Janis Be is a photographer, professor, and outdoors enthusiast. She is most at home on the road or on a long-distance trail. Her ongoing cross-country project, Down on Main captures the unique identities of small towns across America. While documenting diverse social landscapes, the images further reveal Janis’ sense of humor and love of irony, particularly when focusing on unusual signage and surprising juxtapositions. Janis also has a passion for capturing the heart and soul of the boxing community, documenting the fast-paced action in the ring along with more contemplative moments behind-the-scenes.
Janis has undertaken extensive study of photography and the creative process with David Ulrich through Pacific New Media and was recently awarded a professionalization grant from Arizona Photography Alliance. In 2022 she was selected for the ICM Photography Mentoring Award which allowed her to work under the tutelage of Morag Paterson. Janis has employed intentional camera movement to visualize sound as vibration, the anxiety of productivity culture, and the immersive quality of flow states. Three distinct photo-essays in this style have been featured in ICMPhotographyMagazine. A ten-image portfolio from her Down on Main series was accepted into the Contemporary Photography in Hawai'i Exhibition 2025 (Ann Jastrab, Juror). Other photographs from this project have appeared in Ojos de Whitman, a bilingual digital magazine showcasing creative work by members of the Whitman community, and Loosenart’s Humans Landscapes, an international juried group exhibition (Millepiani Exhibition Space, Rome).
A Professor of Hispanic Studies at Whitman College, Janis specializes in visual literacies with an emphasis on teaching the skills of critical thinking and academic writing. She offers courses on film, comics/graphic novels, and photography in the context of human rights and social justice. A prolific scholar, Janis has published over forty peer-reviewed articles, catalog essays, exhibition reviews, and interviews. These publications cover such diverse topics as addiction, Alzheimer’s, trauma, collective memory, and the relationships of word and image in visual texts from around the world.