About Me
I am a fine art photographer based in San Diego who likes to look at the familiar with fresh eyes, searching for the wonder in the ordinary. Then I find a means of presentation that suits my subject. That could be single images, composites, grids, or 3-dimensional objects. The output could be analog or digital prints, Polaroids, or image transfers. My interests range from shapes and forms, architecture, and landscapes to the highly personal. I’m drawn to imagery related to time, memory, atmosphere, a sense of place, and a subtle sense of humor.
I am 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. I am a member of the Snow Creek Collaborative, a critique group of award-winning Southern California fine art photographers, and The Photographer’s Eye Collective at The Photographer’s Eye Gallery in Escondido, CA. My photography has been exhibited widely in galleries, fine art publications, and the photobook California Love. As a writer, I am a contributing editor to PhotoBook Journal.
Curriculum Vitae
EXHIBITIONS
(s)Light of Hand, Photographer’s Eye Gallery, Christina Z. Anderson juror, 2022
Summer 2022 Curated Fridge, Aline Smithson, juror
Center Forward 2022, Center for Fine Art Photography, Alyssa Coppelman and Christy Havranek jurors, 2022
Trees, A Smith Gallery, Kevin Tully juror, 2022
In the City, L.A. Photo Curator, Juliet Haas juror, 1st place, 2022
People Are Starting to Notice, 8th annual international juried photography exhibition, Dab Art, 2022
2021 Top 40 Exhibition, L.A./N.Y. Photo Curator, Laurie Freitag curator
(s)Light of Hand, Photographer’s Eye Gallery, Jill Enfield juror, 2021
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 158 (Winter 2023), 145 (Fall 2019), 144 (Summer 2019), 140 (Summer 2018)
AAP Magazine, Shapes, August 2022
The Hand Magazine, Issues 37 (Summer 2022), 25 (July 2019), 20 (April 2018)
Edge of Humanity Magazine, October 2022
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