Through the recording of light, I endeavor to create a visual reverie using that which I find moving or beautiful in the world. The ostensible simplicity of monochrome serves to further strip that beauty to its essence, tonal and linear relationships, while adding a sense of abstraction to something we intuitively see as true. It's a magical process with which I quickly fell in love.

Biography

Shawn Dougherty was raised in western Pennsylvania surrounded by much of what you see in his photographs. Born in the late 1970s, he started making pictures at the age of nineteen. After several years of learning, experimenting, and working commercially, he prioritized his personal work and ceased all other photography in the spring of 2004.

Significantly influenced by Modernism from an early age, Shawn photographs almost exclusively in black and white, though has begun using a shallow depth of field in some of his recent photographs. He originally worked with film formats ranging from 35mm to 8x10 and printed in a traditional silver darkroom, but transitioned to an all digital workflow in 2016.

Shawn currently resides in the suburbs of Pittsburgh with his wife Lynn and their dog Luna.