Aaron Huey

Aaron Huey is an American photographer, explorer, activist, and storyteller whose work spans remote and significant regions worldwide. As a National Geographic photographer and explorer, as well as a three-time Stanford Fellow, Huey is the founder and creative director of Amplifier.org. He has produced more than 40 stories for National Geographic magazines, including several cover stories, and has led projects within the brand involving virtual reality, augmented reality, and metaverse platforms. Huey also serves as a contributing editor at Harper's Magazine and has contributed photography to The New Yorker, Smithsonian, The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, GEO, and other major publications.

Huey's career centers on immersive, community-driven storytelling in photojournalism and documentary photography. An assignment to photograph Lakota tribe members at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota led to a long-term project focused on Native American treaty rights. In his first story for National Geographic magazine, "In the Shadow of Wounded Knee," Huey documented the lives of the Oglala Lakota people, which evolved into a seven-year community storytelling initiative. His assignments have ranged from the Sherpas of Everest to the opium war in Afghanistan and wolves in Alaska, covering diverse subjects in depth.

Beyond editorial photography, Huey has undertaken personal projects that highlight his commitment to social impact and adventure. He completed a 3,349-mile solo walk across America with his dog Cosmo, a 154-day journey without a support team or cellphone. He also launched "The Sherpa Fund," raising more than $424,000 in eight days for families of climbers who died in an avalanche on Mount Everest. His work often translates humanitarian concerns into action through both his photography and organizational efforts.

Huey's creative pursuits extend into art, technology, and social change. He founded the Amplifier Foundation, a design lab supporting grassroots movements through art, and served as architect and design director for the nonprofit art project "We The People," which appeared during Donald Trump's inauguration and the International Women's March. His "Bear Ears Virtual Museum" virtual reality experience, which promoted the protection of sacred lands, received the Webby Award for Best VR Interactive Design and has been developed into augmented reality lessons and metaverse experiences for K-12 education. As a Stanford Starling Lab Fellow, Huey worked on data integrity for visual journalism.

Huey has received the Galen Rowell Award, the Lowell Thomas Travel Photographer of the Year, and multiple honors from World Press Photo, POYi, and the National Magazine Awards. He is a frequent public speaker, having presented at TED and National Geographic Live events. Through his documentation of endangered cultures, development of immersive storytelling methods, and advocacy for social causes, Huey continues to influence the fields of photography, visual journalism, and social impact art.