Harley Cowan Photographer Information

I am a photographer based in Portland, Oregon. My interest in large format photography led to a research fellowship in architectural heritage documentation and preservation with work in the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) collection in the Library of Congress. In 2020, I was awarded the Van Evera Bailey Fellowship by Architecture Foundation of Oregon and the Oregon Community Foundation. In 2019, I was inducted by the Atomic Photographers Guild as their 38th member. In 2018, I was recognized by the Vernacular Architecture Forum as the recipient of the Access Award during the VAF National Conference in Alexandria, Virginia. In 2017, I was selected as a test photographer by the Italian film company FILM Ferrania during the pre-production of P30 Alpha film. I have been an artist-in-residence for the National Park Service and the University Club of Portland. I have lectured for the Portland Art Museum, Society of Architectural Historians, DoCoMoMo_Oregon, University of Oregon, and the Pacific Northwest Preservation Field School. My work is included in SAH Archipedia, an online encyclopedia of historic sites. My darkroom training began with Ian Beckett of Clark College. I studied large format photography under the tutelage of Ray Bidegain. I worked on location as an assistant to Eckert & Eckert Photography. A graduate of Washington State University, I was a member of the Professional Advisory Board for WSU’s School of Design & Construction for eight years. Early in my career, I spent six years working in nuclear industry. My studies also took me to Far Eastern State Technical University in Vladivostok, Russia.