David Barnhill

Artist Statement

I am a nature photographer. But I go beyond conventional landscape photography by altering, enhancing, and challenging our vision of the natural world. This can be done in numerous ways: employing unusual camera angles, creating natural abstractions, using extreme close-ups, replacing the background with black, using digital painting technology, etc.

I began my artistic journey studying East Asian literature, art, and religions at Stanford. I then became a professor at Guilford College in North Carolina, where I taught courses on Chinese religion & aesthetics, Japanese religion and literature, American nature writing, and humanistic ecology. In 2003, I moved to Wisconsin where I became Director of Environmental Studies at U.W Oshkosh.

Retiring in 2015, I moved up to the Northwoods. My passion is to photograph the Deep North and beyond in a way that captures nature’s own art. I also spend much of my time absorbed in art history, especially landscape painting both Western and East Asian. My photography is heavily influenced by both painting traditions as well as the Chinese religious view of nature. I teach courses on art history for the Nicolet College Learning in Retirement program and Fe University. My award-winning photography can be found in local art galleries and exhibitions and online at davidbarnhillphotography.com.