Zone VI Photography Gallery
The Zone VI Gallery was initiated by Professor Emeritus, Richard E. Jurus, and features the regular exhibition of Photography student work. This space also features work from the annual Faculty Exhibition in the fall as well as Student work during the Fine Art Student Exhibition and the Graduation Portfolio Exhibition in the spring.
Current Artist:
Emily Bierman
ART 2294 – Photography Portfolio Development
Portfolio Concept: Animal Farm
Past Artists:
Ethan Rebholz
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Experiencing the Apocalypse Through a Survivor's Eyes
Jillian Gehring
Art 1171 – Studio Photography
Portfolio Concept: Costumed Portraits
Katie Weekley
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I 
Portfolio Concept: Anxiety & Trapped
Lilly Stefan
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I 
Portfolio Concept: Abandoned Places/Urban Decay
Ethan Shober
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I 
Portfolio Concept: Solar Eclipse
Emilia Peters
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Patricia Rae: Vintage style printed with text overlay of song lyrics
Jillian Gehring
Art 2294 – Photography Portfolio Development
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Portfolio Concept: Fairytale
Arden McHugh-Braham
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Coming Back to Life
Caleb Neal
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Abandoned, Discarded
Gabby Lindsey
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Feminism/Women's Struggles (Body Image, Mental Health)
Mihir Patel
Art 2294 – Photography Portfolio Development
Portfolio Concept: Lost Habitat
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Alone (each image holds some kind of emotion)
Ashlyn Haywood
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Life with Autism: The feelings associated with sensory issues and meltdowns
K.J. Clouse
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: A 1950s housewife gets murdered in her own home.
Jillian Gehring
Art 2294 – Photography Portfolio Development
Portfolio Concept: Fairytale
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Finding Waldo
Art 2294 – Photography Portfolio Development
Portfolio Concept: Grief through Nature
Mihir Patel
Art 2294 – Photography Portfolio Development
Portfolio Concept: Lost Habitat
Candice VanSickle
Art 1162 – Black & White Darkroom Photography II
Portfolio Concept: Emotion into Heaven - Even moving into the afterlife, I have a strange belief that souls and spirits still linger and show within the statues that represent them in this life.
Sinclair Fine Art Student
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: The Excitement & Innocence of Girlhood - The nostalgic feeling of female friendship, memories, and the bittersweet feeling of growing pains/growing old.
Jillian Gehring
Art 1162 – Black & White Darkroom Photography II
Portfolio Concept: Fairytale.
Mihir Patel
Art 1162 – Black & White Darkroom Photography II
Portfolio Concept: Double-sided--everything has a second side to it.
Joshua Matthieu
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Humankind's Relationship with Cars
Joan Galbraith
Art 1162 – Black & White Darkroom Photography II
Portfolio Concept: Loved Ones in Flowers & Foliage
Jillian Gehring
Art 1170 – Non-Silver Photography
Portfolio Concept: Portraits
Doug Batty
Art 1162 – Black & White Darkroom Photography II
Portfolio Concept: Flowers
Gillian Bishop
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Mental Health (Your Burdens ) - Inspired by Album Cover
Aryam Albalawi
Art 1162 – Black & White Darkroom Photography II
Portfolio Concept: Views of Carillon Historical Park
Hannah McCurdy
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Graffiti in Dayton
Michael Teegarden
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Self-exploration—Exploring my past
Kristen Nicholl
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: "Not here" - Dissociation (Definition: Disconnection/lack of continuity between thoughts, memories, surroundings, actions, identities)
Kierra Low
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: The pursuit of truth means self-reflection.
Bonnie Hobbs
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Isolation in suburbia with a focus on depth of field manipulation and blocked sight.
Aryam Albalawi
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Food in Coffee Shops
Douglas Brand
Art 1171 – Studio Photography
Portfolio Concept: Wet Plate Collodion Portrait Prints
Jacob Peake
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Self Portrait
Cionna Howard
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Kids at Play
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Artist Statement
This portfolio is showing what a portion of my life looks like as someone who has Crohn's. It shows some of the ups (like having a dog shaped heating pad) and some of the downs (like having to take loads of pills every day).
Ann Dankof
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Reflection
Donald Adams
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Details in Nature
Megan Courtaway
Art 1171 – Studio Photography
Artist Statement
“Come fairies, take me out of this dull world. For I would ride with you upon the wind and dance upon the mountains like a flame.” -W.B. Yeats
My work reflects the place I go to when I escape from the stress of this life. I can drift off to the universe of magic, mythology, and fairytales. Though grounded in this realm, I escape life’s chaos and havoc by traveling to a much calmer and more peaceful place that exists within my photographs. Where we exist in a world of fast pace, busy schedules, and chaos, I try to capture a moment in beauty and grace that fairies often give off within the fairy tales they come from.
My daughter and daughter’s friends were my inspiration for this theme and gives the viewer different visions of fairies. I was able to accomplish these images from the combination of studio lighting, costumes, make up and 3-d props to evolve my idea. Formal studio lighting patterns such as Loop, Butterfly, and Rembrandt, create subtle, yet clearly visible effects within each image. Between the work I was able to accomplish in Studio Photography, and my vision I bring the world of fairies a little bit closer.
Jillian Gehring
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Life During COVID
Kim Hall
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Buildings & Cemeteries
Joan Galbraith
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: Body + Horror
Art 1161 – Black & White Darkroom Photography I
Portfolio Concept: A Documentation of Passover - My FAMILY's Passover and the Importance of Being Together Throughout Hard Times
Elizabeth Carner
Art 2294 – Photography Portfolio Development
Portfolio Concept: Beautiful Dead or Alive
Amber Shepherd
Art 1170 – Non-Silver Photography
Megan Courtaway
Art 1170 – Non-Silver Photography
Artist Statement:
“The Moon has awoken with the sleep of the sun. The light has been broken; the spell has begun.” ~Midgard Morningstar~
My photos here show how the seasons of nature affect the subject within the work. At the time these were taken fall was upon us and so was Halloween. I decided instead of fairies and the renewal of spring, I chose what comes with fall, the coloring of the leaves and falling of them. Also, the spooky season seemed to ground me to nature at the time. I choose to go with witches and had different locations through out Northern Ohio.
I was able to capture these images of my black and white film for photography and transfer and enlarge the negatives to ortho litho film. Once these were dry, I brought them home and used the alternative printing processes I have learned from Non-Silver Photography. I used the process of van dyke brown, single gum processing, and multi color gum processing. There are three images within the work that have each type of these processes done. The Van dyke brown gives it a vintage feel to it but the other gives these images color.
Annette Campbell
Art 1162 – Black and White Darkroom Photography II
Artist Statement:
We are all photographers in this day and age with our ever-ready camera phones. For me there is something about shooting images on film. It’s the anticipation of whether you took a great picture, an ok picture, or nothing at all. For my Black & White Darkroom Photography II class portfolio, I took one element and started a chain that would link each picture with one element from the prior picture. In developing these pictures, I used an array of filters and techniques to bring out the best in each print. For me I find developing the film to be just as much an art form as taking the picture.
Past Artists:
Madisyn Bunch
Art 1162 – Black and White Darkroom Photography II
Artist Statement:
I really started getting interested in photography when I was in high school, so once I graduated, I noticed Sinclair had a Black and White film photography class that I knew I wanted to take. Over the last semester I really got into toning photographs, so for my final I wanted to do something that I love to do, which is take pictures of nature and animals and only tone the animals. That way there is a little contrast that keeps your eyes looking at the image. The first step I did was rubber cement the animal only, and I did put a couple coats of rubber cement on the animal that way I can make sure that no toner would get on the animal at all. My second step was getting the photograph wet and then placing the photograph in Sepia A, which is like a bleach. I then would let it process until it got light enough. My final step was putting the photograph in Sepia B, which then brings the photograph back to life and gives you the brown-look in the image while the animals are still gray, directing your focus to the animals while still allowing you to look at the contrast of the nature in the background.
Brittney Lowe
Art 2294 – Photography Portfolio Development
Artist Statement:
THE LIGHT ANGEL
Hi my name is Brittney and these photos are a part of my final for my Photography Portfolio class. I had a lot of fun doing them. In my photographs, I wanted to display the message that everyone can be an earth Angel in someone’s life and be a blessing to them. You can be an Angel in disguise without them ever knowing it. In our world today, we gotta be a light to those around us.
Samuel Smith
Art 1162 – Black and White Darkroom Photography II
Artist Statement:
Portraits of my friend, Destiny Davis, using a technique called combination printing.
This body of work is about perceiving the self.
Megan Courtaway
Art 1162 – Black and White Darkroom Photography II
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Artist Statement:
Hello, my name is Megan Courtaway and you are looking at my Black and White Photography 2 portfolio. My inspiration for this was, of course, the fall, spooky Halloween season. So, I grabbed a bunch of girls I work with and used my daughter and some of the others I use to babysit as models for my witch-themed photoshoot. After this was done and I started working on a theme for my portfolio and came up with using Kool-Aid to tone my images. I got the idea from another photographer in my class after she used black cherry soda to tone one of hers. So, I looked into some different coloring ideas and Kool-Aid came to mine along with coffee and Dr. Pepper. In the photos you will see where I used the colors and didn’t use them. For instance, where there is no color I used rubber cement, and that made the color not absorb into the paper. On one photo I used red and purple Kool-Aid and painted them on my kids in the picture. Then once they dried, I put rubber cement on them and toned the rest of the image with coffee. So here is my witch-themed portfolio toned with Kool-Aid.
Ke Xu
Artist Statement:
FINDING CONNECTION WITH THE FOREST
The theme of my project is inspired by one of my favorite movies, Stalker. The forest as shown in the movie really captures an isolating and mysterious ambiance of a post-apocalyptic environment in a way I feel is beautiful. For me, the movie portrays a great relationship between humans and nature. I went to multiple local forests to shoot my pictures. I hope my pictures can transfer you some of the same emotions I found within Stalker.
Annabelle White
Artist Statement:
FROG AND TOAD ARE FRIENDS ONCE MORE
The very idea of nostalgia is rooted in vagueness. A vague feeling, memory, or long forgotten history. The idea for Frog and Toad initially came from stuffed animals in a used bookstore and has now multiplied into a vague feeling of happiness as you view these photos. Frog and Toad have meant a great deal to me ever since I was a child, and I hope I can share that emotion through these photos.
Samuel Smith
Artist Statement:
WHAT A LIFE IS OURS!
“What a life is ours! Doesn’t anybody in the world anymore want to get up in the middle of the night and sing?” -Upstream, Mary Oliver-
This collection of work reflects the influence Poet Mary Oliver had on me growing up in the suburbs of Ohio. My sister, Sunnie, and I take photos on a hot summer day north of Dayton, 2022.
Marissa Nunez
Artist Statement:
HANDS
As life always does, I have been through challenges in life that have brought me full circle back into photography. Out of high school, I had a scholarship for photography, but I joined the United States Army Reserve instead. After getting out of the Army and starting a family, I realized my passion for photography was still deeply rooted within me. Having children woke that sleeping giant within. “Hands” was inspired by my children; their innocence and growth inspired me to capture images of their hands, as they are their most used tool in their young lives. The sense of feeling life in their hands is so important, and I feel that documenting that was deeply significant to me. I plan on continuing to document my children’s growth through my photography.
Mihir Patel
Artist Statement:
BEAUTY OF SIMPLICITY
The beauty of simplicity is not only how attractive something is when you look at it but the deeper meaning such simple things can have, like my photographs here. They may look simple and you may be attracted to some of them based off of how they look, but if you take the time to look at the photographs, you will find a deeper meaning of the images and each image has a deeper and different meaning to each person that views them. When I was looking at these photographs, I found a deeper meaning for me and that is how I named them. So the deeper meaning behind each photo no matter how simple they may look is the true beauty of simplicity.
Bret Klassen
Artist Statement:
Our society has changed and continues to change in large, amazing ways. We have electric, self-driving cars, ability for everyone to produce their own movies and overnight goods delivery. I chose to look through still-life juxtaposition of old and new, at the small, mundane changes that we take for granted yet make such a difference in daily living. Just looking at how we store things that are important to us such as medicine, music, and food, highlights how much our lives have changed without the fanfare of something like a new drone package delivery service. Change and wonder does not have to grandiose to be valued. If we take the time to look at the simple things around us, we develop a new appreciation for how we have improved our lives and truly live in a time of wonder.
Avery Miller
Artist Statement:
DISTORTION IN SELF PERCEPTION
Before taking this Black and White Darkroom Photography class, I never cared for one medium more than another: I just loved the catharsis I felt when creating, the power to use my negative emotions/feelings and turn them into something beautiful, something that I can put out into the world with hopes that it may resonate with others as well.
Unlike other mediums where each brushstroke needed to be perfect, film photography is all about capturing the beauty of a moment and having no idea what the end product will be. Not having to worry about every detail during the creation process takes away a lot of stress my perfectionist self tends to feel when creating in other mediums. I love the freedom that the developing and editing process allows and all the happy accidents that come with it.
My final project explores the nonlinear, imperfect journey of self-love in a time when social media rules our lives and further perpetuates unrealistic beauty standards. My work emphasizes that the journey to self-love is inherently neutral in that there will be both good and bad days concerning how we view ourselves, especially in comparison to the extreme and unnatural amount of media we consume daily. Days where we look in the mirror and see an unrecognizable blur in place of ourselves and days where we can see ourselves clearly. Our relationship with ourselves is something that’s constantly evolving. It’s a natural process—so if you are struggling, know you are not alone.
Kelyn McCoy
Artist Statement:
Growing up in the backwoods of Texas, my childhood was spent outside. The dirt trails winding between the giant oaks and sycamores along the creek were more home to me than any paved sidewalk would ever be. As I grew up, the wonder of childhood was replaced with a thirst for knowledge and understanding of the natural world, which still enchants and amazes me today. This sense of awe is something I have lovingly nurtured in my own children. Adeline, Marilyn, and Jillian, pictured here at ages five, three, and seven months respectively, spend much less time outdoors than I did at their ages mostly due to lack of opportunity.
My husband and I make it a priority to take them out for hikes and explorations as much as possible, frequenting local nature reserves for small expeditions like this one at Glen Helen Nature Reserve in Yellow Springs, Ohio. These photos capture the girls’ wonder and awe as they learn through play, careening down the trails to see what might be around the bend, and sharing a few quiet moments of rest. As I look at my daughters immortalized here in back and white, crouching to look at an insect or flower, standing tall to breathe in the cool mist of falling water, my heart breathes a deep sign of relief knowing they too will have this to carry with them; the memory of these days of wonder, spent beneath the trees with each other.
Aliyah Bing
Artist Statement:
My name is Aliyah Bing, and these photos are a part of my final portfolio for my class, Black & White Photography. The photos were created around this theme: the imaginary can be as real as reality. You can assume a lot of daydreaming and dissociation from these images. Many of the ideas for my photographs came from an attempt at visualizing a collection of poems I had written this past winter. My common method was taking a normal photo, and then using overlays of cardstock or tracing paper to add “imaginary” elements.
Amy Grantonic
Artist Statement:
For my ART 1162 final portfolio, I chose to focus on studio portraiture as my theme. To set up each shot, I had the model stand in front of a plain black background and used two soft box lights, one in front of the model and one to the side. I positioned the lights in this way so that the model would be well-lit without any harsh shadows. The portfolio was shot on 35mm black and white film and printed in the darkroom on fiber-based paper. After printing, I used selenium toner which brought out the rich, dark tones in the photographs. Once the toning process was complete, the photos were dry-mounted for presentation.
Megan Courtaway
Artist Statement:
Hello, my name is Megan Courtaway and these photos I chose for my portfolio deals with creative motion. When I chose my idea, I wanted to be able to capture my kids playing, not fulling understanding what creative motion meant at first. As I began taking pictures for this, I loved watching my kids running and playing in the leaves, celebrating fall and the cool weather. It was amazing to see how fast he camera could capture the kids playing but also gave the pictures a spooky feeling because the kids' motion blurred pretty well. Mainly in my photos are my children and a friend's twin boys playing at the park. This was a lot of fun to do with my kids because they could just play naturally and have a good time while the pictures were being done. Thank you for looking at the pictures and I hope you enjoyed them.