Brendan Hoffman
About Brendan Hoffman
Brendan Hoffman (b. Albany, NY, 1980) is a photographer based in Washington, DC. He began his career in 2007 after working at a desk for several years in the non-profit sector. He divides his time between client and personal work. Assignments often involve covering news and politics for publications such as TIME magazine or the New York Times. His personal projects reflect his interest in the ways in which economic and political structures shape modern society. His ongoing project “Stand the Middle Ground” is an exploration of contemporary middle class America in the context of free trade and the decline of manufacturing in a small Iowa town. Brendan has received awards for his photography from Pictures of the Year International, the White House News Photographers Association, and other organizations. He has worked in a variety of countries for both editorial and NGO clients, and is a co-founder of Prime.
awards + honors
2013 Review Santa Fe, selected participant
2013 Pictures of the Year International, Award of Excellence, Campaign 2012
2013 American Photography 29, Chosen for The Archive
2013 New York Portfolio Review, selected participant
2013 White House News Photographers Association, Feature Story Award of Excellence
2011 White House News Photographers Association, 2nd Place Feature Story
2011 White House News Photographers Association, Award of Excellence
2011 Dart Award for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma (with Boston Globe)
2009 Eddie Adams Workshop
2008 David Alan Harvey Emerging Photographers Fund grant finalist
exhibits
2012 Brooklyn, NY “Liberty & Justice (For All),” VII Gallery (group)
2012 Beacon, NY “Liberty & Justice (For All),” Fovea Exhibitions (group)
2011 Charlottesville, VA “Prime Show,” Random Row Books (group, curated by Whitney Johnson, Director of Photography, The New Yorker)
2011 Washington, DC “WHNPA Eyes of History,” Edison Gallery (juried exhibition)
2006 Washington, DC “HeART of DC,” John A. Wilson Building, City Hall Art Collection (catalog)
lectures + workshops
2012 Guest lecturer, George Washington University, Washington, DC
2012 Guest lecturer, Corcoran College of Art + Design, Washington, DC
2011 “Flickr’d, Tumbl’d, Blogged and Broadcast: The (Ongoing) Creation and Reception of Presidential Imagery,” Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, St. Louis, MO
2011 Guest lecturer, Rochester Institute of Technology photojournalism program, Washington, DC
see also
Features
DNC Delegates by Brendan Hoffman
Upon entering the floor of the Time Warner Cable Arena, site of the 2012 Democratic National Convention, I noticed a tendency delegates had of glancing up as an ethereal light caught their faces. This response was partly an effort to catch a glimpse of a large video monitor hanging overhead, and partly – it seemed – tied to a sense of wonder at being part of an event so deeply tied to their political beliefs and sense of identity. These are the party faithful, those who spend their own money to travel to the convention… read more.
Stand the Middle Ground by Brendan Hoffman
Amid the fertile fields of Iowa sits Webster City, a town of 8,000 people in the midst of an existential crisis. For the better part of the past 80 years, manufacturing has kept the town employed and prosperous, with a factory that made everything from something called a doodlebug to, most recently, washing machines under the brand Electrolux. The tree-lined streets of handsome single-family homes and a main street packed with local businesses are the very picture of middle class America. In 2011, the factory closed and moved to Mexico, laying off nearly all of a… read more.
The Chosen Ones by Brendan Hoffman
It was only a few short years ago that Barack Obama rose from the ranks of junior senator to inspirational presidential contender to leader of the free world. Shortly thereafter, Republicans made major gains in the midterm elections thanks to the grassroots fervor of the Tea Party. Now, with the 2012 campaign for the presidency well under way and dissatisfaction with President Obama a persistent theme, Republicans candidates are duking it out all across the country in an effort to win their party’s nomination and take on Obama head to head. Iowa provided the first testing… read more.
The Pétionville Club by Brendan Hoffman
On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, killing more than 230,000 people and devastating the already struggling city of Port-au-Prince. Those who survived were mostly left homeless and without food or resources. Up to 50,000 people erected a camp near the edge of the city on a private golf course known as the Pétionville Club. These images depict life in the camp as it transitions from an impromptu village into home for the foreseeable future.
