{{Short description|American stock photographer (born 1983)}} {{Use American English|date=March 2022}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Evan Amos | image = Screenshot from Wikimedia Foundation - Wikimedia community feature Evan Amos - the Wikipedia Effect for photography (cropped 3×4).png | alt = 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. | caption = Amos in 2016 | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1983}} | citizenship = American | occupation = Photographer | years_active = 2010–present | known_for = Freely licensed photos of video game items }}

'''Evan Amos''' (born 1983)<ref name="self">{{cite web|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Evan-Amos/AboutMe|title=User:Evan-Amos/AboutMe – Wikimedia Commons|website=commons.wikimedia.org|access-date=October 13, 2018}}</ref> is a photographer of video game consoles, which he licenses freely to the public domain. He contributes these images to Wikipedia, and {{as of | 2015 | lc=yes}} works on The Vanamo Online Game Museum, a free digital archive of video game hardware. As of 2018, he resides in Brooklyn, New York City.<ref name="self" />

==Work== 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, with Nintendo's Wii console, which he happened to own, Amos soon "felt addicted" and started a list of every console. He put an ad on Craigslist and met a collector in Huntington, Long Island, where he photographed various consoles from Sega and Atari. 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.<ref name="Gamasutra">{{cite web|url=http://gamasutra.com/blogs/EvanAmos/20131029/202882/The_power_of_Wikipedia_How_I_became_gamings_most_popular_and_anonymous_photographer.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102004614/http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/EvanAmos/20131029/202882/The_power_of_Wikipedia_How_I_became_gamings_most_popular_and_anonymous_photographer.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 2, 2013|title=The power of Wikipedia: How I became gaming's most popular and anonymous photographer.|website=Gamasutra|last=Amos|first=Evan|date=October 29, 2013}}</ref><ref name="Mashable">{{cite web|url=http://mashable.com/2013/11/10/gaming-photographer/|title=Introducing the Invisible Photographer Whose Photos Are Everywhere|publisher=Mashable|last=Larson|first=Eric|date=November 10, 2013}}</ref>

After purchasing and photographing video game consoles, Amos donates them to the New York University Game Center and the National Museum of Play, where he is allowed to access them at any time.<ref name="Mashable" /> His library expanded to food items.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blog.wikimedia.org/2016/08/17/evan-amos-video-game-museum/|title="It's incredible that history decays almost immediately": Evan Amos and the Vanamo Online Game Museum – Wikimedia Blog|website=blog.wikimedia.org|date=August 17, 2016|access-date=October 13, 2018}}</ref>

In 2013, Amos raised {{USD|17,493}} on Kickstarter to expand his hardware collection and build the Vanamo Online Game Museum, for online preservation of the history of video games.<ref name="Polygon">{{cite web|url=http://www.polygon.com/2013/10/31/5051928/preserving-video-game-history-one-photo-at-a-time|title=Preserving video game history one photo at a time|website=Polygon|author=TraceyLien|date=October 31, 2013}}</ref><ref name="Kickstarter">{{cite web|url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1699256938/the-vanamo-online-game-museum|title=The Vanamo Online Game Museum Kickstarter campaign|publisher=Kickstarter}}</ref> It is intended to include an extensive history of each console and its development.<ref name="Gigaom">{{cite web|url=https://gigaom.com/2013/11/01/wikipedia-photographer-launches-kickstarter-campaign-for-an-online-video-game-museum/|title=See a Wikipedia photographer's Kickstarter campaign for an online video game museum|publisher=Gigaom|last=Hockenson|first=Lauren|date=November 1, 2013|access-date=April 30, 2015|archive-date=October 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030111623/https://gigaom.com/2013/11/01/wikipedia-photographer-launches-kickstarter-campaign-for-an-online-video-game-museum/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On November 6, 2018, Amos released a book published by No Starch Press, titled ''The Game Console: A Photographic History from Atari to Xbox'', showcasing video game console photos, their hardware, and some history.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Game Console: A Photographic History from Atari to Xbox|last=Amos|first=Evan|date=November 6, 2018|publisher=No Starch Press|isbn=9781593277437|edition=1st }}</ref><ref name="Out">{{Cite news|url=https://kotaku.com/an-outstanding-book-for-people-who-like-looking-at-vide-1830286341|title=An Outstanding Book For People Who Like Looking At Video Game Consoles|last=Fahey|first=Mike|work=Kotaku|access-date=November 16, 2018}}</ref> A second edition was published in 2021.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Amos |first=Evan |title=The Game Console 2.0: A Photographic History from Atari to Xbox |publisher=No Starch Press |date=September 8, 2021 |isbn=9781718500600 |edition=2nd |language=English}}</ref>

==Selected works== <gallery mode="packed"> File:Wii-console.jpg|Wii, the first photograph of a game console Amos made for Wikipedia File:GameCube-Set.jpg|GameCube File:Nintendo-Famicom-Disk-System.jpg|Famicom and Disk System File:Sega-SG-1000-Console-Set.jpg|Sega SG-1000 File:PS2-Versions.jpg|"Fat" and "slimline" PlayStation 2 File:Microsoft-Xbox-One-Console-Set-wKinect.jpg|Xbox One File:Commodore-64-Computer-FL.jpg|Commodore 64 </gallery>

==Reception== thumb|Evan Amos and "the Wikipedia Effect"

''Destructoid'' called Amos "gaming's most popular photographer".<ref name="Destructoid">{{cite web|url=http://www.destructoid.com/evan-amos-is-gaming-s-most-popular-photographer-264824.phtml|title=Evan Amos is gaming's most popular photographer|website=Destructoid|last=North|first=Dale|date=March 11, 2013|access-date=April 30, 2015|archive-date=April 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428154948/http://www.destructoid.com/evan-amos-is-gaming-s-most-popular-photographer-264824.phtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Popular Science'' called him "gaming's most famous photographer".<ref name="PS">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.popsci.com/article/gadgets/youve-never-heard-gamings-most-famous-photographer|title=You've Never Heard of Gaming's Most Famous Photographer|magazine=Popular Science|last=Lechter|first=Colin|date=November 1, 2013|access-date=April 30, 2015|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112032145/https://www.popsci.com/article/gadgets/youve-never-heard-gamings-most-famous-photographer/|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Kotaku'' called ''The Game Console'' "an outstanding book for people who like looking at video game consoles".<ref name="Out"/>

{{Clear}}

==See also== * List of Wikipedia people

==References== {{reflist}}

===Sources=== * {{cite web|url=http://petapixel.com/2013/10/31/power-wikipedia-became-gamings-popular-anonymous-photographer/|title=The Power of Wikipedia: How I Became Gaming's Most Popular and Anonymous Photographer|publisher=PetaPixel|last=Amos|first=Evan|date=October 31, 2013}} * {{Cite magazine|date=December 27, 2018|title=A Moment With... Picture Perfect |magazine=Retro Gamer |issue=189 |page=12}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{Wikipedia person user link|Evan-Amos|Evan Amos}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amos, Evan}} Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:Photographers from New York City Category:Wikimedia image contributors Category:American Wikimedians Category:Wikipedia people