An “Urban Naturalist” is the term that describes photographer Zandra Chestnut. Taking advantage of state and national parks, including communities in her hometown of Washington, DC, Chestnut looks for that “close up” view, and with timing and skill, catches that “once in a lifetime image.”

Chestnut’s photographic eye and appreciation for what is outdoors was developed in her childhood and inspired by her favorite artists Georgia O’Keefe and Gordon Parks. Her interest in photography was put on hold during her earlier years as a working wife and mother with children. In addition to self-training, she has received formal training in techniques of digital photography from the Corcoran School of Art. Chestnut is co-founder of the Center for Green Urbanism and the Tubman-Mahan Gallery in Washington, DC.

Chestnut’s photography is published in the “Colors of Life,” a compilation of photographs by fellow Exposure Group members, and the federal publication, “America’s Great Outdoors Report.” Chestnut’s fine art has been part of both juried and non-juried exhibitions in galleries throughout the Washington, DC metropolitan area, including: the Sewall-Belmont House and Museum in Washington, DC, the MOCA Gallery in Washington, DC, the Art Institute of Washington in Rosslyn, Virginia, the Huntington Community Center in Bowie, Maryland, the Banneker-Douglass Museum in Annapolis, Maryland, the Charles Sumner Museum in Washington, DC and the Arts Barn in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Recent exhibits include: “A Slice of Life” at the Dennis & Phillip Ratner Museum in Bethesda, Maryland, HerStory6, “The Era of Our Dreams” at the Tubman-Mahan Gallery, “Revealing the Treasures of the East,” at the Parish Gallery both in Washington, DC and the Colors of Life at Gallery Serengeti in Capital Heights, Maryland. Zandra is presently a member of the Exposure Group (African Americans Photographers Group in Washington, DC) and the Washington Project for the Arts.

Contact her at 202-396-7340, by email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .