Stephen Wilkes is an American photographer known foremost for his series of abandoned structures such as at Ellis Island and the former Bethlehem Steel factory which he has captured as a lost world caught in a sort of visual amber. Wilkes photo essay on Ellis Island "Ellis Island Ghosts" helped to raise six million dollars from the United States Congress for the preservation of the structures on the south side of the island including the former hospital for infectious diseases [1]. His fine art and photo-journalism have been featured in such publications as Vanity Fair, Sports Illustrated and The New York Times Magazine.