STORYTELLING | STILLS + MOTION
The People of Salt Town
Amy Toensing
Amy Toensing is a photojournalist committed to telling stories with sensitivity and depth and has been a regular contributor to National Geographic magazine for over twenty years. She has photographed communities around the globe including the last cave dwelling tribe of Papua New Guinea and remote Aboriginal Australia. She has also covered topics in the United States such as food insecurity and land conservation. Toensing has co-directed short documentary films about urban refugee children in Nairobi and the marginalization of widows in Uganda. Toensing’s work has been exhibited throughout the world and recognized with numerous awards, including two solo exhibits at Visa Pour L’image in Perpignan, France.
Toensing is a National Geographic Explorer (2022-23), FUJIFILM Creator and an Assistant Professor of Visual Storytelling at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
Joe Gabriel
Joe Gabriel is a dynamic Director/Cinematographer with a passion for visual storytelling. A graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, he began his career as the lead cinematographer for NBC’s in-house production agency. Over a long relationship with NBC Universal he has worked on a variety of world wide campaigns including the award winning MSNBC “Lean Forward” brand campaign directed by Spike Lee, and the introduction of Lester Holt as the anchor of NBC Nightly News.
Since leaving NBC to pursue a freelance career, he has traveled around the world shooting campaigns for GE, Anheuser Busch, General Motors, AT&T, and many others. Being passionate about a good story, Joe added independent film and long form documentary television to his slate, including the Emmy-nominated “Brain Games” for National Geographic Television and the Netflix science series “Brainchild” produced by Pharrell Williams.
Joe is committed to mentoring the next generation of filmmakers, serving as an Adjunct Professor at Syracuse University's School of Visual and Performing Arts.
Matt Moyer
Matt Moyer is a photographer, filmmaker and educator dedicated to telling stories that raise awareness and work to improve our world. Matt has photographed multiple feature stories for National Geographic magazine and is currently a National Geographic Explorer. His assignments have taken him all over the world, from the war zones of Iraq, Afghanistan, and the DRC to the holy sites of Egypt, and the ranching communities of the Western United States.
Matt has directed short documentaries that have been featured by a number of outlets including National Geographic Society and PBS.
Matt was named a Knight Wallace Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan in 2008 and also received a Knight Fellowship at Ohio University in 2012. In 2020 he was named the James H. Ottaway Sr. Visiting Professor at SUNY New Paltz.
Matt also sits on the Board of Advisors for The Siena School, a school for students with language-based learning differences, headquartered in Washington, DC.