Douglas Beasley’s personal vision explores the spiritual and emotional aspects of people and place and is concerned with how the sacred is recognized and expressed in everyday life. 

After receiving a BFA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, he worked for several prominent commercial photo studios as a photo assistant and darkroom slave. Both helped him develop a appreciation for attention to detail and technical proficiency but left him longing for artistic self-expression. He then opened his own studio in Minneapolis, MN emphasizing commercial and editorial fashion. As a strong feminist, he considers himself the world’s most unlikely fashion photographer but greatly enjoyed the creativity and spontaneity of fashion photography. This evolved into shooting extensively throughout the country and internationally for various advertising, educational, public service and non-profit clients. Doug currently works on fine-art based commercial projects around the world.

Much of Doug’s personal work is supported by grants and commissions and is widely exhibited and collected. In 2010 he had a permanent installation at the Castillo D’Albertis Cultural Museum on Sacred Places of North America. He has been published internationally and featured in numerous photo magazines such as Zoom, The Sun, B&W, PDN, Shots and PhotoVision. His first book Japan; A Nisei’s First Encounter, offers insight into his journey to his mother’s Japanese homeland. Earth Meets Spirit was published by 5 Continents Editions of Milan, Italy and is distributed internationally by Abrams. His most recent book Zen & the Art of Photography is a collection of Doug’s writing. He is also the inventor of Vision Quest Photo Assignment Cards.

As founder and director of Vision Quest Photo Workshops, Doug provides workshops that emphasize personal expression and creative vision over the mechanics of camera use.  His workshops are held at art and cultural centers across the US and around the world as well as Private Workshops at the Trade River Retreat Center, his cabin/retreat center in Northwest Wisconsin.

Doug has recently become the owner and publisher of Shots Magazine, a quarterly independent journal of fine-art photography, now in it’s 32nd year of publication. Shots has long been his favorite photo magazine!

Doug continues to explore the notion of what is sacred in his photography and in his life. He lives in a small passive solar home surrounded by rocks and trees in Saint Paul, MN and when not out traveling the world he can be found tending his Japanese gardens or enjoying a strong cup of coffee while listening to loud music. Personal heroes include Jimi Hendrix, the Dalai Lama, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and whoever invented the espresso machine.