Samuel James is a photographer and naturalist whose work explores themes of biodiversity and survival, principally in the forests of Appalachian Ohio and Nigeria’s Niger Delta. He is the recipient of an International Center for Photography Infinity Award, the Overseas Press Club Olivier Rebbot Award, a Special Commendation from the Frontline Club of London, and a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship. His book, Nightairs (2023), about the bioluminescent displays of fireflies, was named as one of the 2023 Best Dutch Photo Books and was shortlisted for the Paris Photo-Aperture First PhotoBook Prize. His work has been widely published internationally and is in the permanent collections of Huis Van Het Boek in The Hague and the Cincinnati Museum Center’s Museum of Natural History & Science, among others. In addition to photography, James works on a variety field biology, wildlife conservation and land stewardship projects to study and help preserve biodiversity in southern Ohio, where he lives, which also inform his artistic practice.