“When we look at images, we understand something about the world – but it’s always in the context of ourselves. It’s a universal language.” —Amy Toensing 

Amy Toensing learned early on in her career that she was interested in telling stories of humanity. “You spend a lot of time with your subjects. You study your subjects. You open up to your subjects. They tell the story. You’re a conduit,” she said. Toensing is best known for her intimate essays about the lives of ordinary people.

In her decade as a contributing photographer for National Geographic, she has completed 13 stories for the magazine covering cultures around the world—from the Australian outback to the Jersey Shore.  Toensing lives in the Hudson Valley of New