About

Lyn M. (L.M.) Archer | artist statement

I’m an award-winning storyteller and image maker anchored in the Pacific Northwest.

Writing and photography entered my life early via my father’s eclectic artist friends, including writer Frank Herbert, author of Dune, and photographer Jini Dellaccio.

From Dellaccio’s pioneering work, I learned the power of unconventional black and white images to tell a story. Other photographic icons whose work has influenced me deeply include Sebastião Salgado, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Edward S. Curtis, Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, Robert Capa, Lee Miller, and Phil Borges.

Additionally, I studied fine art and art history at Smith College and Gage Academy.

These studies exposed me to the works of Da Vinci, Dürer, Vermeer, Vuillard, and other masters of light, chiaroscuro, and pattern.

Art studies also taught me about composition, perspective, negative space, color theory, and other concepts crucial to image making.

A freelance writer for consumer, b2b, and b2c publications worldwide, I’ve long documented my writing travels, often with my iPhone as ‘sketchbook,’ later augmented with my Nikon.

In 2020, my image “Patrimoine” placed third in the World Photography Wine Photographer of the Year ‘Places’ category. Commendations for other submissions followed in 2021 and 2024.

I am also a graduate of the 2025-2026 UW Photography Certificate program, a member of the America Society of Media Journalists, and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association.

As a writer, I’ve learned to discern ‘the space between’ – the subtext not visible on the page. Therein lies the soul of the story.

As a photographer, I work in the quiet realm of black and white.

Ultimately, I seek to respect the soul of my subject, and in doing so, touch the soul of the viewer.

Link to my written work here.

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