About Me
I am a fine art and documentary photographer living in San Diego. Born and raised in Chicago, I still cling to my Midwestern sensibility.
I am drawn to imagery related to time, memory, atmosphere, a sense of place, and a subtle sense of humor. I like to expand my vision by going beyond the straight photographic print. Through interventions with the physical print and the use of grids, collages, and 3-dimensional constructions, I can ceate an interplay between the rational/objective and the emotional/metaphorical. In addition, my approach to photography is informed by my background as a writer. I like to examine ideas from a variety of perspectives and find a narrative thread.
I’m a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, and my career has included writing and photography for newspapers, magazines, book publishers, and corporate clients. My photography has been included in exhibitions at The Center for Photographic Art, The Center for Fine Art Photography, The Photographer's Eye Gallery, Plaxall Gallery, Dab Art, and PhotoPlace Gallery, and the Los Angeles Center of Photography, among others. I have been featured in publications including Shots Magazine, The Hand Magazine, Lenscratch, Aint-Bad, and Float. As a writer, I am a contributing editor to PhotoBook Journal.
Curriculum Vitae
EXHIBITIONS
Water: Shots Magazine Group Exhibition, Minnesota Marine Art Museum, 2021
2021 Northern Lights International Juried Exhibition, White Bear Center for the Arts, Award of Merit, 2021
Art in the Plague Year, UCR ARTS: California Museum of Photography, Douglas McCulloh, Nikolay Maslov, and Rita Sobreiro Souther curators, 2021
Open Show San Diego #19 at MOPA, 2021
ND Awards, Honorable Mention, Special: Panoramic category, 2020
Street Encounters, Texas Photographic Society, Arlington Art Museum, Paula Tognarelli juror, 2020
2020 International Juried Exhibition, Center for Photographic Art, Aline Smithson juror, 2020
(s)Light of Hand, Photographer’s Eye Gallery, Dan Burkholder juror, 2020
Landscape, PhotoPlace Gallery, Ann Jastrab juror, 2020
29th Annual Juried Exhibition, Anthenaeum Music and Arts Library, Joe Yorty and Elizabeth Rooklidge jurors, 2020
Portrait of Self-Isolation, PhotoPlace Gallery, Aline Smithson juror, Director’s Award, 2020
Stacey Prince & Wayne Swanson, Photographer’s Eye Gallery, curated by Donna Cosentino, 2020
Contemporary Landscape, Southeast Center for Photography, Adam Monohon juror, 2020
Living & Photographing in the Time of COVID-19, Photographer’s Eye Gallery, Philipp Scholz Rittermann juror, 2020
Project XV: New Perspectives on Photography, Los Angeles Center of Photography, 2020
Vend Arts: Material Zones, Porto Vista Hotel, curated by Laurel Siry, 1805 Gallery, 2019
Rfotofolio Call 2019, Top Selections of jurors Sally Davies and Rfotofolio, 2019
(s)Light of Hand, Photographer’s Eye Gallery, Suda House juror, Director’s Choice award, 2019
Urban Landscape, Texas Photographic Society, Jamey Stallings juror, Honorable Mention selection, 2019
Somerville Toy Camera Festival, Gordon Stettinius juror, 2019
Open Show San Diego at MOPA #13, 2019
Black and White, Center for Fine Art Photography, Geoffrey Koslov juror, Director’s Honorable Mention selection, 2019
Los Angeles Center of Photography Members' Exhibition, Douglas McCulloh juror, 2019
Urban Dance, Plaxall Gallery, Jonathan Blaustein, Alexa Dilworth, and Aline Smithson jurors, 2019
The Life of Water, Center for Fine Art Photography, Jennifer Shaw juror, 2019
Flawed Beings, Light Leaked, Michael Kirchoff juror, 2018
Seeing Is Believing, Lenscratch, Drew Nikonowicz juror, 2018
Click_Bait, Dab Art, 2018
Still Life: Elevating the Mundane, PhotoPlace Gallery, Honorable Mention, Kimberly Witham juror, 2018
Los Angeles Center of Photography Member’s Exhibition, Catherine Couturier juror, 2018
FOTO Fourth of July Contest, Getty Images, finalist, 2018
Shift, Light Leaked, Melissa Kreider juror, 2018
PUBLICATIONS
California Love: A Visual Mixtape, curated by Michael Rababy, 2020
Shots Magazine, Issues 145 (Fall 2019), 144 (Summer 2019), 140 (Summer 2018)
The Hand Magazine, Issues 25 (July 2019), 20 (April 2018)
Click_Bait, Dab Art Quarterly, October 2018
Photobook Cali, Photo District News, 2011
File Magazine, 2010
EDUCATION
B.S. in Journalism, Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University
Workshops with fine art photographers including Aline Smithson, scott b. davis, Susan Burnstine, Todd Hido, Michael Crouser, Sean Duggan, Carlan Tapp, and Philipp Scholz Rittermann
Press
Rfotofolio, "Interview", March 25, 2020
Lenscratch, “Project XV: New Perspectives on Photography," January 2, 2020
Lenscratch, “Wayne Swanson: From the Workshop,” January 23, 2019
Float Magazine, “Portfolio: Wayne Swanson,” January 12, 2019
aPhotoEditor, “The Best Work I Saw at the Medium Festival of Photography," January 11, 2019
Aint-Bad, “Interview: Wayne Swanson,” November 27, 2018
aPhotoEditor, “The Best Work I Saw at the LACP Exposure Portfolio Review,” September 21, 2018