Nancy Farese Photography

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Nancy Farese Photography

Since its inception photography has been used as a tool for social change; to expose abuse, tell a story, and drive social action.

I work with NGOs to achieve that end, and to advertise their diverse missions for social betterment. I have enjoyed partnerships with such organizations as The International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, The Carter Center, Room to Read, Magic Bus India, Right to Play/USA, Internews, and the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center. I also do this work because my “camera can take me someplace I otherwise don’t belong." I find myself in a village of weavers high in the Andes of Peru, watching a child learn to play in peace at The San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center, or sitting with a Ugandan woman entrepreneur in a hut on the banks of the Nile that floods every year and has no running water but remarkably she wears a clean white apron and smiles with pride as she tells me her story of success; I pinch myself often. I can’t run a weaving co-opt for 600 village weavers, and I can’t interpret the sandbox play of an abused child to understand her trauma, and her therapy, but I can see them through my lens. I can see the light drawing a line around the face of the genocide survivor telling her story in Rwanda. I can see the reflections of the kids playing soccer in the drizzle at a refugee camp in The West Bank. I can see the stories that bind our human experience, helping me to understand as much about myself as those that appear in my images.

10/23/2026

Another view of central plaza in Boyacan, - called the cradle of Colombian liberty.

10/22/2026

The pink bag of potatoes hangs in the farm shed, the light coming through the plastic walls reflecting onto a pool of water, a trough of some sort, but there’s also a toothbrush, a cooking pot, farm boots. Maybe this is the kitchen sink?

The sack of potatoes tells the story of CARE ‘s She Feeds The World program. In this land of the potato where 300+ varieties grow, CARE works with cooperatives of farmers to boost output and quality, creating a steady supply chain for PepsiCo’s Lays potato chips. Against a backdrop of Venezuelan migration, violent guerrilla groups in the jungles nearby, and extreme poverty, this is an example of pride, success, and resilience.

It’s also an example of the effective leverage of CARE’s activity and humanitarian work post-defunding of USAID- they stretch dollars to support back-to-back earthquakes, and they develop human capacity by working with local talent and partners to respond to crisis.
I’ve traveled all over the world, riding on a wave of assumption that America could be great by being good, and that we all shared that interest. This past year has shaken a lot of that conviction, but then I arrive here, in Colombia with the CARE team, and see that the roots of this activity are still here, struggling to succeed in this new funding environment, but the resilience of people and the force of need continues, steady as always.

If you want to know more about CARE’s work supporting humanitarian work through women and girls all over the world or especially in Colombia, let me know. I will connect you. CARE Colombia CARE

10/19/2026

I’m in Colombia w CARE , settling in here in Bogota before heading to the border tomorrow. More to come!

10/02/2026

Late summer into fall-

10/02/2026

IF YOU FIND YOURSELF IN MARIN, come by The Image Flow to see the terrific new photo exhibition opening Saturday, October 10 from 5 to 7, and up through January 8. The work is beautiful and dynamic, one of the best group shows I have seen in a while

I’m honored to be part of this collective of terrific work.

This piece is from a new body of work, Mapping Dissonance, a visual journal of America in 2025. There are many books and articles analyzing what has gone so terribly wrong with American democracy. This project is not that. What I’ve tried to do here is organize a visual record of how I experienced the year using media, text, thread, and my photographs–collaged, layered, as confused as I’ve been myself—to reflect upon the questions I have, and the anger I hold. The project attempts to offer the texture of that experience.
“Your Mental Health v. TikTok” is included in the Bay Area Photography Open Exhibition at The Image Flow - on view through January 8. Reception is October 10th.

09/23/2026

Glimpses of summer. And beginning to think about how I record these two tracks running simultaneously – beautiful light in the cold water of a Tahoe lake while the political fabric is tearing apart around us. It’s a split screen, a double exposure. I’m just insisting that the quiet beauty is there all along, defined by its consistency, persistence, and what it refuses to do – scream for attention. I am recording that, too.

09/14/2026

What is the sound of social resilience?

This project began with a question: Where is your 3rd Place?
Where do you go when you’re not at home, and not at work, to hang out, feel connected, find your people?

For a lot of us, the answer is nowhere.

A third place is that other space: cafés, parks, libraries, dog walks, yoga classes, beaches, book groups. The casual places you return to for a conversation, a chance encounter, a reason to stay longer than planned. They’re social glue. They bind us together and make us feel less alone.

For some, the internet is that place.

The Archive of Third Places is a record of human flourishing, and an invitation to go find your own. They’re out there, all around us, waiting for you.

I’m honored to have this piece as a finalist in the upcoming exhibition of Women Street Photographers in Barcelona Spain, opening November 5 thank you! Women Street Photographers ® WSP Gulnara christelle enquist

09/01/2026

Scene on the ferry

Mull, Scotland

08/31/2026

Address

San Francisco, CA

Website

http://nancyfaresephotography.com/

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