I started SeeBoundless with a simple but powerful question: what if visual storytelling could be at the heart of communications strategies.
That idea first took shape in Haiti, was sharpened in Lebanon, and finally took flight in Washington, D.C. on August 1st, 2015.
Ten years later, after more than 250 productions across six continents, SeeBoundless and its partners have remained committed to the same core belief that launched it all:
Tell stories. Help people.
I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve done—and deeply grateful to everyone who’s been part of the journey.
— Steve Johnson
2015
SeeBoundless was born from a simple but powerful belief: that visual storytelling can make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.
In 2015, just months before the company officially began, I found myself in the hills of Cayes-Jacmel, Haiti, consulting with an organic fertilizer startup as part of the University of Florida’s MSE program. There, on Justin Jean Toussaint’s farm, we worked side by side—planting ideas, refining a business model, and shaping a story that could help his vision grow.
That week changed everything. It reminded me that behind every challenge is a human story waiting to be told—and that powerful storytelling, when done with care and purpose, can connect people across borders, languages, and experiences.
When I returned to the U.S., I began sketching the outline for what would become SeeBoundless—not just a company, but a commitment to telling stories that help people, communities, and the world better understand itself.
2016
The goal of this project was never to chase headlines or be the “first” — it was to explore how immersive storytelling could deepen our understanding of a changing planet. But after early conversations with the editors at The Weather Channel about the emerging potential of 360-degree VR, we found ourselves imagining a new kind of environmental journalism — one that could transport audiences directly into the heart of the climate story.
That vision became reality in Iceland, where a few remarkable days with hydrologist and glaciologist Bergur Einarsson of the Icelandic Meteorological Office resulted in the world’s first VR film shot inside a glacier.
From there, the journey expanded — to the fjords of Norway, the jungles of Panama, the coastlines of Canada, and across the United States. Together with The Weather Channel, we captured a wide range of powerful experiences: from chasing tornadoes and witnessing the Northern Lights, to exploring coral reefs and protected national parks — all to reveal the profound and personal ways climate change is reshaping our world.
2017
As SeeBoundless pushed the boundaries of immersive storytelling, we began asking a deeper question: how could virtual reality serve not just as a medium for awe, but as a tool for access?
With roots in academia and a commitment to education, we partnered with our colleagues at UNC Chapel Hill to bring that vision to life—creating one of the first statewide virtual campus tour platforms in the country.
What began as a pilot with just three campuses quickly scaled into an ambitious initiative spanning all 16 public universities and 58 community colleges across North Carolina. It became our largest project to date, opening doors for tens of thousands of high school students—many of whom had never set foot on a college campus—to explore their futures through the lens of immersive technology.
Steven King, associate professor at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, and his team at UNC Blue Sky Innovations built an iOS and Android app tailored to our VR video.
2018
Pushing the limits of immersive storytelling quickly evolved from a creative pursuit into a focused discipline. As newsrooms began allocating R&D budgets for experimentation, we found ourselves at the forefront—developing innovative ways to transport audiences into stories through virtual reality (VR), and now, to bring stories into their world through augmented reality (AR).
In collaboration with the team at UNC, we pioneered a workflow that leveraged drone photography to create detailed 3D models of entire city blocks—an approach previously only achievable at scale by platforms like Google Earth.
Our aim was to adapt this technology for the fast-paced, resource-conscious demands of journalism—making immersive mapping feasible for real-world reporting.
Quartz, a forward-thinking business news outlet, embraced the vision. They commissioned photographer and drone pilot Melissa Lyttle to join Steve on a global assignment, capturing cities and climate data to help audiences visualize what urban life might look like by 2050.
2019
SeeBoundless was born out of an idea that visual storytelling can help people and in 2015, just months before the start of the company, I spent a few months consulting with an organic fertilizer startup in Cayes-Jacmel, Haiti as a part of the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business Masters of Science in Entrepreneurship (MSE) program.
After spending a week on Justin Jean Toussaint’s farm working to build both a business model and marketing plan for his organic fertilizer I came back to the U.S. and started to lay out the plan for SeeBoundless.
2020
The goal of this project was never to chase headlines or be the “first” — it was to explore how immersive storytelling could deepen our understanding of a changing planet. But after early conversations with the editors at The Weather Channel about the emerging potential of 360-degree VR, we found ourselves imagining a new kind of environmental journalism — one that could transport audiences directly into the heart of the climate story.
That vision became reality in Iceland, where a few remarkable days with hydrologist and glaciologist Bergur Einarsson of the Icelandic Meteorological Office resulted in the world’s first VR film shot inside a glacier.
From there, the journey expanded — to the fjords of Norway, the jungles of Panama, the coastlines of Canada, and across the United States. Together with The Weather Channel, we captured a wide range of powerful experiences: from chasing tornadoes and witnessing the Northern Lights, to exploring coral reefs and protected national parks — all to reveal the profound and personal ways climate change is reshaping our world.
2021
SeeBoundless was born out of an idea that visual storytelling can help people and in 2015, just months before the start of the company, I spent a few months consulting with an organic fertilizer startup in Cayes-Jacmel, Haiti as a part of the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business Masters of Science in Entrepreneurship (MSE) program.
After spending a week on Justin Jean Toussaint’s farm working to build both a business model and marketing plan for his organic fertilizer I came back to the U.S. and started to lay out the plan for SeeBoundless.
2022
The goal of this project was never to chase headlines or be the “first” — it was to explore how immersive storytelling could deepen our understanding of a changing planet. But after early conversations with the editors at The Weather Channel about the emerging potential of 360-degree VR, we found ourselves imagining a new kind of environmental journalism — one that could transport audiences directly into the heart of the climate story.
That vision became reality in Iceland, where a few remarkable days with hydrologist and glaciologist Bergur Einarsson of the Icelandic Meteorological Office resulted in the world’s first VR film shot inside a glacier.
From there, the journey expanded — to the fjords of Norway, the jungles of Panama, the coastlines of Canada, and across the United States. Together with The Weather Channel, we captured a wide range of powerful experiences: from chasing tornadoes and witnessing the Northern Lights, to exploring coral reefs and protected national parks — all to reveal the profound and personal ways climate change is reshaping our world.
2023
SeeBoundless was born out of an idea that visual storytelling can help people and in 2015, just months before the start of the company, I spent a few months consulting with an organic fertilizer startup in Cayes-Jacmel, Haiti as a part of the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business Masters of Science in Entrepreneurship (MSE) program.
After spending a week on Justin Jean Toussaint’s farm working to build both a business model and marketing plan for his organic fertilizer I came back to the U.S. and started to lay out the plan for SeeBoundless.
2024
The goal of this project was never to chase headlines or be the “first” — it was to explore how immersive storytelling could deepen our understanding of a changing planet. But after early conversations with the editors at The Weather Channel about the emerging potential of 360-degree VR, we found ourselves imagining a new kind of environmental journalism — one that could transport audiences directly into the heart of the climate story.
That vision became reality in Iceland, where a few remarkable days with hydrologist and glaciologist Bergur Einarsson of the Icelandic Meteorological Office resulted in the world’s first VR film shot inside a glacier.
From there, the journey expanded — to the fjords of Norway, the jungles of Panama, the coastlines of Canada, and across the United States. Together with The Weather Channel, we captured a wide range of powerful experiences: from chasing tornadoes and witnessing the Northern Lights, to exploring coral reefs and protected national parks — all to reveal the profound and personal ways climate change is reshaping our world.
2025
SeeBoundless was born out of an idea that visual storytelling can help people and in 2015, just months before the start of the company, I spent a few months consulting with an organic fertilizer startup in Cayes-Jacmel, Haiti as a part of the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business Masters of Science in Entrepreneurship (MSE) program.
After spending a week on Justin Jean Toussaint’s farm working to build both a business model and marketing plan for his organic fertilizer I came back to the U.S. and started to lay out the plan for SeeBoundless.