Nancy Lehrer
Nancy Lehrer, is an independent photographer based in Thousand Oaks, California who uses photography to capture her unique world-view. In her book Life Happens in Color - A Street Photography Manifesto, Nancy declares her commitment to the use of color, and to telling compelling visual stories. Her earliest photojournalist recognition came at a summer camp at the young age of 10 where, armed with her father’s Kodak Brownie camera, she earned the position of camp-photographer documenting the summer’s activities.
Although Nancy holds Masters degrees in Music Performance and Computer Science, she has always held on to her passion for photography. She has studied photography from several American and International photography masters including Jay Maisel, Sam Abell, Gerd Ludwig, Arthur Meyerson, and Jane Evelyn Atwood.
Nancy has been distinguished in being selected in the Photolucida Critical Mass Top 200 2025 for her work documenting the role of women. This work will be the subject of photography monograph to be released in Spring 2027 by Daylight Book. In addition, she has exhibited and received many awards throughout the community including several honors at the Los Angeles Center for Photography, the Ojai Arts Center, the Helms District Gallery, and the Westlake Arts Guild.
Nancy has self-published several books on photography including her photographic manifesto Life Happens in Color, and Life at the Gardens, a photographic essay on her parents adapting to life in a senior living facility. Her book 2 Mega-Pixels or Less explores the use of first-generation low-resolution camera-phones as a means of photographic expression. Her latest efforts include handmade portfolio books focused on individual locations and subjects.
Blurb Bookstore: http://www.blurb.com/user/store/inancy
Awards and Exhibits
October 2025: Apprehension - Los Angeles Center of Photography: Into Your Eyes: Photographic Portraiture in the Digital Era. Juror Nicholas Fahey of Fahey/Klein Gallery
October 2025: Jazz on Hollywood Boulevard and Celebration Kingdom Day, Behind the Glitter - A Portrait of Los Angeles exhibit at the Helms District Gallery
August 2025: Photolucida Critical Mass Top 200 - Woman in the World
June 2024: Truck Repair 1st Place, Ojai Arts Center
January 2018: The Meeting and Moving Day. PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury Vermont – The Decisive Moment. Juror Sam Abell https://photoplacegallery.com/decisive-moment/
January 2018: Little Man, L.A. Curator “Street Shooting”. Honorable Mention, Juror Julia Dean. Online exhibit http://www.laphotocurator.com/
November 2017: City of Angels (solo exhibit 17 prints). Four Friends Gallery, Thousand Oaks California.
June 2017: Cuban Farm Roosters, Ojai Arts Center Photo Exhibit, 2nd Place. Exhibit includes works featuring the theme “The Animal Kingdom”. Jurors Jeffrey Crussel, Dr. Linda Bogart.
February 2017: For Hire, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury Vermont – The Color of Light. Honorable Mention. Juror Arthur Meyerson
February 2017: Photos from Japan. Four Friends Gallery, Thousand Oaks California.
January 2017: Neighbor Envy, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury Vermont – Composed. Juror Sam Abell
August 2015: Featured Photographer Los Angeles Center of Photography
July 2015: Los Angeles Center for Photography, Annual Members Exhibit at DNJ Gallery in Bergamot Station. Santa Monica CA
June 2015: Ojai Arts Center Photo Exhibit – Honorable Mention. Exhibit included works featuring the theme “Peace”. Ojai CA
February 2015: Los Angeles Center for Photography, First Annual Street Shooting Exhibit. Hollywood CA. Juror Sam Abell
July 2014: Havana Morning, Ojai Arts Center Photo Exhibit, 1st Place. Exhibit included works featuring the theme “Long Lasting”. Ojai CA. Juror Serge Aragonés
Books
Japan: A Cherry Blossom Edition. Handmade book, self published, self printed, contact for more information.
Women in the World. Handmade book, self published, self printed. Limited edition, sold out.
Life Happens in COLOR – A Street Photography Manifesto. By Nancy Lehrer. Declaring Nancy’s commitment to the use of color to tell compelling visual stories. Blurb 2018
The Downtown L.A. Photography Challenge with John Free: A weekend documenting downtown Los Angeles. 2017
Life at the Gardens: Documenting my parents transition from their home of over 50 years to an assisted living senior apartment. 2015
Ireland Impressions: Ireland as most often experienced… through a rain soaked window. Blurb 2015.
2-MegaPixels or Less is a book devoted to the exploration of cell phone photography before the iPhone. It is a collection of work consisting exclusively of images taken with a 2MP cell phone. Blurb 2008
Los Angeles, Yesterday Today is a photo documentary work of today’s culture against the backdrop of what is left of Los Angeles early 20th century architecture in downtown Los Angles, Hollywood, and Santa Monica. Blurb 2008
Blurb Bookstore: http://www.blurb.com/user/store/inancy