Having followed Deb Schwedhelm’s work and development as a photographic artist for a long time now and after several attempts at getting her to join us, the stars finally aligned this year. It’s my great pleasure to have her here with us this year.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Deb was originally trained as Registered Nurse and subsequently spent 10 years employed as an Air Force Nurse. Although she has been passionate about photography since her early 20s, it wasn’t until leaving the military that she was finally able to pursue the medium as a full time career.
Deb’s photographs have been exhibited widely and featured in numerous publications throughout the world. She has received awards from PhotoNOLA, New Orleans, LA; MPLS Photo Center, Minneapolis, MN; The Perfect Exposures Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; A. Smith Gallery, Johnson City, TX; Santa Fe Photographic Workshops, Santa Fe, NM; and The Art of Photography Show, San Diego, CA. Deb was named one of the Top 50 in Critical Mass, 2013. Her photographs have also been selected for the permanent collection of The Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO.
Deb is married to a Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Officer based in Virginia. She is the mother to three children, who are often the subjects of her photographs.
She will be sharing with us a retrospective of sorts covering the artist’s work from the beginning of her photography journey, when she left military nursing, to her current photographic projects. Thanks to an epic military housing event, Deb began to pursue her lifelong passion of photography in 2006, when she taught herself photography and dove deep into commissioned family portraiture. It wasn’t long before her family moved with the military and her photography focus shifted to personal growth and fine art photography. This remained the case as her family was transferred every couple years, for the past 16 years. With each relocation came the typical anxieties that a move carries, but it also brought new possibilities and direction for Deb’s photography.
From documenting families to wading in the water photographing her children and their friends, this presentation will include a look into Deb’s career as a photographer and allow a fuller understanding of her work — an approach outlined by relocations, reflecting on unconventional childhood memories, embracing photographic opportunities, critically thinking about current work, and continuously moving forward on her own unique path. This Retrospective will include a video presentation, discussion, and physical prints, offering a comprehensive look at the artist’s work to date.