Frank Relle

Place: New Orleans

Born: 1976

Biography:

Frank Relle is an American photographer born and based in New Orleans, Louisiana. He graduated from Tulane University with degrees in Cognitive Science and Philosophy. Since 2005, his work has been included in several museum collections and in private collections around the world. Best known for his long-exposure photographs of New Orleans architecture at night, Relle received national and international attention in early 2005 with 'New Orleans Nightscapes.' The series depicted, among its architectural subjects, homes in New Orleans’ 9th Ward in varying states of decay and dilapidation following Hurricane Katrina. Using a combination of high-pressure sodium, mercury vapor, and daylight-balanced hot lights to illuminate his subjects, Relle bathes his images in haunting color and light that invite the viewer to slow down and to see the familiar as uncanny. Relle's work is featured in the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. His photographs have been printed in The New Yorker, The Southern Review, and Oxford American, as well as many other regional, national, and international publications. He is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2007 International Photography Award and the 2019 Michael P. Smith Award for Documentary Photography. Relle was also included in Photolucida's Critical Mass Top 50 Photographers lists in 2007 and 2010.