About Carolyn Brown

Born on windswept grasslands in northeastern Colorado in the United States, Carolyn Brown has used her life and career to document some of the world's most beautiful scenery, natural and man made. For the past decade, her work has taken her throughout Central America, Mexico and the Southwestern United States for her exhibit, "Sacred Space: Man and the Divine in Mexico, Central America, and the Southwestern United States."

"This experience transformed my life," said Brown. "These ancient sites are especially fascinating, because they are steeped in rich history and often reflect the patina of unbroken use through the centuries. The photographs of sweeping landscapes and small places of devotion - all portraying God's handiwork - are my attempt to depict, in the most beautiful way I know, the holy places belonging to these historic lands."

Carolyn Brown has been photographing ancient architecture and the natural world since 1980, when her talents were commissioned for the text "Upper Egypt," by Longman of England, and later for "Aswan and Abu Simbel," by American University of Cairo Press. In search of ancient material closer to home, she journeyed to Mexico in 1991 to photograph pre-Hispanic archaeological sites and churches dating from the 16th century.  

In 2000, this work became the very large exhibition, "Sacred Space, Man and the Divine in Mexico, Central America and Southwestern United States".   The exhibit included over 200 photographs, some enlarged to 30 feet, and mounted on large scaffolding.   Images from this ten-year period are the inspiration for further exploration of the fascinating world of spiritual Mexico.  This project was made possible by the collaboration with the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man at Southern Methodist University, the Dallas Historical Society, and the Mexican Government.  Without the help of the Mexican Government Tourism Bureau and El Instituto Mexicano de Cooperacion Internacional the project could not have been completed.  Travel was provided by Aeromexico.

Through the years, Carolyn has received travel grants to photograph in Iraq, Rwanda, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Mexico, Lebanon and Syria. She continues her work in Mexico, the Middle East and elsewhere to enhance a large archive of ancient sacred places, both  manmade and natural.

While she has traveled the world to photograph famous places, some of her favorite images were found in her own backyard. In June 1994, "Dallas: The Shining Star of Texas," co-authored with Jim Donovan, was published by Voyageur Press. In 1997, "Dallas, World Class Texas," co-authored with Annette Strauss, was published by Towery Press.   In 2004, Verve Editions produced her most recent book on Dallas, “Dallas Where Dreams Come True”.

To view Dallas and Middle East photos, go to www.carolynbrownphotographer.com