About me

biosize

Laura Morton is a freelance documentary photographer based in San Francisco, California. Much of her personal work focuses on how cultural trends influence the human experience as well as issues of economics.  

Born in Maryland, she attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated with a degree in Political Science and Journalism. She moved to San Francisco in 2006 and has been based there ever since.  

Since 2014, she has been documenting the economic boom in the Silicon Valley technology industry and the culture that has sprung up around it with her on-going project “Wild West Tech,” which was initially financed with support from the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund grant. In 2022, she recieved the Pierre & Alexandra Boulat Award to continue this work. The project is on-going and is now focused on the individuals behind the development of artificial intelligence.  

Other projects exploring the intersection of economic issues and culture include “The Social Stage” on San Francisco’s high society lifestyle, “University Avenue,” which was awarded the 2018 Canon Female Photojournalist Award, and an on-going project on San Francisco’s principal tourist destination, Fisherman’s Wharf, which was funded with the National Geographic Society’s Emergency Fund for Journalists.  

From that work, Laura has developed a keen interest in documenting the cultures and customs of her own country, especially rural America, using her family’s home in Pennsylvania as a base. She has driven herself across the United States seven times and has been to every state but Alaska – a corner of America she hopes to visit soon. 

Laura has worked with publications such as National Geographic Magazine, German GEO, Marie Claire, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, 6 Mois, Newsweek Japan and many others.  

She is available for assignments in the San Francisco Bay Area and around country and the world. She can be reached by phone at 919-360-0491 and email at laurakmorton@gmail.com 

 

AWARDS/HONORS  

2022, Pierre & Alexandra Boulat Award  

2021, Best of Photojournalism, Feature Story Honorable Mention  

2020, National Geographic Society’s Emergency Fund for Journalists 

2018, Canon Female Photojournalist Award  

2016, Freelens Award, Honorable Mention 

2016, Center Project Launch, Juror’s Choice Award 

2014, Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund Grant
 

2013, Magenta Foundation, Flash Forward, Winner
 

2013, Hearst 8 X 10 Photography Biennial, Winner
 

2012, PDN Photo Annual, Photojournalism/Documentary/Sports Category, Winner  

2012, Look3 Festival of the Photograph, Scholarship Masterclass with Bruce Gilden  

2007, Eddie Adams Workshop XX, Los Angeles Times Award  

EXHIBITIONS/SCREENINGS 

2024, Screening, “Wild West Tech,” Nuit de la Photo, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland  

2023, Exhibition, “Wild West Tech,” Festival della Fotografia Etica, Lodi, Italy 

2023, Exhibition, “Wild West Tech,” Visa pour l’Image, Perpignan, France 

2022, Screening, “Drive-In Nation,” Visa pour l’Image, Perpignan, France  

2022, Group Exhibition, “Fisherman’s Wharf” in “Beyond the Curve,” New York, New York 

2019, Exhibition “Silicon Valley Grows Up,” Photoville, Brooklyn, New York  

2019, Exhibition “University Avenue,” Visa pour l’Image, Perpignan, France 

2018, Exhibition “The Social Stage,” Umbria World Fest, Foligno, Italy 

2017, Exhibition “Wild West Tech,” FotoFestival Naarden, Naarden, Netherlands  

2016, Exhibition “Wild West Tech,” LUMIX Festival for Young Photojournalism, Hannover, Germany  

2016, Exhibition “Wild West Tech,” Catchlight “Status Update” at SOMArts, San Francisco, California 

2016, Screening, “Wild West Tech,” Visa Pour L’Image, Perpignan, France 

2016, Screening, “Wild West Tech,” Look3 Festival of the Photograph, Charlottesville, Virginia  

2013, Exhibition “The Social Stage,” The Half King Documentary Photography Series, New York, New York  

2013, Exhibition “The Social Stage,” Magenta Flash Forward, Toronto, Canada and Boston, Massachusetts
 

2013, Exhibition “The Social Stage,” Hearst 8 x 10 Photography Biennial, New York, New York