Douglas Beasley’s personal vision explores the spiritual aspects of people and place and is concerned with how the sacred is recognized and expressed in everyday life. He hopes that his photographs act as prayer-like offerings and are meant as a departure point for the viewer’s own visual or spiritual journey.
After receiving a BFA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he also studied Eastern Religions and Native American culture, he worked for several prominent commercial photo studios as a photo assistant and darkroom slave. Both helped him develop a appreciation for 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. This evolved into shooting throughout the country for various advertising, educational, public service and non-profit clients. He currently works on fine-art based commercial projects around the world.
Much of his 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. His most recent book Earth Meets Spirit was published by 5 Continents Editions of Milan, Italy and is distributed by Abrams.
As founder and director of Vision Quest Photo Workshops, Beasley provides workshops that emphasize personal expression and creative vision over the mechanics of camera use. He believes in helping each student find their own voice rather than making anonymous ‘pretty pictures’. His workshops are held at art and cultural centers across the US and in Ireland, Peru, Italy, Guatemala, Norway, Japan, and China as well as the Trade River Retreat Center, his cabin/retreat center in Northwest Wisconsin.
Doug continues to explore the notion of what is sacred in his photography and in his own life. He lives in a small passive solar home surrounded by 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 and whoever invented the espresso machine.
“Douglas Beasley travels as a seeker, not a tourist. He makes photographs not as a reaction to the otherness of people, places and cultures, but becauseof a feeling that exists deep within himself. HIs destinations in the world are connected by his photographs which give viisible form to invisible maps of the eternal. They are miraculous imaginings of of beauty, suffering and longing of the human body, mind and soul.”
– Franco Salmoiraghi, Photographer/Educator, Honolulu, HI
