Documenting the practice of civic science in monochrome: a photo essay

Photography has long been a personal outlet for me as a way to slow down and really observe the environments around me. It has been that way ever since I got my Sony Alpha 3000 DSLR as a gift from my wife back in 2016, which I still use today. Over the years, I’ve explored landscape, macro, and architectural-street photography. Some of that work has been self-published in the Reflections book series, but much of it actually lives on Google Maps, where I have found a more dynamic way to share it.

For a long time, I treated this creative pursuit as separate from my professional work. But one thought kept resurfacing: what if I could connect this passion with my professional work of documenting the civic landscapes of science? Looking back now, the link seems obvious, but I was too close to see it at the time.

I’d long admired Ansel Adams’ black and white landscapes. I found stripping away color asked more of me. I had occasionally experimented with monochrome images, but it all clicked when I began applying that approach to photographs I was already taking at science engagement events and of civic science activities more broadly that I encountered in the field. The absence of color opened up new questions and new ways of seeing.

I wondered if others would respond in the same way. Slowly, through feedback and conversations, I realized they did.

The images in this small collection represent some of that work, which I have come to describe as civic science photojournalism as a way to document the practice of civic science visually. The images reflect moments in time that are meant to prompt the viewer to pause, reflect, and perhaps enter into conversation. It is often those conversations, when I am talking with viewers at exhibits, that linger with me most.

I have been fortunate to exhibit in galleries across Massachusetts such as the Attleboro Arts Museum, Fountain Street Gallery in Boston, The Beebe Estate in Malden, and Follow Your Art Community Studios in Melrose over the past few years. Other locations include the New York Academy of Sciences, Brandeis University, New York Institute of Technology, and the University of California, San Francisco. Along the way, I have also received microgrants from funders such as the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Biochemical Society from the United Kingdom, and the American Society for Cell Biology’s COMPASS Outreach funding program. Altogether, these opportunities have encouraged me to continue exploring my artistic side to surface questions and spark new conversations among civic science enthusiasts.

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These photographs represent a small selection of moments that illustrate some of the categories civic science photojournalists might choose to focus on. These include spaces, gatherings, people, installations, ideas, impact, and so much more. Each category represents a point of interaction that offers moments for documentation and reflection. My vision is for this work to be showcased at science museums, scientific conferences, local art galleries, and other spaces where it could spark new conversations.

Behind the scenes

Most of the work is completed with my Sony Alpha a3000 ILCE-3000K 20.1 MP Mirrorless Digital Camera, but I also mix it up with my iPhone. The DSLR is quite old, relatively speaking and cumbersome to carry around, but it gets the job done. Over the years, I have upgraded the lenses to improve the quality of the photos. I currently shoot with the Sony SELP 18105G E PZ 18-105mm F4 G OSS lens. Below are some of the images behind the scenes.