B. 1967

Joan Benney is a photographer whose work explores themes of transformation and the human condition, via natural form and metaphor.

Joan grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a teen she was given "50 Poems" by E E Cummings. She filled endless notebooks with her poems, some not bad. Some, quite. She was looking for a way to fuse the outer world with her inner life. This led her to the camera.

Joan lived on a rural island off the coast of Washington for 22 years. She found metaphor in outlying landscapes, mirroring her own inner world and those of the people she photographed. It was here she began a more personal exploration of environment and identity, through a biophilic lens.

Joan studied film photography at The Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle , Washington.


She lives and works in San Francisco, Ca.




Select Exhibitions :


2023 - Online exhibition / Portrait: Self and Others PhotoPlace Gallery / Middlebury, Vermont - Juror: Aline Smithson

2022 - The 17th Annual Pollux Awards / Fotonostrum Barcelona, Spain - Self Portrait Series Honorable Mention Juror: Elizabeth Avedon

2019 - The 14th Julia Margaret Cameron Award for Women Photographers / Fotonostrum / Barcelona, Spain / Self Portrait Series Honorable Mention - Jurors: Elizabeth Avedon, Rebecca Robertson and Analy Werbin

2016 - The Mini Click Photo Talks / Brighton Festival HOME
Brighton, UK

2011 - The Worldwide Photography Gala Awards/Portraits and People Around the World (published as a book)

2009 - The Illustrative Portrait / Concepia Gallery
Friday Harbor Washington - Solo Show

2008 - Etherea - Lyrical Black and White Photography
Island Museum of Art, Friday Harbor Washington - Curated by Danielle M. Dean

2005 - Local Seven / Island Museum of Art / Friday Harbor Washington - Curated by Joan Benney

2001 - Beneath the Surface / 6th Annual Juried Competition
Photographic Center Northwest - Juror: Chien-Chi Chang of Magnum Photos