Biography
Debra Small
debrasmallphotography.com
Debra Small received her bachelor’s degree in Biology in 1978 from the University of California, Riverside. She worked as a scientist for the State of California for over 10 years. Returning to her love of photography, Debra received her associate of science degree in photography as well as her certificate of achievement in photography in 2015 from Sierra College, Rocklin, CA. She received her Master of Fine Arts in photography at the New Hampshire Institute of Art, Manchester, New Hampshire, in July 2018.
As a fine art documentary photographer, Debra explores important environmental and socio-political issues. She shoots in digital as well as medium and large format film. She also uses alternative process photography to create her images. Her current body of work is a fine art documentary project exploring wildlife and habitat loss due to suburban development.
Her work has been exhibited in numerous juried and non-juried exhibitions and has received a number of awards including Artistic Distinction Award, ‘Light Is All’ exhibition, Stone Voices Magazine; Honorable Mention, 2012 Photography Competition, Artist Portfolio Magazine; Finalist, 2013 International Fine Art Photography Award, Grand Prix de la Découverte; Honorable Mention, 2013 American Art Today: Figures Exhibition, The Bascom, Highland, North Carolina; 2013 Hallberg Merit Scholarship Award for artistic achievement; 2014 Nudes, A Romantic Encounter, Solo Exhibition, Viewpoint Photographic Gallery, Sacramento, CA; 2015 Best Photograph Still Point VII Art Exhibition; Finalist (3 images) 2015 7th Edition of The Julia Margaret Cameron Award for Women Photographers; 2016 Berlin Foto Biennale, 4th Biennial of Fine Art and Documentary Photography in Berlin, Germany; 2018 Perspectives Exhibition, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California; 2018 Master of Fine Arts Summer Thesis Exhibition, Sharon Arts Center Gallery, NHIA, Peterborough, New Hampshire; 2018 Alternative Processes Exhibition, SoHo Photo Gallery, New York, New York; and 2019 Habitat Lost, Solo Exhibition, Viewpoint Photographic Gallery, Sacramento, CA.
Recently her work has been published in the Sierra Journal, Stone Voices Magazine, Still Points Arts Quarterly Magazine, the 7th Edition of the Julia Margaret Cameron Award for Women Photographers, the Berlin Foto Biennale, Emotions and Commotions across Cultures, Hawk and Handsaw – Journal of Creative Sustainability, and Lenscratch – Fine Art Photography Daily (http://lenscratch.com/2019/07/debra-small-habitat-lost-negative-effects-of-suburban-sprawl-on-ecosystems/ ).
