director of Visual and Immersive Experiences
“There seem to be two things that drive photographer Acacia Johnson’s work: curiosity and magic,” said Mallory Benedict, a Nat Geo photo editor, at the International Center of Photography Infinity Awards this week.
Acacia, a Nat Geo photographer, won the Documentary Practice and Photojournalism award, while fellow Nat Geo photographer Esther Horvath (whose obsession with remote regions I’ve shared with you before) was honored as the Emerging Photographer. I also was struck by the work of another winner, Sky Hopinka, who brought a fresh look at climate change and our world in the Art category.
Acacia’s photographs—from a remote Inuit village (above) to faraway Alaskan landscapes, to deep inside ice caves, to the darkness of the polar regions—transport us to places we may never see with our own eyes. Instead of simply showing us what she sees, Acacia uses photography to give us a sense of what a place feels like–and that’s the true power of photography. That’s the magic.
“My favorite pictures,” Acacia says, “are ones where people stop to figure out what they're seeing.” The images that make you think, look more closely to try to understand.
Mine, too.
For an introduction to Acacia, check out her autobiographical story on how her family has worked to keep Alaska’s wilds pristine.
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