Jason Houston
Photographer and filmmaker Jason Houston has worked for over 20 years exploring how we live on the planet and with each other through community, culture, and human experience.
Jason's approach challenges traditional nature/wildlife conservation with a focus on human communities and a recognition of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). He embeds with the people he photographs and in their lives—often using various participatory methods—to produce stories that transcend an outsiders’ preconceptions and assumptions and treat them as collaborators rather than subjects. Jason has worked on projects in over 30 countries around the world doing traditional journalism, personal documentary, multimedia art, and short films that have been published, exhibited, premiered, and presented around the world in outlets and venues ranging from The New York Times, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, National Geographic, Smithsonian, Science Magazine, and The Nature Conservancy, to Mountainfilm, SxSW, Harvard, Yale, Duke, the New Mexico Museum of Art, UNESCO, San Francisco Art Institute, and USAID. His work brings to life authentic narratives that empower communities, engage stakeholders, decision makers and the public, and inform conversations that lead to social and environmental change.
As an advocate for Concerned Photography, Jason has presented, curated, run workshops, and organized conference programming on working in cause-driven photography for dozens arts and other institutions including Anderson Ranch, Duke University, Wake Forest University, Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Telluride Photo Festival, Wild & Scenic Film Festival, University of Colorado at Boulder, LensCulture, San Francisco Art Institute, Mountainfilm, EnPAx, and Blue Earth’s annual Collaborations for Cause.
For more than 8 years Jason also worked as Photo Editor for Orion magazine, an award-winning bimonthly periodical focused on people and nature, where he led assignments, story development, art direction, and research for photo essays, portfolios, features, and departments. He is a grateful alumni of the Missouri Photo Workshop, a Senior Fellow in the International League of Conservation Photographers, and a Senior Fellow at Wake Forest University’s Center for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability.