Speaking
I’ve spoken at dozens of events around the world as a thought leader on inequality, visual communication, drones, aerial photography, and future cities.
I’m passionate about inspiring others to see the world in a different way that sparks excitement, collaboration, and social change for resilient, healthy cities and societies.
For inquiries please contact me at johnny@millefoto.com.
You can see videos of me speaking and some more information on this page.
Writing
I have written extensively on various topics related to inequality, cities, drones, and visual communication. You can find the stories that have been published in worldwide media in the editorial section of this website, on the website of my project Unequal Scenes, and in the blog posts below.
For more information or inquiries please write me at johnny@millefoto.com.
9/11 Has Made Me Insane
Thoughts on the state of myself, the country, and the conflicting truths we hold to be self-evident. Written on the 20th anniversary, and seen in person from the ground at the WTC memorial.
An Action Guide to Reducing Inequality
An easy-to-understand PDF for individuals and businesses looking to do their part in reducing inequality. Created as material as part of the Unequal Scenes project.
“The Most Famous Photo Of Inequality”
Published on Inequality.org, my reflections on joining Tuca Vieira in an epic journey back to the site of Vieira's legendary 2004 shot of a Sao Paulo favela and its wealthy neighbor.
How Cities Can Turn COVID-19 Crisis into an Opportunity to Build Better
From shocking death tolls to widespread job losses, there is no understating the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the world’s cities. Health care systems, economies, and social lives have been upended by a virus for which the world was totally unprepared. Written as a UN-Habitat Champion for Sustainable Neighborhoods and Communities.
COVID-19: In Governance We Trust
“Necessity is the mother of invention.” Those much-quoted words of Plato need an update for the 21st century: “Pandemic is the mother of effective governance”. We should not underestimate the scope, speed and shift in policy that has already occurred during America’s Covid-19 emergency. Unemployment support, direct cash grants for individuals, loans for small businesses, health care relief: we need to stand up and celebrate Congress for achieving all of these victories, and commend the State governments that will largely implement them. Published by the London School of Economics.
The Link Between Migration And Inequality
I’ve been watching the slow (or perhaps rapid?) dissolution of the moral structure of the US government over the last few years under Trump in what will soon be known as the declining years of the American empire. This is not to say that American morals are dissolving — only that the government structures which accommodate our sense of justice, fairness, and sustainability as a country are dissolving through insidious and pervasive attacks on agency policy from the inside, through presidential appointments of judges, executive orders, and the tone and timbre of a thoroughly caustic bully pulpit. Published on Medium.
Prepare Now To Open The Skies
In 2018 South Africa derived 2.8% of its GDP directly, and 8.2% of its GDP indirectly, from the travel and tourism sector. We should push for a safe, secure travel policy now, in preparation for an eventual reopening. This policy should be done with public health as the primary concern, with the ultimate goal of a return to business with no new transmissions of Covid-19. Published in South Africa’s Daily Maverick.
Faith In The Virus
The author Leo Tolstoy had an existential crisis just after the publication of perhaps his most famous book, Anna Karenina, in 1878. Feted as the greatest novelist in Russian society, but disillusioned with his success and questioning his purpose in life, he asked, “Sooner or later my affairs, whatever they may be, will be forgotten, and I shall not exist. Then why go on making any effort?” Tolstoy reached a point that I think is familiar to all of us who ever wondered, “What’s the point of all this?” Published by the Atlantic Institute.
What Makes A Photo Profound?
Lao Tzu and Cartier-Bresson, then, are both right, in that we require ourselves to interpret that world. It will not come to us without work, without inquiry. It will not come after a certain amount of time, or after a certain amount of tributes. It is a state of grace. Some people are born with it, others get lucky and find it. I’d like to think you can also work at it, get better at it, and of course, share your discoveries with the world. Published on Medium.