With my first anthropology course in college, I knew that I wanted to be a visual documentarian. Enchanted by the idea of combining art with real life, I promptly dropped out and moved Paris to study classical filmmaking… but mainly I just learned to survive on croissants and cigarettes. From there, I found myself in Boston for what turned into a 12 year detour in the world of advertising, adulthood, and project management; I was on the ground floor during the advent of online media and worked for interactive agencies with clients such as Hyundai, IKEA and Showtime. But I still wasn't crafting the type of projects that satisfied my creative spirit. So I returned to my original infatuation with documentary storytelling and haven’t looked back. As a photographer, I focus my efforts on the hero’s journey of the everyday individual within their community. I’m intrigued by real people and what happens at the intersection of identity, challenge and change, and the defining moments of the human experience. Documenting those dynamics requires me to approach subjects from a place of great intimacy, while not neglecting to leave room for the spontaneous. Currently based in Minneapolis, Minnesota and always looking for the slightest excuse to travel and capture stories.

My work has been featured by the Smithsonian Magazine International Photo Competition, the Darkroom Gallery in VT, and the MN State Fair Fine Art Exhibition. I’m a selected attendee of the Kalish Workshop at RIT and the Magnum Photos Long Format Documentary Workshop with Matt Black. I’m currently pursuing a Certificate in Documentary Studies at Duke University. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota and always looking for the slightest excuse to travel and capture stories.

Bernadette also produces and co-hosts The NO APOLOGIES Project podcast, featuring intimate conversations about pivotal moments in the lives of women.

Features / exhibitions / AWARDS

2017 Bokeh Bokeh feature, "We Don't Do Miracles and God Don't Do Patterns"
2017 The Kalish Workshop (Rochester, NY) selected attendee

2017 Social Documentary Network feature, "Immigrant: Pit Master"

2016 Magnum Photos Workshop, long format documentary with Matt Black (Austin, TX), selected attendee 

2015 Darkroom Gallery feature (Essex Junction, VT), "Reveal" Exhibition

2015 MN State Fair Fine Art Exhibition finalist (Saint Paul, MN), "Samantha on Her Farm"

2014 Mpls Underground Film Festival official selection (Mpls, MN), "Stars" music video, Director

2012 9th Annual Smithsonian Magazine International Photo Competition finalist, Americana category "Samantha on Her Farm"

2006 Official selection, “The Fens” short film, Producer. Woods Hole Film Festival, Woods Hole, MA; The Big Island Film Festival, Waikoloa, HI; The New Filmmakers Series, New York, NY; The SoWa Indie Fest, Boston, MA; Indie Fest Independent Film Festival and Market, Chicago, IL; Boston Film Night, Arlington, MA; New England Film and Video Festival, Boston, MA