Janet Woodcock

"I view the Barnyard project as one of classic portraiture - a collaborative effort between the subject and myself. I am interested in basic photographic considerations of framing and moment of impact, composition and light, but above all how living beings navigate their environment, their relationships to each other, and how they present themselves to the world. "

Janet Woodcock spent seven years photographing the Barnyard project and creating environmental portraits of farm animals. Working on small family farms provided a visually interesting arena in which to view the beauty, strong and varied personalities, and complex characteristics of these subjects. The physical closeness she insisted upon has set the stage for these intimate and revealing portraits presented here.

Woodcock continues to use traditional photographic processes in creating her work. Photographing with a medium format camera and film, the silver gelatin prints are each printed by hand from the original negatives in trays in her darkroom, and then toned with a series of hand mixed toners. The images are not cropped and the edge is created by printing into the clear of the film.

Janet Woodcock studied at the Art Institute of Boston and the NE School of Photography. She spent several years in newspapers, then worked as an editorial photographer and taught at NESOP before devoting all her energy to her own art projects. Woodcock's work has been shown nationally in private and public galleries, and in juried shows of the highest caliber. She has won numerous awards for her imagery.