Snow day teaching, and a glimpse of what has been on my mind this year so far.
(I should have said these were all photographed on the Kodak Charmera I got for Christmas. It's a cute little camera)
#kodakcharmera #toycameraphotography
📷 Huge thank you to everyone who came out to the What Was, What Is: Portrait Experience, put on at @miadcollege in conjunction with the @ourmothersourselveslegacies exhibition. These are some of the highlights of the night! It was so enjoyable to engage with everyone about my odd little process.
🗓 Come see the full show this Friday Oct 17th 5-9pm during Gallery Night!
And a serious huge thanks to @miad.photo for being allowed to set up in their lighting studio for the workshop!
#MIAD #photography #fineartphotography #milwaukeeart #milwaukeephotography #familyarchives #milwaukeeinstituteofartanddesign #maternallegacy #portraitphotography
At "What Was, What Is: A Portrait Experience with Nic Umbs," participants explored memory, history and legacy through a century-old family camera adapted for the digital age. 📸
The workshop was presented in conjunction with Our Mothers Ourselves (@ourmothersourselveslegacies ), now on view in MIAD’s Frederick Layton Gallery.
@nicumbs@miad.photo #MIAD #MIADcollege #photography #portraitphotography
Last test image and teaser post before the portrait event tonight! Stop on by at any point between 6 and 7:30pm, I'll be down at MIAD, on their second floor in the lighting studio taking portraits!
It's free, it will be fun, theres many galleries full of art, and I hope to see you there!
✨ What Was, What Is: A Portrait Experience with Nic Umbs 📸
📅 Oct 2 | 6–7:30 pm | MIAD 2nd Floor Lighting Studios
Step into an unforgettable evening of memory, history, and legacy told through photography. Using a century-old family camera adapted for the digital age, Nic Umbs creates haunting portraits that explore what we remember and what time erases.
🎟️ First-come, first-served
Presented in conjunction with Our Mothers Ourselves, now on view in the Frederick Layton Gallery at MIAD.
@ourmothersourselveslegacies@miadcollege@miad.photo
#MIAD #photography #fineartphotography #milwaukeeart #milwaukeephotography #familyarchives #milwaukeeinstituteofartanddesign #maternallegacy #portraitphotography
Tomorrow!! Free!!
✨ What Was, What Is: A Portrait Experience with Nic Umbs 📸
📅 Oct 2 | 6–7:30 pm | MIAD 2nd Floor Lighting Studios
Step into an unforgettable evening of memory, history, and legacy told through photography. Using a century-old family camera adapted for the digital age, Nic Umbs creates haunting portraits that explore what we remember and what time erases.
🎟️ First-come, first-served, free
Presented in conjunction with Our Mothers Ourselves, now on view in the Frederick Layton Gallery at MIAD.
@ourmothersourselveslegacies@miadcollege@miad.photo
#MIAD #photography #fineartphotography #milwaukeeart #milwaukeephotography #familyarchives #milwaukeeinstituteofartanddesign #maternallegacy #portraitphotography
Our Mothers Ourselves: Legacies That Shape Us is honored to add local Milwaukee artist NIC UMBS.
🎯 Swipe to see artist works and statement
✨Memento Vitae explores the fragility of memory and legacy through a dialogue between family archives and photographs made with my mother’s maternal grandfather’s 1917 Kodak camera. Restored just enough to function, the camera’s distortions parallel unresolved family dynamics—concealing and revealing connections between generations, while echoing the gaps in inherited narratives.
🔴 Artist Bio: Nic Umbs is an image-maker and educator raised and based near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His work employs digital photography, film, alternative processes, video, and applied scientific/mathematical techniques to solve image-making challenges. His artistic research explores human connections—to the environment, to one another, and to the concept of family.
📍See their work, along with 11 additional Artists at the Frederick Layton Gallery @miadcollege September 18 - December 13, 2025.
@nicumbs@miad.photo@miadcollege #photography #fineartphotography #milwaukeeart#milwaukeephotography #miad #miadcollege#milwaukeeinstituteofartanddesign #maternallegacy#familyarchives #artgallery #newexhibition #fineartgallery#photoexhibition #photographer #artistsofınstagram#miadgalleries #gallerynight
For his project 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘝𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘦, Nic Umbs (@nicumbs ) repurposed his great-grandfather’s broken Kodak Brownie camera to explore the concept of family through the lens of a malfunctioning heirloom. The device introduces leaks and exposure issues that “conceal relevant contextual information” akin to the hidden aspects of dysfunctional family dynamics:
“Each photograph exists as a fractured memory,” says Umbs. “These disruptions mimic the loss of information within a family album; images remain throughout generations, but stories and names often disappear.”
🔗 Read an interview with the artist at the link in bio!
📝 Article by Epiphany Knedler @epiphanysk
[1] Legacy [2] Legacy [3] Self Portrait with Great Grandfather’s Camera [4] Heirloom (Unicorn) [5] Legacy [6] Lion’s Den Gorge
The last Test-strip-teaser for my work in “Atmospheric Wisconsin: Six Impressions” before my group of artist talks tonight at 6pm. Guntis Lauzums, Vicki Reed, and myself will be talking. Talks will be about 10 minutes long and I found out I'm going first! I hope to see you there :D
(p.s. I have all the lore to talk about tonight)
#AtmosphericWisconsin #MidwestArt #MidwestArtists #DeadpanPhotography #FineArtPhoto
Thursday! 6pm at @cedarburgartmuseum , artist talks by the remaining three artists (myself included). Come see “Atmospheric Wisconsin: Six Impressions” and chat with the artists. Also, if you are into it, the beer garden out back will be open. As a bit of a teaser of the lore, these two images are of places that have been on my mind for 3 years. I've photographed them many times, through different seasons and construction zones. Come to my portion of the talk to hear more :D
#AtmosphericWisconsin #MidwestArt #MidwestArtists #DeadpanPhotography #FineArtPhoto
Another art show? Tonight! Opening reception from 6-8pm! At the Racine Art Museum - Wustum Location I have two pieces (teasers shown above) that are in the Wisconsin Photography 2024 Exhibition. I know a few other people that have some cool pieces in the show too, so come check it out :D
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Thank you to those that stopped by thr Cedarburg show, I still have a few teasers left before I give a talk on the 12th. Also, I am bad at sharing things…so don't worry, I will stop spamming soon lol
#WisconsinPhotography2024
![For his project , Nic Umbs (@nicumbs) repurposed his great-grandfather’s broken Kodak Brownie camera to explore the concept of family through the lens of a malfunctioning heirloom. The device introduces leaks and exposure issues that “conceal relevant contextual information” akin to the hidden aspects of dysfunctional family dynamics:“Each photograph exists as a fractured memory,” says Umbs. “These disruptions mimic the loss of information within a family album; images remain throughout generations, but stories and names often disappear.” Read an interview with the artist at the link in bio! Article by Epiphany Knedler @epiphanysk[1] Legacy [2] Legacy [3] Self Portrait with Great Grandfather’s Camera [4] Heirloom (Unicorn) [5] Legacy [6] Lion’s Den Gorge](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6773277220252929406228_0_1eebbeb4feffc887ab2fc773b93df52b.jpg?o=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&h=75703e598551ef780131bbee94825aa2)
