Stephen Wilkes, Boteti River, Botswana, Day to Night, 2024
C+C Photography Gallery is thrilled to share that two of Stephen Wilkes' new Day to Night photographs have been featured in National Geographic's 2025 Pictures of the Year.
The first featured image is of the Boteti River Valley in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Wilkes photographed this landscape over the course of 18 hours in 104-degree heat, capturing the harsh reality of a five-month drought in the region. In his conversation with National Geographic, Wilkes compares the stark difference between his experience creating this image with that of another image he produced nearly 10 years prior at a similar watering hole in the Serengeti National Park. While the scene he witnessed in the Serengeti was one of harmony and peaceful cohabitation, the one he encountered in the Boteti River Valley was more desperate as many of the animals competed for resources.
The second featured image is of the McRae Islet in British Columbia. Once considered a threatened species, the incredible Steller sea lion population there has slowly rebounded in recent years thanks to federal conservation policies in Canada and the US. In contrast to the Boteti River image, Wilkes explains that his experience creating this image left him with a renewed sense of hope that the effects of human-caused climate change can still be reversed.
"I see these pictures as calls to action," says Wilkes.
Stephen Wilkes' stunning new Day to Night images of the Boteti River Valley and the Steller Sea Lions on the McRae Islet are available as signed limited edition prints in four sizes. Please contact the gallery for more information on pricing and availability.