Revealing the infrastructures that shape our sense of place

Annette LeMay Burke Paris portrait

Artist Biography

Annette LeMay Burke (b. 1964) is a photographic artist and Northern California native based in Silicon Valley. Trained as a geologist at University of California, Berkeley and a veteran of the tech industry, she brings both scientific insight and an insider's perspective to her subject: how infrastructures — technological, geological, architectural, and domestic — reshape the western landscape and mirror the complexities of contemporary life.

Her monograph, Fauxliage: Disguised Cell Phone Towers of the American West, was published by Daylight Books in 2021 with a foreword by Ann M. Jastrab.

Burke’s work has been featured in more than 100 exhibitions worldwide, including the Royal Geographical Society in London, the Griffin Museum of Photography, the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel, Photo London, and Head On Photo Festival in Sydney. Her distinctions include Photolucida’s Critical Mass Top 50 (2022 and 2026), LensCulture Critics’ Choice, and semifinalist honors for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery’s Outwin 2022. Her photographs have been published in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, The Times (UK), Hyperallergic, Australian Geographic, Society Magazine, Il Fotografo, Sierra Club Magazine, and Elle Decor Italia, among others.

Her prints are held in the Wieland Collection (Atlanta), the Colorado Photographic Arts Center, and Imago Lisboa (Portugal). Her monograph is held in the libraries of LACMA, Princeton University, Stanford University, and more than a dozen other institutions.

Burke is a co-creator of Memory is a Verb: Exploring Time and Transience, a traveling exhibition presented at museums and galleries across the United States, and a founding member of Maverick Photographers, a Bay Area photography collective.


Artist Statement

My photographic practice engages the American West as a landscape shaped by time, memory, and human intervention. Using strategies such as temporal layering, typologies, and the serendipitous nature of the photo road trip, I focus on places where natural landforms intersect with built infrastructures. These sites reveal tensions between the land’s deep histories and the accelerating demands of contemporary, technology-driven life. My images uncover both the visible marks of environmental change and the more ephemeral traces that accumulate over time, treating the landscape as a living palimpsest of memory and transformation.

Contact: annette@atelierlemay.com

Curriculum Vitae

Download CV


SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024
  • Krause Center for Innovation Gallery, Los Altos, CA – Fauxliage

SMALL GROUP TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS

MEMORY IS A VERB (CO-CREATOR)
2026
  • Danforth Art Museum, Framingham, MA (Curator: Jessica Roscio)
  • Vermont Center for Photography, Brattleboro, VT
  • PhotoSC, Columbia, SC
2025
  • The Art Center Highland Park, Highland Park, IL
2023
  • Oceanside Museum of Art, Oceanside, CA (Curator: Marisa Caichiolo)
  • Dallas Center of Photography, Dallas, TX (Curator: Emily Edwards)
  • Bonsack Gallery, St. Louis, MO (Curator: Molly Moog)
  • Brand Gallery, Glendale, CA (Curator: Dr. Rotem Rozental)

COMPASS: NEW DIRECTIONS IN NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY (CO-CREATOR)
2027
  • Arts Warehouse, Delray Beach, FL

SELECT INVITATIONAL AND JURIED EXHIBITIONS
2027
  • Los Angeles Center of Photography, Los Angeles, CA – Critical Mass 2026
2026
  • SF Camerawork, San Francisco, CA – Forecast 2026 (Jurors: Janet Delaney, Omar Farah, Jonathan Mark Jackson)
  • Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA – 2026 International Juried Exhibition (Juror: Lisa Volpe)
  • Los Angeles Center of Photography, Los Angeles, CA – Expand and Contract: American Documentary Photography in the 21st Century (Honorable Mention) (Juror: Dr. Rotem Rozental)
  • Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA – 2026 Members’ Juried Exhibition (Juror: Dr. Rebeca Senf)
  • Los Angeles Center of Photography, Los Angeles, CA – Reservoir: Photography, Loneliness and Well Being (Curator: Dr. Rotem Rozental)
  • Lenscratch - Online, The 2026 Fault Lines Exhibition, July 4, 2026 (Jurors: Norm Diamond and Marcy Palmer)
2025
  • Photo London 2025, London, UK – LensCulture New Discoveries
  • Harvey Milk Photo Center, San Francisco, CA – Into the Complete Unknown (Curators: Melissa Castro Keesor & Katherine Akey)
  • The Curated Fridge, Somerville, MA – Leftovers, Winter 2025 (Juror: Yorgos Efthymiadis)
2024
  • Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA – 2024 International Juried Exhibition (Juror: Elizabeth Avedon)
  • International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum, Online – Behind the Veil (Juror: Elizabeth Opalenik)
  • Candela Books + Gallery, Richmond, VA – UnBound13! - The Curated Fridge (Juror: Dominique Muñoz)
  • Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, CO – 2024 Annual Members' Show (Best in Show) (Juror: Brent Lewis)
2023
  • Head On Photo Festival 2023, Sydney, Australia – Australian Geographic Environmental Award Int’l Runner-up (Fauxliage - Airport Approach), On-line Exhibitor (Fauxliage series), Portrait Semi-finalist
  • Forestry England and The Royal Geographical Society, Multiple locations, UK – Earth Photo (2 images)
  • Museum of Nature of Cantabria, Cantabria, Spain – Art in Nature III - The Instant of Creation (Juror: Marisa Caichiolo)
  • Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA – 2023 International Juried Exhibition (Juror: Shana Lopes)
  • Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle, WA – Imminent Existence, Critical Mass Top 50 Exhibition (Juror: Arnika Dawkins)
  • Hellerau Photography Award, Dresden, Germany – Portraits 2023 (Theme: Surface) (Memory Building Series)
  • Texas Woman’s University, Denton, TX – Joyce Elaine Grant Exhibition and Endowment (3rd Place) (3 images) (Juror: Shana Lopes)
2022
  • Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, GA – APG Airport 2022 (2 images) (Juror: Lisa Volpe)
  • Los Angeles Center of Photography, Los Angeles, CA – 2nd Annual Project Exhibition (6 images) (Juror: Ann Jastrab)
  • Davis Orton Gallery, Hudson, NY – Memory and Dreams (12 images) (Juror: Karen Davis)
  • Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA – 28th Annual Juried Exhibition Show (Jurors: Frances Jakubek & Iaritza Menjivar)
  • Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA – Portfolio 2022 (6 images) (Juror: Karen Haas)
  • All About Photo, Online – All About Photo Awards 2022 (Jurors: Ian Berry, Paula Tognarelli, Ann Jastrab, Manfred Baumann, Tom Price, Guiseppe Oliverio, Sandrine Hermand-Grisel)
  • Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA – 2022 Members’ Juried Exhibition (Juror: Crista Dix)
  • Frederic C Hamilton Fine Art Gallery, Aurora, CO – Luminaries (5 images) (Curator: Jasmine Chu)
2021
  • Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA – 2021 International Juried Exhibition (Jurors: Debra Klomp Ching and Darren Ching)
  • Los Angeles Center of Photography, Los Angeles, CA – The Creative Portrait (Juror: Aline Smithson)
  • Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO – In Conversation with the Land (Juror: Karen Haas)
  • Lenscratch, Online – Vernacular Photograph Exhibition, June 12, 2021 (1st Place) (Juror: Greg Sand)
  • Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle, WA – Time Capsule Juried Exhibition (2 images) (Juror: Shamim M. Momin)
  • Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA – 27th Annual Juried Exhibition Show (Juror: Paula Tognarelli)
  • Candela Gallery, Richmond, VA – Unbound 10!
  • Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, CO – 2021 Annual Members' Show (Director’s Choice) (Juror: Aline Smithson)
  • Imago Lisboa Photo Festival 2021, Lisbon, Portugal – The Family in Transition (10 images)
  • Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA – 2021 Members’ Juried Exhibition (Juror: Susan Burnstine)
  • Association of Photographers, London, UK – 2020 AOP Open Award, Series (Finalist) (4 images) (Jurors: Anne Manion and Tim Flach) *Exhibition at One Canada Square Lobby, Canary Wharf cancelled due to COVID-19*
2020
  • Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA – 2020 International Juried Exhibition (online) (Juror: Aline Smithson)
  • Texas Photographic Society, Houston, TX – TPS 29: The International Competition (Juror: Elizabeth Avedon)
  • Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA – 26th Annual Juried Exhibition Show (Juror: Alexa Dilworth)
  • Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, CO – Annual Members' Show (Juror: Ann Jastrab)
  • Academy Art Museum, Easton, MD – New Photography II (2 images) (Juror: Philip Brookman)
  • Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA – 2020 Members’ Juried Exhibition (Jurors: Ann Jastrab and Laura Sackett)
2019
  • Texas Photographic Society, Houston, TX – Urban Landscape (Juror: Jamie Stillings)
  • Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, CO – Annual Members' Show (Juror: Kat Kiernan)
  • Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA – 25th Annual Juried Exhibition Show (online) (Jurors: Julie Grahame and Paula Tognarelli)
  • Texas Photographic Society, Houston, TX – TPS 28: The International Competition (Juror: Arthur Meyerson)
  • Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle, WA – PCNW 22nd Juried Photography Exhibition (Jurors: Conor Risch and Lara Behnert)
2018
  • Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA – 2018 International Juried Exhibition (Juror: Eve Schillo)
  • Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, CO – Lies (4 images) (Juror: Richard McCabe)
  • The Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO – Landscapes 2018 (2 images), Honorable Mention, (Juror: Allie Haeusslein)
2017
  • Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA – 2017 International Juried Exhibition (Juror: Philip Brookman)
  • Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, CO – Americana (2 images) (Juror: Darren Ching)
  • Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA – 2017 Members' Juried Exhibition (Jurors: Elizabeth Corden and Jan Potts)

BOOKS
2026 2021
PUBLICATIONS AND PRESS
2026 2024
  • Il Fotografo, Issue 351, December 2024, by Livia Corbò
  • Dodho Magazine, Issue 29, June 2024, by Maxim Panés
  • California Sun, Memory Building, June 18, 2024, by Mike McPhate
  • AAP Magazine, Women, February 2024, Issue 38, by Sandrine Hermand-Grisel
2023 2022 2021 2017
ARTIST TALKS AND PANELS
2026
  • Artist Panel, Memory is a Verb (moderated by Karen Haas, Lane Senior Curator of Photographs at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston), Vermont Center for Photography, Brattleboro, VT, August 30
  • Artist Panel, Memory is a Verb (moderated by Jessica Roscio, Danforth Director), Danforth Art Museum, Framingham, MA, May 17
2025
  • Artist Panel and Book Signing, Into the Complete Unknown (moderated by Ann Jastrab, Executive Director at Center for Photographic Art), Harvey Milk Photo Center, San Francisco, CA, November 18
2022
  • Artist Talk, Portfolio 2022 - Fauxliage, Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA, June 2
  • Artist Talk, Memory is a Verb, Los Angeles Center of Photography, Los Angeles, CA, January 20
2021
  • Artist Talk, Fauxliage Book Launch, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA, May 7
  • Artist Talk, Photobook Weekend, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA, May 15

SELECTED AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
2026
  • Winner – Critical Mass Top 50, Photolucida (Prime Location series)
  • Shortlist - Trieste Photo Days 2026 Project Selection with Mark Powers, Trieste, Italy
2025
  • Critics’ Choice – Critics' Choice 2024, LensCulture (Juror: Megan Wright - Memory Building Series)
  • Best in Show – 2024 Annual Members’ Show, Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, CO
2024
  • Critics’ Choice – Critics' Choice 2024, LensCulture (Juror: Megan Wright - Memory Building Series)
  • Best in Show – 2024 Annual Members’ Show, Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, CO
2023
  • International Runner-up – Australian Geographic Head On Environmental Award, Head On Photo Festival, Sydney, Australia
  • Shortlist – Earth Photo, The Royal Geographical Society and Forestry England, London, UK
  • Finalist – Portraits 2023, Hellerau Photography Award, Dresden, Germany
2022
  • Winner – Critical Mass Top 50, Photolucida (Memory Building series)
  • Semi-finalist – The Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC – for Snuggies, Remote and Buck
  • Critics’ Choice – Critics' Choice 22, LensCulture (Juror: Dimitri Beck – Fauxliage image)
  • Winner – Architecture Photography MasterPrize – Other Exterior Category, Architecture MasterPrize, Los Angeles, CA
  • 2nd Place – 2nd Annual Project Exhibition, Los Angeles Center of Photography, Los Angeles, CA
2021
  • Winner – The Family in Transition, Imago Lisboa Photo Festival 2021, Lisbon, Portugal
  • Director’s Choice – 2021 Annual Members’ Show, Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver CO
  • 1st Place – Vernacular Photograph Exhibition, Lenscratch, Online
2020
  • Finalist – AOP Awards, Open Category - Series, Association of Photographers, London, UK
2017
  • Finalist – Critical Mass Top 200, Photolucida (Fauxliage series)

SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Prints
  • Wieland Collection, Atlanta, GA
  • Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, CO
  • Imago Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
  • Arte Al Límite, Santiago, Chile
Books
  • Basel University Library, Basel, Switzerland
  • Dresden University of Technology, SLUB Library, Dresden, Germany
  • Duke University Libraries, Durham, NC
  • George Washington University, Washington, DC
  • Georgetown University, Lauinger Library, Washington, DC
  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, CA
  • Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Godine Library, Boston, MA
  • Mechanics’ Institute Library, San Francisco, CA
  • Princeton University, Firestone Library, Princeton, NJ
  • Stanford University, Cecil H. Green Library, Stanford, CA
  • Texas A&M University, Evans Library, College Station, TX
  • University of California, Berkeley, Doe Library, Berkeley, CA
  • University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
  • University of Chicago Library, Chicago, IL
  • Zayed University Library, Dubai, UAE

EDUCATION
  • BA - Geology, University of California, Berkeley, CA

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