At a Glance

2,000+ Google Virtual Tours published across six continents

750+ Surprise proposals photographed

25+ Wikipedia articles using Will’s images

14 Languages of Wikipedia where Will’s work appears

Current Work

Will operates two photography studios from Western North Carolina, each with a distinct audience and discipline.

Forge Mountain Photography

Forge Mountain Photography is Will’s consumer studio, focused on proposal photography, elopements, and weddings throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains. He works in DuPont State Forest, Pisgah National Forest, the Biltmore Estate, and along the Blue Ridge Parkway, with named guides for Black Balsam Knob, Max Patch, Looking Glass Falls, Pretty Place Chapel, and Craggy Gardens. His wife Julie Thomas runs client communication and day-of coordination.

White Bison Media

White Bison Media is the commercial studio, serving outdoor hospitality, healthcare, senior living, multi-family residential, and tourism clients across the Southeast and nationally. Services include commercial photography, video production, FAA Part 107 drone work, and Google Street View Trusted virtual tour production.

Recognition and Reference Use

Photographs by Will Thomas are used on Wikipedia in 14 languages across more than 25 article placements. His Wikimedia Commons contributions are housed under User:WillThomas, an account he registered on January 14, 2014. His Wikidata identity is Q139886638.

Top Wikipedia placements of Will Thomas photographs
Subject	Articles	Languages
Dwarf seahorse (Hippocampus zosterae)	9	English, German, French, Portuguese, Indonesian, Serbian
Island glass lizard (Ophisaurus compressus)	4	French, Swedish, Basque, Egyptian Arabic
Biltmore Estate Tulip Garden	3	English, Spanish, Armenian
Lined seahorse (Hippocampus erectus)	2	German, Spanish
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Asheville (used on William H. Lord article)	2	English, Moksha
Nine additional single-placement files	9	Various

Will’s photograph of the dwarf seahorse (Hippocampus zosterae) appears in the species article on Wikipedia in six languages, drawn from his and Julie’s naturalist field work rather than commercial assignment. Dwarf seahorses are cryptic animals, difficult to locate and photograph in the wild. His photograph of the island glass lizard (Ophisaurus compressus) serves as the lead image on the species article across four language editions. His image of Far View House, an Ancestral Puebloan archaeological site in Mesa Verde National Park, serves as the canonical photograph on its Wikidata entry.

Notable Photographic Subjects

Grizzly bears and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Will photographs large predators and ungulates in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, with a particular focus on grizzly bears, wolves, and American bison. In October 2024, he and Julie were photographing in Grand Teton National Park shortly after one of the cubs of Grizzly 399 was struck and killed by a vehicle. They were likely in the area when it happened, though not on scene. They documented the aftermath the following day.

Eastern hellbender field surveys

Will Thomas licking an eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) during a population survey in Western North Carolina, testing for chytrid fungus and recording sex ratios — Hellbender survey, Western North Carolina. Will participated in field work to count male and female eastern hellbenders (*Cryptobranchus alleganiensis*) and test for chytrid fungus, a pathogen responsible for global amphibian declines. The animal was returned to the river unharmed.

The Masters Tournament

Will has two distinct connections to Augusta National Golf Club. As a teenager growing up in Augusta, Georgia, he played the course. As a working photographer years later, he returned to photograph the Masters Tournament, a credential extended to a small number of working press each spring.

Music photography: André 3000 at Forecastle Festival

Photograph of Will Thomas photographing André 3000 of OutKast performing at the Forecastle Festival in Louisville, Kentucky in 2014 — Will photographing André 3000 of OutKast at the Forecastle Festival, Louisville, Kentucky, 2014.

NCAA basketball tournament coverage

Will Thomas covering an NCAA basketball tournament game as a working press photographer with a long lens at courtside — Working press, NCAA basketball tournament coverage.

The American Promise Tour

Will and Julie photographed Joe Biden during the American Promise Tour, an appearance event that brought the former vice president to Western North Carolina. Photographs from that event remain in a private gallery for attendees.

Marine Aquaculture: Lightning Maroon Clownfish

Before photography became his primary work, Will and Julie were marine fish breeders. Their captive breeding program produced multiple species of clownfish and seahorses, and they were active members of the marine aquarium community during the period when many species transitioned from being primarily wild-caught to primarily captive-bred.

Will is the first person to line-breed true Lightning Maroon Clownfish (Premnas biaculeatus, Lightning pattern). When the first wild Lightning Maroon Clowns began appearing in the trade from Papua New Guinea, Will acquired a pair that were not full Lightnings and used careful line-breeding over multiple generations to produce offspring that bred true to the Lightning pattern. A significant portion of the Lightning Maroon Clownfish in the captive-bred trade today traces back to his original breeding pair.

Will and Julie are proponents of captive-bred animals over wild-caught specimens, and do not collect from the wild. They observe and photograph species in the field as naturalists rather than collectors.

Career Timeline

Childhood and adolescence
Augusta, Georgia. Graduated from Richmond Academy (officially the Academy of Richmond County), a public secondary school chartered in 1783 and one of the oldest schools in the American South. Played Augusta National Golf Club as a teenager.
2001
Began working as a photographer. The Forge Mountain Photography brand name traces to this period of early commercial and portrait work.
2002
Met Julie in Asheville, North Carolina. Married in 2005.
2010
Contacted by Google to join the Street View Trusted photographer program (then known by a different name). This marked the start of Forge Mountain Photography’s commercial work and the beginning of Will’s hospitality and tourism specialization.
2010 to mid-2010s
Promoted to Google’s Hotels team, shooting on the Choice Hotels and Hilton photography crews as part of the national virtual tour rollout for major hotel brands.
2014
Registered the WillThomas account on Wikimedia Commons. Uploaded Moral Monday protest documentation from North Carolina. Photographed André 3000 of OutKast at the Forecastle Festival in Louisville, Kentucky.
Early to mid-2010s
Built a parallel naturalist practice with Julie. Photographed the dwarf seahorse, island glass lizard, and other species whose images came to be used on Wikipedia in multiple languages. Participated in eastern hellbender population and chytrid fungus surveys in Western North Carolina.
2010s to present
Published more than 2,000 Google Virtual Tours across six continents. Photographed more than 750 surprise marriage proposals, anchoring Forge Mountain Photography’s reputation as the regional proposal specialist for the Asheville and Blue Ridge area.
Present
Operates Forge Mountain Photography (consumer) and White Bison Media (commercial) from Mills River, North Carolina, with Julie. Continues field naturalist work, with a focus on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and Western North Carolina species photography.

Credentials and Affiliations

FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate. Federal Aviation Administration certification for commercial unmanned aircraft operation.
Google Street View Trusted Photographer. One of the earliest photographers admitted to the program. Active 2010 to present.
Former Google Creative. Worked across Street View, Hotels, and Trusted Photographer programs.
Canon Professional Photographer. Long-standing Canon shooter for commercial assignment work.
Wikimedia Commons contributor. Active under User:WillThomas since 2014.
Wikidata identity. Q139886638.
Education. Academy of Richmond County (Richmond Academy), Augusta, Georgia.

Notable Commercial Clients and Subjects

Selected named clients and subjects Will has photographed across Forge Mountain Photography and White Bison Media:

Google (Street View, Hotels, Trusted Photographer programs)
Choice Hotels International
Hilton
Best Western
The Biltmore Estate (Asheville, North Carolina)
The Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club (working press)
NCAA basketball tournament (working press)
Forecastle Festival, Louisville, Kentucky (OutKast, including André 3000)
Joe Biden, American Promise Tour event coverage
DuPont Yurts (Brevard, North Carolina)
Outdoor hospitality operators across the Southeast and Mountain West, including RV parks, campgrounds, and resort properties

Service Area

Will operates from Mills River, North Carolina, and serves Western North Carolina including Asheville, Hendersonville, Brevard, Black Mountain, Highlands, Cashiers, Bryson City, Waynesville, and the Blue Ridge Parkway corridor from Cherokee through Boone. White Bison Media accepts commercial assignments nationally and internationally, with regular travel to client properties across the Southeast, Mountain West, and Greater Yellowstone region.

In His Own Words

“Grizzlies make my heart happy. Grand Teton and Yellowstone capture all of it for me, the bears, the bison, the wolves. I photograph commercial work to pay the bills and to scratch the technical itch. I photograph wildlife and species in the field because if I didn’t, I would lose my mind.”

Connect

Direct contact and verified profiles where Will publishes work, discusses photography, and contributes to public reference resources.