About the Artist

Heather Kerr is a photographer based in Maryland.

She began with her dad's Canon AE-1 and learned wet darkroom processing at Sheldon Institute in the fifth grade. In her mid-twenties she attempted to ride a bicycle from Sunderland to Edinburgh. The group was bad enough at cycling that they never once reached a town before the restaurants closed; she returned with approximately five hundred photographs, the word bellend, and the discovery that English foothills, despite the quite dainty-sounding name, are to her surprise actual mountains. Some of those photographs are in this gallery.

The work

She photographs from where she is standing. Railings, windows, fences, rain on glass, the arm of a sofa, the back of a sign. The things between her and the view tend to end up in the frame, on purpose. The photograph is usually a record of two things at once: what she was looking at, and where she was looking from.

The work moves between landscape, industrial interiors, and quiet domestic scenes. A wild egret on the pipes of a water treatment plant. A tall ship passing behind a wedding arbor. Arlington through an iron fence. A heart drawn in the condensation on a rainy window. Different subjects, same instinct.

Common questions

Can I use these photographs?

Yes, for non-commercial use. Teachers, students, librarians, community organizers, and church newsletters are welcome to download and use anything in the archive. A credit to Heather Marie Kerr is kind, but I won't chase you down if you forget.

What counts as commercial use?

Anything where someone is selling something or being paid: ads, product packaging, book covers, paid editorial, marketing materials, resale prints. If you're not sure, email me and ask. The answer will almost always be yes, go ahead.

How do I license commercial use?

Send me a note describing the project, the print or screen size, and where it will appear. I write a one-page license keyed to the use. Pricing is reasonable and depends on scope.

Do you take commissions?

Selectively. Landscape, architectural exteriors, and atmospheric work in the Mid-Atlantic and the UK are the easiest fit. Weddings and portraits are not what I do.

Where are the photographs taken?

Mostly Maryland, the Mid-Atlantic, England, and a handful of trips farther afield. The archive is sorted by region so you can browse by place.