​PHOTOADVOCACY
Colorado-based PhotoAdvocate, Scott Wilson, believes photography and photojournalism have key roles to play in supporting causes and communities we believe in.
He has built a platform of PhotoAdvocacy, or cause-related photography, speaking on behalf of wild horses in the American west, celebrating the special place they hold in the country's natural fabric, despite a daily threat of removal from their homes on public lands.
A landscape photographer of 20 years, Scott found his advocacy voice after a prolonged battle with stage 4 colon cancer refocused his lens on Colorado’s wildlife, leading to the life-changing discovery of a remote and mesmerizing herd in Sand Wash Basin on the Wyoming border.
An early encounter with a wild tricolored pinto stallion named Picasso helped change the focus of his career as a photographic artist, but it was an impending roundup, threatening the survival of the herd, that unlocked Scott's voice as a PhotoAdvocate and he has since campaigned for better outcomes for wild horses from behind and in front of the lens
Scott is a contributor to We Animals Media, the world’s largest animal photojournalism agency, and to American Wild Horse Conservation, for whom he acts as a spokesperson and strategist.
On these pages, you will see photojournalistic images of roundups and the impact they have on federally protected wild horses. These are shared for awareness purposes, not sale, and are freely available to media outlets willing to focus on conservation issues.
Of course, horses removed from the wild still require lifelong care, and there is enormous gratitude for the network of animal rescues and sanctuaries seeking to cope with unsustainable numbers of wild horses displaced through removals which are out of any proportion with adoptions demand and sanctuary capacity combined.
As your browse the site, you will see numerous opportunities to support the tireless rescue efforts of For the Love of Aria, a wild horse sanctuary in Kiowa, Colorado, with whom Scott built a special connection after they provided a lifelong home for StellaLuna, a 3 day old foal rescued by a stallion known as Merlin, during the 2021 Sand Wash Basin helicopter roundup.
Anger Management, a statement piece about the conservation challenges facing wild horses in the American west, earned Open Photographer of the Year and Natural World and Wildlife Awards in the 2022 Sony World Photography Awards, raising awareness of wild horse issues in more than 140 countries.
Scott’s PhotoAdvocacy work has featured in local, national and international media, including the BBC, Daily Telegraph, Nat Geo España, GQ Italia, Advanced Photographer, Denver Post, 5280, 303, Westword and Colorado Life magazines.
It's difficult online to convey the difference between a digital image and a fine art print. If you have the opportunity, please visit Colorado’s Wild Horse Art Gallery within Gallery 6, in the heart of Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe, where Scott also serves as District President.