Douglas Beasley received a BFA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he also studied Eastern Religions and Native American culture. After several years as a photo assistant and darkroom slave, he opened his own photo studio in Minneapolis, MN emphasizing commercial and editorial fashion. 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.

Doug is the founder and director of Vision Quest Photo Workshop Center, emphasizing vision and personal expression over camera mechanics. He is a past Adjunct Professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, the University of Minnesota Compleat Scholar program as well as numerous other teaching positions. His personal work has explored definitions of what is considered sacred, including ‘Sacred Sites of the Lakota’ in the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota. This seminal body of work led to a project photographing ‘Sacred Sites’ around the world. His love of the land and concern over its overdevelopment led to the project ‘Disappearing Green Space’. All three of these projects were supported by McKnight Foundation Photography Fellowships. This work has evolved into an ongoing photographic investigation of a more personal definition of ‘sacred’.

In 1999 he published his first book, “Japan, A Nisei’s First Encounter”, exploring how the sacred is incorporated into everyday life of Japan, funded by a Jerome Artists Travel Grant. He is currently working on a new book called ‘Earth Meets Spirit’ about our spiritual connection to the land. Both his personal and commercial work have been exhibited and published nationally and internationally and are supported by numerous fellowships and grants.

Personal heroes include Jimi Hendrix, the Dalai Lama and whoever invented the espresso machine.

eMail:doug@douglasbeasley.com;
website:douglasbeasley.com
blog:douglasbeasley.blogspot.com

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