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Evan Amos

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Evan Amos
Headshot of Evan Amos in an interview with the Wikimedia Foundation. He is a middle-aged white man with glasses wearing a dark-colored shirt.
Amos in 2016
Born1983 (age 40–41)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationPhotographer
Years active2010–present
Known forFreely licensed photos of video game items

Evan Amos(born 1983)[1]is a photographer ofstock photographyofvideo game consoles,which he licenses freely to thepublic domain.He contributes these images to the online encyclopediaWikipedia,and as of 2015works on The Vanamo Online Game Museum, a free digital archive of video game hardware.[2]As of 2018, he resides inBrooklyn,New York City.[1]

Work

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The first picture of a game console Amos made for Wikipedia is of theWii.

Being "annoyed" at the poor quality of images of video game consoles on Wikipedia, Amos decided to document these systems before they were "forgotten in time". Starting in August 28, 2010, withNintendo'sWiiconsole, which he happened to own, Amos soon "felt addicted" and started a list of every console. He put an ad onCraigslistand met a collector inHuntington, Long Island,where he photographed various consoles fromSegaandAtari.He has expressed "surprise" at the increasing popularity of his freely licensed photos in print, television, Internet, and other media – though he is still rarely credited for them.[3][4]

After purchasing and photographing video game consoles, Amos donates them to theNew York University Game Centerand theNational Museum of Play,where he is allowed to access them at any time.[4]His library expanded to food items.[5]

In 2013, Amos raisedUS$17,493onKickstarterto expand his hardware collection and build the Vanamo Online Game Museum, for online preservation of the history of video games.[6][7]It is intended to include an extensive history of each console and its development.[8]

On November 6, 2018, Amos released a book published byNo Starch Press,titledThe Game Console: A Photographic History from Atari to Xbox,showcasing video game console photos, their hardware, and some history.[9][10]A second edition was published in 2021.[11]

Selected works

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Reception

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Evan Amos and "the Wikipedia Effect"

Destructoid called Amos "gaming's most popular photographer".[2]Popular Sciencecalled him "gaming's most famous photographer".[12]Kotaku calledThe Game Console"an outstanding book for people who like looking at video game consoles".[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ab"User:Evan-Amos/AboutMe – Wikimedia Commons".commons.wikimedia.org.RetrievedOctober 13,2018.
  2. ^abNorth, Dale (March 11, 2013)."Evan Amos is gaming's most popular photographer".Destructoid.Archived fromthe originalon April 28, 2016.RetrievedApril 30,2015.
  3. ^Amos, Evan (October 29, 2013)."The power of Wikipedia: How I became gaming's most popular and anonymous photographer".Gamasutra.
  4. ^abLarson, Eric (November 10, 2013)."Introducing the Invisible Photographer Whose Photos Are Everywhere".Mashable.
  5. ^""It's incredible that history decays almost immediately": Evan Amos and the Vanamo Online Game Museum – Wikimedia Blog ".blog.wikimedia.org.August 17, 2016.RetrievedOctober 13,2018.
  6. ^TraceyLien (October 31, 2013)."Preserving video game history one photo at a time".Polygon.
  7. ^"The Vanamo Online Game Museum Kickstarter campaign".Kickstarter.
  8. ^Hockenson, Lauren (November 1, 2013)."See a Wikipedia photographer's Kickstarter campaign for an online video game museum".Gigaom.Archived fromthe originalon October 30, 2020.RetrievedApril 30,2015.
  9. ^Amos, Evan (November 6, 2018).The Game Console: A Photographic History from Atari to Xbox(1st ed.). No Starch Press.ISBN9781593277437.
  10. ^abFahey, Mike."An Outstanding Book For People Who Like Looking At Video Game Consoles".Kotaku.RetrievedNovember 16,2018.
  11. ^Amos, Evan (September 8, 2021).The Game Console 2.0: A Photographic History from Atari to Xbox(2nd ed.). No Starch Press.ISBN9781718500600.
  12. ^Lechter, Colin (November 1, 2013)."You've Never Heard of Gaming's Most Famous Photographer".Popular Science.

Sources

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Wikimedia Commons has media related toEvan Amos.
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