Work samples

  • Heart Leaf
    Heart Leaf
    Available for Purchase
  • Horizon
    Horizon
    Available for Purchase
  • Fire and Ice
    Fire and Ice
    "Fire and Ice" Photograph, Archival Pigment Print. This photograph was made in the Jokulsarlon area of Iceland. As chunks of glacial ice washed up on the black sand shore beneath my feet, I noticed the emerging sunset. In a rare instance in which I move a subject for a photograph, I picked up one large piece of ice, carried it up the beach to a high spot where I could see the sunset through the ice, and laid on my stomach to capture the colors of the fiery sky through the glass-like texture and the window in the ice.
  • Carmine Bee-Eaters
    Carmine Bee-Eaters
    "Carmine Bee Eaters" Photograph, Archival Pigment Print. Carmine bee-eaters photographed in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia, 2018.

About Janet

Janet Jeffers is a visual artist using photography to explore intimate and abstract details in the natural and built worlds. Her photographic process is based on a practice of mindful exploration and discovery. 
 
Jeffers received her BA from Towson University and MA in Publications Design from University of Baltimore, and worked in the fields of graphic design, interior design, and broadcasting, before committing to a full-time career as a visual artist.
 
Her work… more

Still/Fluid

This is an ongoing body of work that emerged from many hours of hiking in the woods during the months of the Covid-19 pandemic. My photographic practice is one of outdoor exploration, but limited to areas close to home, I found myself revisiting the same walking trails over and over in a meditative practice. Seeking peace in a time of anxiety, I was also looking deeply into the familiar terrain to discover something new.


Drawn repeatedly to small ponds, streams, and marshy areas, I observed that in areas of still water, the surface often contains iridescent colors and metallic textures. Upon researching the phenomenon, I learned that these are the product not of pollution or petroleum, but of iron-oxidizing bacteria naturally produced in groundwater-fed streams. The colorful surfaces, fallen leaves and other organic matter, distorted reflections of trees and sky, and the shapes of rocks, sand, and streambed, all transform the water we take for granted into a source of mystery awaiting discovery. The change of seasons brings new shapes, textures, and colors, and the water sometimes turns to ice. The terrain is in constant transformation, so there is always something new to discover and reveal. This work is a reminder that small moments can contain great beauty and significance when attention is paid.


Now that I have resumed travel beyond my local area, I am continuing to develop this series of photographs in water that I find in locations ranging from the swamps of the Tidewater south to the streams of the desert southwest.

  • Burnished
    Burnished
    Available for Purchase
  • Trace
    Trace
    Available for Purchase
  • Ice Point
    Ice Point
    Available for Purchase
  • Bloom
    Bloom
    Available for Purchase
  • Pool
    Pool
    Available for Purchase
  • Into Night
    Into Night
    Available for Purchase
  • Ice Cluster
    Ice Cluster
    Available for Purchase
  • Ice Filigree
    Ice Filigree
    Available for Purchase
  • Surface Tension
    Surface Tension
    Available for Purchase
  • Reveal
    Reveal
    Available for Purchase

Rust & Relics

Combing through junkyards, abandoned train cars, metal recycling centers, shipping containers, and even dumpsters, I seek beauty in the eyesores. 
  • Circle Shadows
    Circle Shadows
  • Satin Steel
    Satin Steel
  • Surface and Sky
    Surface and Sky
  • Tripoint
    Tripoint
  • Branch
    Branch
  • Impression
    Impression
  • Klimt Rust
    Klimt Rust
  • Layers Revealed
    Layers Revealed
  • Contradiction
    Contradiction
  • Dark Grove
    Dark Grove

Secrets of the Boatyard

For several years I have been building a body of work created in the boatyards, shipyards, and marinas of the waterfront areas of Baltimore, Annapolis, and beyond. I explore the surfaces, textures, colors, and shapes of drydocked and derelict boats and barges, revealing secret subjects that are normally submerged. 
  • Rise
    Rise
  • Blue Bow
    Blue Bow
  • Grove
    Grove
  • Branch
    Branch
  • Punctuated
    Punctuated
  • Spring
    Spring
  • Impeller
    Impeller
  • Spray
    Spray
  • Pastel
    Pastel
  • Hull
    Hull

Reflecting

This body of work emerged from my explorations in the many waterfront areas of Maryland and other places. The plays of light, color, and form that flicker across moving water are mesmerizing when witnessed in motion, but they offer other opportunities when frozen in a split second of time. I tend to be a control freak, carefully composing and controlling all aspects of the images I make, but photographing these constantly changing scenes requires me to relinquish control to chance and spontaneity. There is a sense of discovery, not only at the time I witness the moving reflections, but afterwards when I see what each frame has captured. I then select individual frames that contain a balance of structure and chaos, representing the balance between deliberation and instinct I seek to achieve in my photographic practice. Some images include parts of the reflected subject, while others concentrate solely on the reflections themselves. 
  • Westport Rainbow
    Westport Rainbow
  • Boat Horizon I
    Boat Horizon I
  • Chaos and Calm
    Chaos and Calm
  • Edged
    Edged
  • Spark
    Spark
  • Becoming Blue
    Becoming Blue
  • Golden Waves
    Golden Waves
  • Barge
    Barge
  • Liquid Blue and Gold
    Liquid Blue and Gold
  • Divide
    Divide

Classic & Chrome

Over the years I have developed a series of details in old automobiles and trucks left to decay. My interest is not in the pristine, restored classics, but the forgotten ones languishing in fields and scrapyards across the country. They are photographed as I find them, with debris and patina intact. Beyond documenting the design elements of a bygone area -- the ornate chrome nameplates and flamboyant details of fenders and hood ornaments -- these remnants speak of a time that may seem to recall romance and luxury, but celebrating these vehicles in their decaying state echoes my own ambivalence about what some people believe were "the good old days." The decay evident now shows that time has indeed moved on, and that even chrome, glass and steel will eventually be reclaimed by the forces of nature. 
  • Chrome Curve
    Chrome Curve
  • Tempest
    Tempest
  • Lark
    Lark
  • Cutlass
    Cutlass
  • Power Flite
    Power Flite
  • Coronet
    Coronet
  • Premiere
    Premiere
  • Belvedere
    Belvedere
  • Chrysler Crown
    Chrysler Crown
  • Pontiac Chrome
    Pontiac Chrome

Nature Up Close

I explore the natural world -- anywhere from my backyard to a botanical garden -- with the intention of capturing the details overlooked by the casual observer. By getting up close and personal with subjects such as leaves, trees, moss, or stone, and then printing these details larger than life, I act as a magnifying glass to help viewers see what they may otherwise be missing.
  • Bamboo Eye
    Bamboo Eye
  • Birch Map
    Birch Map
  • Leaf Ladder
    Leaf Ladder
  • Moss
    Moss
  • Reflected Lilies
    Reflected Lilies
  • Glacier Stream
    Glacier Stream
  • Leaf Hill
    Leaf Hill
  • Hosta
    Hosta
  • Birch Gradient
    Birch Gradient
  • Palm
    Palm

The Intimate Landscape

Like many people, I love to visit national parks and monuments, natural landmarks, and other scenic places; however, those sites have been photographed millions of times and I am challenged to transcend the traditional "postcard" image when photographing in these places. I slow down and take the time to isolate details in a way that renders the scenery less recognizable, by focusing on the unique graphic qualities in the more intimate landscapes. Skies and horizon lines are often eliminated; reflections may be inverted, and the results become more abstract. I seek to celebrate the beauty of these places while also exploring a deeper challenge, rather than simply ticking a destination off the travel list.  
  • Pacific
    Pacific
  • Grain Hills
    Grain Hills
  • Cascades Lake
    Cascades Lake
  • Teton Foliage
    Teton Foliage
  • Pictured Rocks Sunset Arch
    Pictured Rocks Sunset Arch
  • John Day Badlands
    John Day Badlands
  • Hoh Ferns
    Hoh Ferns
  • Glacier Layers
    Glacier Layers
  • Palouse Textures
    Palouse Textures
  • Sparkling Evergreen
    Sparkling Evergreen

Polar

Several years ago I visited the Artic regions of Greenland and Svalbard, and then traveled to Antarctica a year later. These unique opportunities  allowed me to study the forms of polar ice and water in icebergs and glaciers. It was a stark reminder of how fragile the polar regions are, and how rapidly they are changing. They are some of the most magical and unspoiled locations on earth, and yet the evidence of global climate change is apparent. I sought to capture images that simultaneously portrayed the majesty and fragility of these icy domains.
  • Parade of Icebergs I
    Parade of Icebergs I
  • Ice Cave and Splash
    Ice Cave and Splash
  • Arch Glow, Greenland
    Arch Glow, Greenland
  • Iceberg Stripe, Greenland
    Iceberg Stripe, Greenland
  • Ice Basin
    Ice Basin
  • Berg Underside
    Berg Underside
  • Black Ice
    Black Ice
  • Chambers
    Chambers
  • Snowy Ice Bridge
    Snowy Ice Bridge
  • Ice Sphinx
    Ice Sphinx

Abierto: Travels in Cuba

I was fortunate enough to explore Cuba with a small group of photographers in 2015 -- we enjoyed an unusual degree of freedom to explore the cities of Havana and Santiago, going beyond the tourist district and meeting the people who live and work in the surrounding neighborhoods. They were gracious and generous with their time, and the experience will stay with me for a lifetime. I am not typically a street photographer, but this experience opened me up in many ways. 
  • Pop Fly
    Pop Fly
  • Carrot Truck
    Carrot Truck
  • Moving Day
    Moving Day
  • Vedado
    Vedado
  • Havana Before Sunrise
    Havana Before Sunrise
  • Wash Day
    Wash Day
  • Lunch Delivery
    Lunch Delivery
  • Street Soccer
    Street Soccer
  • Treat, Cayo Granma
    Treat, Cayo Granma
  • No Pase
    No Pase

Desert Southwest

The deserts of the American southwest continually call to me, ever since my first trip out west, over 25 years ago, when I also began to pursue my interest in photography. Since then, I have returned numerous times, and I find new subjects every time, even when I return to old favorite locations. 
  • Nestled
    Nestled
  • Scissure
    Scissure
  • Tincture
    Tincture
  • Wash Gem
    Wash Gem
  • Paria
    Paria
  • Inhabitation
    Inhabitation
  • Valley of Fire
    Valley of Fire
  • White Pocket
    White Pocket
  • Zion Hill
    Zion Hill
  • Sunrise Wash
    Sunrise Wash