Born in upstate New York in 1970, Nancy Bruno has been fascinated with black and white photography her entire life. As a little girl, she would search for images in books and in antique frames at her grandmother’s home, hoping to glimpse into the past to better understand the present.
Her love of photography and curiosity in human nature would ultimately lead to a career as an accomplished photographer and writer. Nancy has mastered two different areas of her craft: documentary photography and architectural/interior design photography. As a documentary artist, Nancy's unique style of becoming “invisible” to her subjects allows them to live unencumbered by the presence of a camera. With each series, her goal is not only to portray the essence of her subjects in their truest expression, but also to allow the audience to create meaning through their own eye.
As an architectural and interior design photographer, Nancy's eye for angles, symmetry and detail allow her to capture the simple elegance and spaciousness of any room or building. Preferring to work on location and with the environment’s natural lighting and design, her images reflect the true nature and beauty of each space.
Nancy attended The State University of New York at Binghamton, where she earned a B.A. in literature and rhetoric and another B.A. in historical sociology. Two years after graduating from SUNY, she enrolled in Union College, also in upstate New York, where she earned an M.A.T. in social studies. In 1996, Nancy moved to Montreal, Canada where her fiancé had been transferred for work. While volunteering with a women’s literacy program, Nancy started taking photography and printmaking classes at the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts. It was there that she created her first documentary that examined Canadian life during the cold, long winter. A year after moving to Montreal, Nancy and her husband relocated again to London, England where she continued studying photography and printmaking.
Since moving back to upstate New York in 2001, Nancy has worked as a documentary photographer, telling stories through the medium of black and white 35mm photography. She currently runs her own business, Nouns Photography, where she specializes in capturing the essence of people, places and things. Some of her photo-documentary series include: “A Breed Apart,” which documented the bonds of a community devoted to thoroughbred horse racing; “Boy’s Day Out,” which depicted the simple beauty of a father and son relationship; and “The Road Trip,” which examined how architecture influences life in a metropolis or small town.
Nancy's latest photo-documentary project, The Beautiful Women Project, challenges the traditional definition of beauty by examining the lives and experiences of 35 everyday women. The exhibition has been touring throughout New York since 2006, teaming up with non-profit organizations such as YMCA Reach Out for Youth, the American Heart Association and ToLife! to help raise money and awareness for their causes. She has recently developed the project into an inspirational photography book,