Kristy Belle Headley (b. Ohio, 1984) is an alternative photographer who illustrates the ecosystems of relationships and inflection points of change, exploring nostalgia, stagnation, and impermanence. She crafts dreamlike imagery using historic and experimental photographic techniques which involve hand application or manipulation of light-sensitive emulsions, including mordançage (bleach-etch), salt prints, cyanotype, and wet plate collodion.
Her professional background is in fine art photography, gallery management, and notable archival imaging operations, specializing in digitization of books, large-format works, and 3-dimensional objects. Kristy is the Director of Scott Nichols Gallery in Sonoma, California, and recruits workshop instructors at The Image Flow in San Anselmo, California. She maintains a dry studio darkroom at the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in San Francisco.
CV
(Direct link here.)
Kristy Belle Headley
San Francisco, CA
Education
2007 BFA, 2-Dimensional Studies: Drawing and Painting, Minor: Marketing, Bowling Green State University
Exhibition Record (* forthcoming)
Invitational Exhibitions
2023 CPAC Grand Opening Print Auction, Colorado Center for Photographic Art, Denver, Colorado
2022 8x10 Fundraising Exhibition, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Group Exhibitions
2023 The Natural World, Digital Group Exhibition, Analog Forever Magazine, Online
2023 The Art of Illusion, Digital Group Exhibition, Analog Forever Magazine, Online
2022 Projector Party, Curated by Christopher Azar/Alana Heiss, San Francisco, California
2022 Through Many Dangers, Digital Group Exhibition, Analog Forever Magazine, Online
2021 CPA International Juried Exhibition 2021, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
2021 Hierarchy, Gearbox Gallery, Oakland, California
2021 17th Annual Magnitude Seven Exhibit, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
2021 I Used to Travel, Digital Group Exhibition, Analog Forever Magazine, Online
2021 Noir, Digital Group Exhibition, Analog Forever Magazine, Online
2021 The Pleasure of Color, Gallery 1337, Art Works Downtown, San Rafael, California
2021 5th Annual Alternative Process Photography Exhibition, The Image Flow, Mill Valley, California
2017 2nd Annual Alternative Process Photography Exhibition, The Image Flow, Mill Valley, California
2007 Cream of the Crop, Presidential Gallery, Bowling Green, Ohio
2007 Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Thesis Exhibition, Dorothy Uber Bryan Gallery, Bowling Green, Ohio
2006 Arts Extravaganza, Fine Arts Center, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio
2006 Undergraduate Art & Design Exhibition, Dorothy Uber Bryan Gallery, Bowling Green, Ohio
2005 Undergraduate Art & Design Exhibition, Dorothy Uber Bryan Gallery Bowling Green, Ohio
2004 Undergraduate Art & Design Exhibition, Dorothy Uber Bryan Gallery, Bowling Green, Ohio
2003 Pioneer Arts and Crafts Festival, Pioneer, Ohio
2002 Focus Art Show, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio
Presentations
2021 Common Ground, Moderated Artists’ Panel, Magnitude Seven, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
2021 Artists’ Symposium, The Pleasure of Color, Gallery 1337, Art Works Downtown, San Rafael, California
Publications
2023 Contributing Artist, Swell Magazine, Issue 1 *
2021 Portrait of a Photographer, Dave Rollans, Dave Rollans Photography
2021 CPA International Juried Exhibition 2021, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
2021 Contributing Artist, The Hand Magazine, Issue 34
2021 Contributing Artist, Shots Magazine, Issue 152, Secret Worlds
2021 Contributing Artist, The Hand Magazine, Issue 33
2021 Manifest Exhibition Annual, Manifest Gallery, s017
2021 Contributing Artist, Clearline Zine, Issue 003
2021 Contributing Artist, Color Tag Magazine, Color Tag: Vol III
2021 Contributing Artist, The Hand Magazine, Issue 32
Public Art
2020 Mural & Construction Crew, Slow Streets Parklet, Harrington Galleries, San Francisco, California
Honors and Awards
2022 Veritas Editions Academy, Workshop Scholarship for Mordançage, Veritas Editions, Craig Alan Huber
2021 Jurors Special Selection, I Used to Travel!, Digital Group Exhibition, Analog Forever Magazine, Laura Moya
2007 President’s Selection, Cream of the Crop, Bowling Green State University, Sidney A. Ribeau
2007 Honorable Mention, Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Thesis Exhibition
2004 Art Talent Award, Bowling Green State University
2003 Art Talent Award, Bowling Green State University
2003 Honorable Mention, Pioneer Arts and Crafts Festival
2002 Honorable Mention, Focus Art Show, Toledo Museum of Art
2002 Honorable Mention, Black Swamp Arts Guild
Photographic Education
2022 Mordançage Workshop, Art Intersection, Gilbert, Arizona, Elizabeth Opalenik
2020 Lumens, Photographic Resource Center Boston, virtual, Sarah Pollman
2020 Cyanotypes, Photographic Resource Center, virtual, Susan Murie
2017 Advanced Wet Plate Collodion, RayKo Photo Center, San Francisco, California, Erin Mahoney
2017 Mordançage, RayKo Photo Center, San Francisco, California, Ashley Valmere Fischer
2017 Digital Negatives to Silver Gelatin, RayKo Photo Center, San Francisco, California, Carlos Arrieta
2016 Lectures on Digital Photography, Google, Mountain View, California, Marc Levoy
2015 Wet Plate Practice (Instructor’s Assistant), RayKo Photo Center, San Francisco, California, Carlos Arrieta
2015 Wet Plate Collodion: In-Camera Process, RayKo Photo Center, San Francisco, California, Carlos Arrieta
2007 Histories of Photography, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, Dr. Andrew Hershberger
Relevant Experience
2022 – Gallery Director, Scott Nichols Gallery, Sonoma, California
2022 – Workshop & Outreach Coordinator, The Image Flow, San Anselmo, California
2021 – 2022 Gallery Manager, Collectors’ Photography Gallery, Corte Madera, California
2018 – 2018 Operations Manager, Digital Assets, Ditto, San Francisco, California
2016 – 2018 Digitization and Testing Manager, Internet Archive, San Francisco, California
2013 – 2016 Tools Technical Project Manager, Customer Solutions, Google Fiber, Mountain View, California
2011 – 2013 Technical Solutions Specialist, Google Research, Mountain View, California
2010 – 2011 Triage Technician, Google Book Search, Mountain View, California
2008 – 2010 Imaging Operations Technician, Google Book Search, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Art Fairs
2023 Photo Forward, Photographic Arts Council Los Angeles (PAC•LA). Los Angeles, California
2022 The Photography Show, Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD). New York, New York
Portfolio Reviews
Presentations
2021 Facilitator, Beverly Conley with Kristy Headley. Collectors’ Photography Gallery, Corte Madera, California
2021 Facilitator, Jon Krotinger with Kristy Headley. Collectors’ Photography Gallery, Corte Madera, California
Skills
Alternative and Historic Process Photography: cyanotype, mordançage, salt printing, wet plate collodion
Film Photography: traditional darkroom, 35mm black & white, 35mm color stereoscopic photography
Archival Imaging: digitization of 2-D books and large format works, 3D scanning and texturizing object assets
Technical Writing: human-readable how-tos, work instructions, flowcharts, frameworks for decision making
Registrar: database administration, metadata management, condition reports, conservation handling, logistics
Selected Press
Wet Plate Collodion
2019 Technical Advisor, “Recreating the Look of 1850s Tintypes in Digital with Math and Science”, Peta Pixel
2019 Technical Advisor, “Recreating 1850s Vintage Photography (and IR!)”, Phil Warren Photography
Performance Art
Eye of San Francisco on Salesforce Tower, San Francisco (Collaborative)
2018 San Francisco’s Salesforce Tower Lights up as the Flaming ‘Eye of Sauron’ on Halloween - NBC
2018 Over 1,300 People Are Asking Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff to Turn Salesforce Tower - Business Insider
2018 Turn Salesforce Tower into Eye of Sauron on Halloween Night (Petition) - Change.org
Camp EAT ME’s Awful Waffles (Burning Man, Collaborative)
2018 Burning Man 2018 in photos, from the fabulous to the far-out - USA Today/Reno Gazette-Journal
2017 At no-commerce Burning Man, ‘just put your wallet away’ - USA Today/Reno Gazette-Journal
2016 Itch to build (with a hammer) lasts long after Burning Man - USA Today/Reno Gazette-Journal
2015 Burning Man lures techies with siren song of going unplugged - USA Today/Reno Gazette-Journal