I started SeeBoundless with a simple but powerful question: what if visual storytelling could be at the heart of communication 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 and communities better understand themselves.
2016
The goal of any new 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. These series of photogrammetry models became the focal point of The 2050 Project.
2019
Building on the success of the Quartz 2050 project, we set a more ambitious goal using augmented reality and journalism for TIME Magazine — capturing illegal logging in the Amazon rainforest to show the true scale of deforestation.
Working with trusted partners on the ground and renowned wildlife photographer Ryan Jones, we spent a week along the BR-319 — the controversial roadway between Porto Velho and Manaus where illegal logging operations have persisted for decades.
The finished product was an in-depth examination of deforestation, featuring 3D models of indigenous lands, lumber mills, and farmland — all narrated by the legendary Jane Goodall.
2020
With global travel at a standstill during COVID-19, The Washington Post invited SeeBoundless to contribute to its acclaimed Road to Recovery series — an exploration of America’s path toward life beyond the pandemic and the search for a “new normal.”
Our team traveled to Sonoma County, California, and the greater Portland, Oregon region to document how two cornerstone industries — wine and wood — were adapting to unprecedented disruption. Through on-the-ground reporting and powerful visual storytelling, we captured the resilience, innovation, and uncertainty shaping businesses in a changed world.
This project also marked a milestone for SeeBoundless: the first shared news byline for Brooke and Steve, a testament to their growing partnership in storytelling.
2021
Transitioning from our work in virtual and augmented reality to public health communications, SeeBoundless partnered with N/Collaborative to support a critical statewide initiative: ensuring that all 11 million North Carolinians had access to accurate, trusted information about COVID-19 vaccines and lifesaving public health resources.
Over the course of four years, we produced hundreds of public service announcements featuring doctors, nurses, public officials, small business owners, and everyday residents of North Carolina—all sharing personal and powerful messages encouraging vaccination and booster uptake.
This collaboration later expanded to encompass campaigns increasing access to NC Medicaid, promoting the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, and advocating for early care and learning opportunities for children under five.
We are proud to have contributed to this vital work and grateful for our ongoing partnership with N/Collaborative, helping to deliver meaningful impact to millions across the state.
2022
The childcare crisis is not confined to rural towns or bustling cities—it is a national challenge impacting families in every corner of the United States. Access to quality early childhood education is essential: it allows parents to work, strengthens communities, and gives young children the foundation they need to thrive in school and in life.
Partnering with N/Collaborative and the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska, we traveled across the Cornhusker State to document this urgent issue. Along the way, we met dedicated families, resilient childcare providers, and leading experts in child development, all working tirelessly to ensure that every child has the opportunity to succeed.
2023
In 2021, SeeBoundless relocated to Santa Barbara, California and we couldn’t be more proud of our work with California Education Partners.
Ed Partners staff members have worked at every level of school systems and know how to partner with administrators, principals, teachers and families to remove unfair barriers standing in the way of our students.
Our work with Ed Partners and sharing the stories of the school districts they work with have helped deepen their partnerships across the state and further their work in providing support for educators to continuously improve and help each other.
2024
As our partnership with N/Collaborative deepened, it became impossible to ignore a looming crisis: early care and learning in North Carolina were standing on the edge of a funding cliff. In the wake of the pandemic, an already fragile system was about to collapse, threatening families, providers, and the future of countless children.
Public service announcements weren’t enough. The story was too urgent, too complex—the stakes too high to be told in thirty-second sound bites. What was needed was a deeper, unflinching look at the realities of running a childcare center in a broken funding model.
N/Collaborative challenged us to meet that moment. Over the course of a year, we embedded with providers, families, and advocates, capturing the struggles, sacrifices, and determination behind the headlines. The result was a short documentary that doesn’t just tell the story—it demands that it be heard.
2025
Education has been woven into the fabric of SeeBoundless since our earliest days in 2015. A decade later, in 2025, that foundation came full circle as we embarked on one of our largest and most ambitious productions to date in partnership with Independent Television News (ITN) Education.
Over several months of development, with dozens of talented actors, multiple locations across downtown Seattle, and clients collaborating from New York and London, we brought to life a series of English language learning modules designed to complement textbooks from one of the world’s largest educational publishers.
This project marked more than just another milestone—it felt like the next chapter in a story that began with a simple idea: that powerful visuals can change how people see and understand the world. From our beginnings in visual storytelling, to innovations in virtual and augmented reality, to public health campaigns, documentaries, and now scripted narratives, our mission has remained the same: to use our expertise in imagery, on-location production, and story development to help people learn, connect, and grow.
A hot day in Sonoma County, CA working on the Road to Recovery project for The Washington Post. This was the first project Brooke and Steve coproduced in 2020.
SeeBoundless could never have made its mark around the world without the incredible partners who’ve walked this journey with us. But there’s one person whose impact runs deeper than anyone else — my partner, Brooke Van Dam. For nine of the ten years of this company’s life, she has been its steady heart and brilliant mind.
Brooke is the intelligence, the strategy, and thoughtfulness behind so much of what we’ve built. She’s the one who turns vision into reality, who pushes our work to be sharper, kinder, and braver.
I’m endlessly grateful to not only share this dream with her, but to wake up every day ready to face the next challenge side by side.
The Next 10
I’m deeply grateful to the collaborators, friends, clients, guides, crews, and partners who have helped shape SeeBoundless over the past 10 years. Your talent, trust, and insight have made this journey not only possible, but meaningful. Here are just a few moments that remind me how exceptional work is always rooted in extraordinary people.
