Lev L. Spiro
"Elemental"
Lev grew up idealizing the natural world as a refuge from urbanity, a place of solace and spiritual renewal, and a source of awe and transcendence. But as urbanization and other human activity continue to erase them, these pristine wildernesses have become few and far between.
The timeless, primordial landscapes of Iceland overwhelm by their sheer scale and their volcanic, glacial wildness. Elemental, untouched, they radiate a fierce, rugged beauty which feels both menacing and enlivening. Strong winds and rain scour mountainsides. Walls of ice grind their way to the ocean. Cascades of water carve channels through fresh rock only recently emerged from the planet's core.
Amidst this unspoiled ancient terrain, Lev was captivated by the darkness and mystery of these landscapes, and entranced by their unexpected textures and shadows. He could once again marvel at the wonders of our world, entralled by the magic of the light, which allowed glimpses of secret, beguiling places.
Lev L. Spiro is a fine art photographer whose work tries to convey the sense of mystery and wonder he finds in the natural world.
His work has been juried into more than 60 exhibitions, including A. Smith Gallery, Davis Orton Gallery, Southeast Center for Photography, Ph21 Gallery, here at the Midwest Center for Photography, and Praxis Gallery, as well as featured in publications including What Will You Remember?, Dodho Magazine, Art Ascent Magazine (Gold Artist, June 2021; Silver Artist, July 2023, Distinguished Artist, July 2024) Shadow & Light Magazine, All About Photo, and Black + White UK. He currently teaches "The Artful Garden" and "Story & Emotion in the Natural World" for Santa Fe Workshops.
Lev is also known for his work directing over 165 television episodes, pilots and features, including Emmy-award winning series such as Orange is the New Black, Modern Family, Weeds and Arrested Development. His films "Minutemen" and "Wizards of Waverly Place The Movie" won a Director's Guild nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, and the Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program, respectively.
Lev lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife, writer/producer Melissa Rosenberg and their two dogs T. Beau and Luna, who often accompany him and make helpful suggestions as he makes images.
Prints in the portfolio are Archival Inkjet Prints, 12" X 18", 2024, $750 each.
Fern Nesson
"Film Noir: Finding Joy in the Depths of Night"
Film noir is first of all a style
It worked out its conflicts visually
rather than thematically. [F]or this reason.
these films are works of art.
- Paul Schrader, "Notes on Film Noir" 1972
Film noir movies are gritty, hard-boiled portrayals of existential despair. They revolve around desperate people caught in the web of corruption, crime, lies, obsessions and perverse passions.
Reading the screenplays of Hammett and others, one might expect film noir cinematography to be hyper-realistic. In fact, it is anything but. Film noir gains its power from the pure, intentional abstraction of its cinematography. The chiaroscuro of dark black and pools of lamplight, the exaggerated shadows, the angular tilt of buildings, the partially obscured or dimly lit faces of the actors, the rain-streaked city streets, all create anxiety in the viewer and heighten the message of alienation and despair.
In classic film noir movies, the visual carries the film. It is orders of magnitude more sophisticated than the plot or even the acting. The style is the perfect vehicle for conveying the meaning of the genre. McLuhan might well have cited film noir when he said "the medium is the message".
As an abstract photographer, Fern, also, conveys her meaning through form and style. Film noir inspires her. In particular, the choice to film at night, emphasizing the light that emerges from the shadows, evokes just the mystery that she prizes in her work.
Her meaning is radically different from film noir. Fern, also, is an existentialist. She believes that our existence is an inexplicable mystery with no preordained purpose. There is no script that we can follow in choosing how to live, what and who to love. We must each make our own meaning and, after we die, there is no likelihood of reward or punishment for those choices. But she feels neither alienation nor despair. Instead, she is exhilarated by her freedom to choose her own path.
These photographs take their visual lessons from film noir but they seek to convey that exhilaration. While we are here, we can choose for ourselves, we can make meaning, we can take risks and have adventures, we can love and we can experience joy. That is our challenge but also a great gift.
Fern L. Nesson is a graduate of Harvard Law School. She received an M.A. in American History from Brandeis and an M.F.A in Photography from the Maine Media College. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She practiced law in Boston for twenty years and subsequently taught American History and Mathematics.
Nesson's photographs have been shown internationally in solo exhibitions at the Politecnico University in Torino, Italy, Les Rencontres de la Photographie in Arles, France, Ph21 Gallery in Budapest, Hungary and at The University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica. In the United States, Nesson has had solo exhibitions at the Griffin Museum of Photography, at MIT and Harvard, and at the Beacon Gallery in Boston, Massachusetts, the Pascal Gallery in Rockport, and Maine, and Through This Lens Gallery in Durham, NC.
Upcoming solo exhibitions include: "E=mc²" in Budapest , Hungary, "les Consolationsde la Poèsie" in Arles, France, "Alchemy" in Rome, Italy" and "The Music of the Spheres" in Durham, North Carolina.
Additionally, Fern's work has been selected for numerous juried exhibitions in the U.S. and in Barcelona, Rome and Budapest.
Nesson's photobooks, "Signet of Eternity" and "WORD", won the 10th and the 12th Annual Photobooks Award from the Davis-Orton Gallery. Her photo essays appear regularly in France Today, Bonjour Paris and The LIving New Deal.
Prints in the portfolio are digital archival prints.
FEATURE DATES - NOVEMBER, 2024 - APRIL, 2025
These highly talented photographers are featured here for the 2024/2025 issue of Portfolio Platform. Portfolio Platform provides the focus of a streamlined online presence providing the opportunity for photographers to showcase a portfolio of photographic work prominently. The portfolios are available for patrons of the gallery to go online and view, learn about the photographers and their work through the images and biographies and artist statments, and have the opportunity to purchase photographs.
PORTFOLIO PLATFORM 2024/2025
FEATURED ARTISTS:
Michael Alexenko, Superior, CO;
Ana Bonet, Highland Park, IL;
David Cook, Austin, TX;
John Diephouse, Lansing, MI;
Fern Nesson, Cambridge, MA;
Lev Spiro, Los Angeles, CA;
Leanne Trivett S., Johnson City, TN;
Gary Wagner, Medford, OR.
Michael Alexenko
For Michael, an engaging photograph is more than a moment captured in time; it's an exploration of the infinite combinations of subject, light, color, texture, and form. Through his photography, Michael strives to challenge the viewer's perception of reality and offer new ways of experiencing the world around us.
He considers himself an explorer, both in subject matter and technique, always seeking new ways to tell compelling stories through his images. His goal is to create works that are open to interpretation; he invites the audience to bring their own experiences and emotions to the viewing process. Through his photography, he hopes to inspire others to see the world in a new and transformative way.
This series of images began as a multi-year study of a "paraje". a campsite or rest stop along the "El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro", the "Royal Road to the Interior", connecting Santa Fe and Mexico City.
After a couple of years exploring the landscapes and scenes, Michael settled on monochrome representations of what he saw - color seemed to distract from the spirit of the place. His studies have grown to include vintage film cameras and Polaroid cameras alongisde digital comeras. And although he still creates archival inkjet prints, he has been honing his skills as a photogravure printmaker – he believes this historic process recreates his scenes far better than any other medium, and requires more human touch, delivering one-of-a-kind prints.
Most recently Michael has started to capture more vignettes of the past, focusing on the trades and life of not just the southwest but the west. He hopes you enjoy peering into history with him.
Michael has been involved with photography since he was in grade school, discovering the magic of printing his own images in the darkroom, and "taking unconventional pictures". His introduction to photography, life-long influences, and studies, have been from a variety of artists, more than photographers.
He was a professional wedding and portrait photographer for a period, but moved away from that, as photography became work more than fun. Years later, Michael re-discovered photography, utilizing digital capture and manipulation, and getting back to exploring creating art. His work has been published in international art magazines and has been displayed and won awards in both national and regional shows over the years.
He currently works in the tech industry, with a focus on creative design, spending time with family and their dog, Zoe.
He and his partner recently completed a residency at Prints on Paper studio in Vermont, refining their skills as photogravure printers, as well as exploring printing on non-traditional media. They recently received their custom-built press as part of the photogravure studio they are building, so that they can focus on this aspect of their art.
Prints in the portfolio are Archival Inkjet Prints, 11"" X 14", 2023-2024, $300 each.
David Cook
David's work is inspired by his training as a Texas Master Naturalist, a passion for the natural world and by Rachel Carson's book "The Sense of Wonder". A sense of wonder she wrote:
"So indestructible that it would last throughout life, as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantments of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things that are artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength".
David explores his sense of wonder with nature photography, and hopefully he can inspire others to find and nurture their sense of wonder with nature as well. Birds spark his sense of wonder, and they are perhaps our most accessible wildlife; many of us are fortunate to find birds in our own backyards. Unfortunately, with our changing planet, that may not always be the case. Avian Apparitions explores an unfortunate, and all too possible, future for many of our birds, a future in which only their ghosts haunt the landscape where they once flourished. These ghostly images foreshadow a menacing future for the birds, for man, and the planet. A future where it is only the spirits of these once great birds that we can imagine. A future where we can no longer marvel at an Osprey's hunt or a Warbler's song. The Great Egret, Brown Pelican, Roseate Spoonbill, and others included in the work are not the most endangered birds, but all are "in danger" from the damage we do to their habitat and the planet. By creating ghostly images of birds, David hopes to encourage others not to take these beautiful birds for granted before they become apparitions only, haunting our memories.
David has always had a passion for the outdoors and after a 30 year career as an educator and IT Professional, he began pursuing his love of nature and photography. He is a Texas Master Naturalist and Travis Audubon Master Birder as well as a member of the North American Nature Photography Association where he serves as Chair of the Conservation Committee. During COVID, he completed his first book called "Picturing The Lost Words", a photographic and poetic exploration of words from nature that were removed from the Oxford Junior Dictionary in recent years. David recently spoke on this project at the Texas Photography Festival and to Bexar County Audubon. His photographs have been included in over 40 juried shows including the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, here at the Midwest Center for Photography, Image City Gallery, Chateau Gallery, Glasgow Gallery of Photography and the Roger Troy Peterson Institute's inagural "Art That Matters to the Planet" exhibit. In addition to his photography, David helps kids of all ages connect to nature by volunteering and leading tours at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center and Westcave Preserve in Austin, TX. David also serves on the Board of the Bull Creek Foundation, and is actively involved in conservation projects including bird surveys, digital camera trapping efforts and invasive species management.
Prints in the portfolio are Archival Inkjet Prints, 8" X 10" , 11" X 14 and 12" X 12, 2021-2024, $240 - $300 each.
John Diephouse
Mr. Diephouse is a self-taught photographer and digital collage artist. What he seeks to share are images with which he has a strong and instinctive personal connection. His goal is to create images that evoke a story of some kind that often moves far beyond the relatively literal boundaries of traditional photography. Images may be simply documentary, invoke a sense of time and place, or resonate as an abstract blend of color, shape or form. Others provoke an indefineable question that does not readily yield answers without further study and reflection.
He draws from a wide range of photographic subjects such as landscapes, botanicals, and wildlife as well as urban environments and people. He follows an intuitive yet somewhat ordered process of layering or merging portions of photos until an image that speaks to him emerges. Most often this is more likely a random bit of serendipity than deliberate intent. Images often suggest a sense of time and place, or reflect a rich and ethereal interplay of color, shape or form. Images may provoke an indefinable question that does not readily yield answers without further study and reflection. Ultimately, his images provide a vehicle to stimulate both his imagination and that of the viewer, leaving one free to interpret and create an individual sense of meaning and value.
Mr. Diephouse has exhibited widely and has earned recognition in local, regional, and national exhibitions. His works are also included in several corporate and private collections.
Prints in the portfolio are Archival Inkjet Prints, 16" X 20" and 18" X 24, 2023-2024, $450 each.
Leanne Trivett S.
"Navigating in Traffic"
The series "Navigating in Traffic" uses self portraits to document and represent Leanne's transformative journey of healing and self discovery, as the "Traffic of Life" presents itself. Each portrait tells a unique story, capturing the complexities in a series of snapshots. Some of these disruptions have looked like a car wreck, many are painful, a few had the yellow caution light blinking, some are wonderful on the other side, and a few look monstrously impossible to face. Leanne has traveled through these emotional obstacles and trauma, uncovered them and continue to ride through each highway and four way stop. Life's traffic. Her traffic.
All of this traffic changes who Leanne is. She keeps going. What surfaces is her resilience.
Leanne Trivett S. is a photographer and visual artist using her personal photographs to explore experimental self portraiture, florals, and the emotional abstract.
Leanne is a visual artist that uses photography to narrate and construct identity in self portraiture and experimental florals, to delve into the abstract, and to capture the interplay of details and color in the realm of emotion. Drawing inspiration from her theatrical and vocal performance background, she strives to explore and connect psyche, spirit, ego, and soul: creating current characters with persoanl and dynamic stories. Leanne likes to capture scenes from her play, and she also likes the outtakes. It is her desire to connect to the viewer in a meaningful way by exploring multiple sides of herself: the light and the dark, the quiet and the movement, and the smooth and textured. She uses her camera and eye for detail to visit the complicated fringe of her personality and her relationships. Every photo she takes is a part of her curiousity and "double" inner world. She seeks a connection to self and the audience in that space of duality, building a bridge through emotion and humanity.
She graduated with a BFA in Theatre from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University in NY, NY. Her background in musical theatre and her experience performing as a professional singer have inspired her creation of characters and self expression through images and photography. She is best known for her colorful and current self portraits and her work with florals. Leanne’s artwork has been exhibited nationally and internationally in venues such as the Los Angeles Center for Photography, the Griffin Museum of Photography in Boston, CfPA in Carmel, CA, here at the Midwest Center for Photography, KFF FotoFest 2024 in Karuizawa in Japan, Millepiani Gallery in Rome Italy, PH21 Gallery in Budapest, Fotonostrum Gallery in Barcelona, Spain, etc. Her Work has been published and can be seen on the cover and in several issues of Art Ascent International Magazine, ARTDOC Magazine, SHOTS Magazine, Dodho Magazine in Barcelona for Monochrome, Color, Portrait, and Fine Art Awards in 2022, 2023, 2024, several editions of Black & White Magazine, and in multiple special edition exhibition books. She was chosen as Winner and Honorable Mention for The 18th, 20th, and 23rd Annual Julia Margaret Cameron Awards for Women Photographers in Barcelona Spain for 2022, 2023, and 2024, Refocus Award for COLOR in Conceptual Photography, placed second in People and Portraits for Digital Photo 2022, and received honorable mention in the ND Awards. She most recently has been designated as the 2024 Emerge Fellowship Award Recipient here at the Midwest Center for Photography. She is currently teaching at Sante Fe Workshops, Chicago Botanic Garden, Pacific Northwest Art School on Whidbey Island near Seattle, and giving Art Talks on Zoom in such places as the UK and Chicago. She spends her free time traveling and creating in her artist studio near Asheville, NC.
Prints in the portfolio are Archival Inkjet Prints, 2024, $500 each.
Gary Wagner
Seascapes, landscapes, and the world around Gary are the studios he uses for his photographic work. He finds freedom and inspiration to create his interpretations of the natural elements and scenic vistas at these locations.
The landscape is an exciting and challenging environment to work in, for it is constantly changing with the light of the day and the changing seasons. On many occasions, Gary has revisited his favorite locations repeatedly throughout the year and found them to be completely different in their appearance, from the sand on the beach, the depth of the water in the streams, or the light striking the rocks. This environment and the many faces it reveals, brings him endless excitement for creating his art.
He works exclusively in black and white. This medium best relates the landscapes's shapes, lines, and tones and more fully captures what he is viewing creatively when he looks at a scene. He finds the creation of photographic art today to offer endless possibilities for creativity and the making and sharing of visual art.
As an artist, Gary has tried not only to pay respect to the natural order and beauty of the earth but also to show his vision of the land, sea, and light.
Gary Wagner's love of the photographic image and craft began when he became the photographer for his high school newspaper in Kokomo, Indiana. He continued his education at Indiana University, in Bloomington, Indiana, and eventually moving to Santa Barbara, California, to attend Brooks Institute of Photography. For the past 40 years, Gary has made his home in Northern California.
His photographic images have been recognized in exhibitions by many galleries and publications. Having won numerous awards, including the Best of Show 2022 at the California State Fair Fine Art Show. Best of Show for two years at the Sacramento Fine Art Center, and received awards 10 years annually in Black and White magazine. His most recent achievement was the publication of his book, "Digital Black and White Landscape Photography, Fine Art Techniques from Camera to Print" and "iPhone Photography for Everybody: Black and White Landscape Techniques" both published by Amherst Media. Gary is also the author of four self-published books: "Sierra Nevada Mountains", "Sierra Mountain Wilderness", "Redwood Coast: Sea and Land", and "Yosemite National Park".
Gary's professional career spans more than three decades and includes fine art, portrait, and commercial photography. His knowledge, expertise, and enthusiasm for the photographic image enabled him to successfully teach theory and technique at the college level and seminars in Europe on the English country landscape. Fluent with all film formats, from 35mm to 8" X 10", Gary has now embraced the digital image and the ever-changing environment of photography in the current technological age.
Prints in the portfolio are Archival Pigment Prints, 16" X 20", 2016 - 2024, $475 each.
Ana Bonet
"Transformations"
In this 12 photograph portfolio, Ana draws inspiration from various abstract artists to explore the essence of a simple, yet profound natural element: paper.
It signifies a journey through the stages of paper's lifecycle, from its natural origin as a tree, through its 'transformation' into wood, and finally into paper we use in everyday life. This concept emphasizes the connection to the source material and highlights the beauty and complexity of paper as an artistic and functional medium.
Each photograph captures the intricate textures, delicate fibers, and the interplay of light and shadow that reveal the hidden stories within this seemingly mundane material.
By focusing on paper, Ana aims to bridge the gap between the tangible and the abstract, showcasing how photography can 'transform' and elevate everyday objects into works of art. Through a minimalist and macro approach, "Transformations" not only highlights the aesthetic appeal of paper but also pays homage to its enduring presence in our lives.
"Driven by curiosity and a love for nature, my photography delves into the intricate structures of the natural world. I embrace minimalism and macro perspectives, creating images that celebrate the beauty and complexity of the environment without the disctraction of human presence. My work is characterized by a serene absence of people, allowing nature and objects to take center stage".
—Ana Bonet
Ana Inés Bonet was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She persued a career in chemistry at Universidad del Salvador when an average summer job drastically changed her original path and sent her towards a new path that encompassed both the audiovisual and marketing industries.
Ana was a member of the production team for a TV program entitled "Passport". There she produced several travel TV episodes covering a variety of locations around the world. It was during those trips, that she discovered her true passion: photography.
Ana developed her eye for composition while scouting TV locations and becoming immersed in the local scenery. These experiences now are deeply planted in all of her photographic work.
Having worked professionally for many years around the world, she turns to photography to remind herself of the beauty on our planet. Ana's work focuses on landscapes and abstract images that document our natural world.
From Argentina to Miami to Chicago, where she creates imaes today, Ana has continued to expand her skills and vision through photography workshops within the Fine Art and the Master Tracks of the Photography School at the Chicago Botanic Garden, also attending seminars with Eddie Soloway and LeeAnn White among others.
As a photographer, Ana is part of the Chicago Photographic Arts Society, CPAS, and also collaborates with several interior design professionals. Her projects, such as the "Climate Change" and "Open Windows" are part of her collections of work.
Ana's work has been featured in several regional exhibitions, for instance at the Chicago Botanic Gardens "Focusing on Nature" exhibition, the Photo Place Gallery, and multiple exhibitions here at the Midwest Center for Photography.
Prints in the portfolio are Archival Inkjet Prints, 12" X 16, 2024, $300 each.