Bio-Paul Malinowski
Biography – Paul Malinowski
Born in Chicago, Illinois prior to the advent of the Gregorian calendar, Paul Malinowski’s age is impossible to know without carbon dating. He loved many things about growing up in Chicago, of which two were his favorites: Wrigley Field (home of the baseball Cubs) and the Art Institute (home of his beloved Constable and Hopper paintings among many others).
He received his BA from Beloit (Wisconsin) College and then a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His education temporarily derailed his interests, especially baseball after seriously injuring his knee while playing on the college baseball team. Besides, he realized his beloved Cubs would never win a World Series, right?[1]
His love of art transitioned into a love of photography when he picked up a Konica Rangefinder camera in college. He self-taught himself photography by purchasing the entire multiple-volume collection of the beautifully written and bound Time Life series on photography. He eventually bought himself an enlarger and darkroom supplies and turned his apartment’s only bathroom into a fully functional darkroom (thus decreasing the functionality of the bathroom for its intended purpose).
And then life hit. Family, a non-art career, and long-term family caregiving combined to set the photography aside for many years. At least creativity was not lost during those years as he pursued acting and writing for theater where he successfully self-produced a full-length play he authored. He also studied Eastern and metaphysical spirituality during that time that exposed him to the art of the “present moment”, thus opening him to begin to “see” things differently, a staple of his current photography.
He finally resumed photography with a vengeance a decade ago. Just before the digital boom he resumed working in a darkroom, this time in a rented darkroom space. That print process has enabled him to recognize how to effectively envision a final “print”, whether on paper or digitally.
Disproving the old adage of you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, Paul successfully transitioned to digital not only in the use of cameras but in the intricacies of the post-processing software of Lightroom, Photoshop, Luminar, Nik, Topaz and others. Eschewing labels of any particular genre or style, Paul stops, observes, and sees a subject on a deeper level and then processes that photo in whatever manner aligns with his vision of that subject. That may render the image a painterly, dreamlike quality or it may produce a gritty reality, whatever his vision calls for.
Paul’s love of photographing birds was spawned by necessity when the new COVID pandemic hit the world and lockdowns and travel restrictions relegated him literally to his backyard. But what a backyard it turned out to be! Opening his eyes to the present moment he began to see a wide variety of birds all engaged in numerous activities.
At first, he didn’t know the difference between a hawk and a finch but after immersing himself in several online courses from the Cornell School of Ornithology as well as books, apps and YouTube videos, and joining ornithology organizations, he can now not only tell the differences between those species but also their genders, ages and subspecies! (No, he can’t)
Eventually that backyard spilled over to some local parks, then a regional park and a state park, all within about a five-mile radius from his home. It is in these “local” locations that the vast majority of his bird “street photography” takes place.
In the last seven years alone, Paul’s photographs have been exhibited in over eighty shows in forty galleries or art centers from Long Island to San Francisco, Chicago to Houston, Oregon to the Carolinas and, of course, his home state of Colorado. He is now a nationally awarded bird photographer.
[1] Statement rendered irrelevant in late 2016
Noteworthy Accomplishments
2020-Present
2024 - The images Meditation and Last Flight Out have been selected for “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” Competition and Exhibit at the Gallery by the Lake in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The image Last Flight Out received the “Best in Show” award.
2024 - The image It Was a Dark and Stormy Night has been selected for the 40th Annual Best of Colorado Show at the Littleton (Colorado) Depot
2024 - The image Last Flight Out has been selected for the Animal Life Exhibit at the Praxis Gallery in Minneapolis, Minnesota
2024 - The image Last Flight Out has been selected for the 22nd Annual Exploring the Light Show at the Lone Tree (Colorado) Fine Arts Center
2024 - The image Eyes Into the World has been selected for the 2024 CAL International Exhibit at the Madelay Fine Art Gallery in Conroe, Texas
2024 - I presented the presentation Wildlife Storytelling to the Lone Tree (Colorado) Photo Club
2023 - The images Eyes Into the World, Upon Reflection, and A Little Bit of Pluck have been selected for the 29th national Photography Show at the Fine Art Center in Louisville, Colorado
2023 - The images Eyes Into the World and Upon Reflection have been selected for the 2023 Hit Me With Your Best Shot Photography Competition and Exhibition
2023 - The image The Last Lesson has been selected for the Abandoned Spaces Exhibit at the Praxis Gallery in Minneapolis, Minnesota
2023 - I presented the presentation Wildlife Storytelling to the Colorado Urban Wildlife Photography Club
2022 - The images Power Dance and Preparing for Takeoff have been selected for the Hit Me With Your Best Shot Exhibit at the Gallery by the Lake in Lake Charles, Louisiana
2022 - The image Sunset Eye has been selected for the 2022 Exploring the Light Exhibit at the Lone Tree Arts Center in Lone Tree, Colorado
2022 - The image Egret Dream has been selected for display at the Colorado Children’s Hospital
2022 - The image Mommas Pet has been selected for the 2022 Eye of the Camera Exhibit at the Littleton Museum in Littleton, Colorado
2022 - I had an article published entitled Chasing the Elusive Singerin (aka Sedge Wren) on the North American Nature Photographers Association (NANPA) website
2021 - I gave a presentation entitled LunaQuest: The 2020 Full Moon Project at R Gallery in Boulder, Colorado
2021 - I gave a presentation entitled LunaQuest: The 2020 Full Moon Project to the Happiness Hour photography group (run by Linda Nickel)
2021 - I gave a presentation entitled The Seven Secrets of Planning a Full Moon Shot at the Out of Chicago Live Conference
2021 - The image Something Old, Something New was selected for the Louisville (CO) Fine Art Photography exhibit at the Louisville Fine Art Center in Louisville, Colorado
2021 - Five of my images were selected for display at the R Gallery in Boulder for the Month of Photography exhibit
2021 - The image Dead End was selected for the juried 6th Annual Madelay National Art Show in Conroe, Texas
2021 - I was selected as featured artist at R Gallery in Boulder, Colorado where I exhibited numerous works
2020 - The image Two Views: One Lincoln Place was selected for the third annual Y/Our Denver online exhibit of the Denver Architecture Foundation
2020 - The image Dead End was selected for inclusion in Our Magnificent Planet, a photography compilation book published by LensWork Publishing
2020 - The image Living in the Shadows has been selected for the Meaning in Abstraction Exhibit at the R Gallery in Boulder, Colorado
2020 - The image Snow Moon Rising has been selected by the Curtis Center for the Arts in Greenwood Village, Colorado for its 37th Annual All Colorado Art Show
2020 - The image Living in the Shadows has been selected for the 18th annual Exploring the Light show in Lone Tree, Colorado where it was awarded 1st Place in the Architecture category
2020 - The image Lessons Learned has been selected for the 2020 Annual Members’ Show at the Colorado Photographic Art Center in Denver, Colorado
2020 - The image Living in the Shadows has been selected for the 5th Annual Madelay National Show at the Madelay in Conroe, Texas
2020 - The image Snow Moon Rising has been selected for the 2020 Odyssey Exhibit of the Pennsylvania Center for Photography (PACE) in Doylestown, Pennsylvania
2020 - The image Road to Nowhere has been selected for its Monochrome Exhibition by R Gallery in Boulder, Colorado
2020 - The images Train Series #1-Around the Block and Train Series #4-Union Station have been selected for the 2020 Representing the West: A New Frontier Exhibit at the Sangre de Cristo Art Center in Pueblo, Colorado
Prior to 2020
· The images Boathouse and Cracked have both been selected for the Portals Exhibit at the Alex Ferrone Gallery on Long Island, New York
· The images Heading Home and Lessons Learned have been selected for the 2019 Transformations Exhibit at the Pennsylvania Center for Photography
· The image Cranes in the Snow has been awarded Honorable Mention in the Open Category of the first annual Minimalist Photography Awards, an online international competition
· The image Prairie Waves has been selected for the 2019 Louisville Art Association National Fine Art and Photography Show in Louisville, Colorado
· The image Wind Turbine Series-Windy Road has been selected for the 36th Annual Colorado at the Depot Art Show at the Littleton Depot in Littleton, Colorado
· The image Cracked has been selected for the 2019 36th Annual All-Colorado Arts Show at the Curtis Center for the Arts in Greenwood Village, Colorado
· The image Library Lights has been selected for the 2019 Colorado Photographic Arts Center Annual Members’ Show in Denver, Colorado
· The image Library Lights has been selected for the Light Exhibit at the SE Center for Photography in Greenville, South Carolina
· The image Wild Aspens has been selected for the Odyssey Exhibition at the Pennsylvania Center for Photography
· The image Wind Turbine Series-Windy Road has been selected for the 4th Annual Conroe (TX) National Invitational Art Show at the Gallery at the Madelay Building
· The image Sacred Grotto has been selected by the Littleton (CO) Museum for its juried 2019 Eye of the Camera exhibit
· The images Wind Turbine Series-Dwarfed and Wind Turbine Series-Windy Road have been selected by the Sangre de Cristo Art Center in Pueblo, Colorado for its 2019 Representing the West Exhibit
· The image Wind Turbine Series-Horsepower has been selected by the Curtis Center for the Arts in Greenwood Village (CO) for its 2019 Horsepower Exhibit
· I have been selected by the Center for Arts Evergreen (CO) to exhibit eight pieces at its 2018 annual Holiday Show
· The image Cracked has been selected by the CORE New Art Space in Denver, Colorado for its 2018 Small Works Show
· The image Cracked has been selected by the Denver Architecture Foundation for inclusion in its juried 2018 Y/OUR Denver online exhibit as well as the website of the Colorado Photographic Art Center
· The image Evolution of an Eclipse has been selected by the Pennsylvania Center for Photography for its juried 2018 Transformation exhibit
· The image Break Time has been selected by Photo Review Magazine for publication in its 2018 Photo Competition Issue
· The image Blowing in the Wind has been selected by the LIttleton (CO) Fine Arts Guild for its first ever Aperture Photography Show at the Littleton Art Depot Gallery to run September and October, 2018
· The images Red Barn and Road to Nowhere have been selected by the Wallowa Valley (OR) Festival of Arts for its 36th Annual Arts Festival. Road to Nowhere received 3rd Place Award by the festival.
· The images Eternity and Dunes Shadows have been selected by the 311 Gallery in Raleigh, North Carolina for its 2018 Landscapes and Seascapes Juried Show
· The images Façade and Road to Nowhere have been selected by the Louisville (Colorado) Center for the Arts for its 33rd Annual National Juried Fine Art and Photography Show in 2018
· The image Steam at the Springs has been selected by the Curtis Art Center (Greenwood Village, Colorado) for the 35th Annual All-Colorado Art Show in 2018
· The images Eternity and Road to Nowhere have been selected by the Greg Moon Fine Art Gallery in Taos, New Mexico for the 2018 Taos Art Insurgency Exhibit
· The image Evolution of an Eclipse was awarded 3rd Place in the Landscape category of the 2018 Exploring the Light Photography Exhibit at the Lone Tree (CO) Arts Center
· The image Steam at the Springs has been selected by the Morpho Gallery in Chicago for its 2018 13th Annual Juried Photography Exhibit
· The images Prairie Waves and Break Time have been selected for the Americana-2018 digital exhibition at the Pennsylvania Center for the Arts in Doylestown, Pennsylvania
· The image Blowing in the Wind has been selected for the Empty Places: Abandoned Spaces exhibit at the Praxis Gallery in Minneapolis
· The image Nautilus has been selected for the 2018 Abstracts show at the 311 Gallery in Raleigh, North Carolina
· The images Prairie Waves and Road to Nowhere have been selected for the 2018 3rd Annual Conroe (TX) Art League National Invitational Show
· The image Break Time was selected for the 2018 Representing the West: A New Frontier national juried art competition at the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center in Pueblo, Colorado
· The image Morning Vista was selected for the 2018 Western Spirit Art Show in Cheyenne, Wyoming
· The images Blowing in the Wind, Morning Vista, Steam at the Springs and The Road Less Traveled were selected for the 2017 21st Annual National Lines into Shapes Exhibit at the Art Center of Estes Park (CO) Gallery
· The image Morning Vista was selected for the 2017 34th Annual all Colorado Art Show at the Curtis Art Center in Greenwood Village, CO
· The image Break Time was selected for the 2017 Gateway to Imagination national juried art competition at the Farmington (NM) Museum
· The images Independence, Steam at the Springs, and The Road Less Traveled have been selected for the 2017 Wallowa Valley (OR) Festival of Arts
· The image Steam at the Springs was selected for the 2017 Louisville (CO) Art Association National Fine Art and Photography Show and Sale
· The images A Bird’s Dream and The Road Less Traveled have been selected for the 2017 Littleton (CO) Art Depot 34th Annual All-Colorado show
· The image Break Time has been selected for the 2017 Real People Show of the Northwest Area Arts Council exhibited at the Old Courthouse Arts Center in Woodstock, Illinois
· The images A Bird’s Dream, Steam at the Springs and The Road Less Traveled have been selected for the 2017 20th Annual Colorado Visions juried exhibit in Westminster, Colorado
· The image Steam at the Springs was selected for the juried 2017 Conroe (TX) Art League 2nd Annual Invitational Show and was awarded Honorable Mention by the show juror
· The image Nautilus was selected for the The Circle - Juried Small Works Exhibition 2016 at the Alex Ferrone Gallery in Cutchogue, New York (Long Island)
· The image A Bird’s Dream was selected for the juried 2016 wildLIFE exhibit at Dickerman Prints Gallery in San Francisco
· The image Sails in the Dunes was selected for the juried America’s Parks: A Centennial Celebration at the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center in Pueblo, Colorado summer of 2016 and was awarded 2nd place. This exhibition was juried by renowned landscape photographer John Fielder
· The National Park Service selected the images Lunar Dunes and Sails in the Dunes of the Great Sand Dunes National Park for viewing in the Sand Dunes Visitor Center the entire 2017 season
· The image Squashed was selected for the juried 2017 Small Works show in Glen Falls, New York
· The images The Old Drive-In, Sails in the Dunes, The Road Less Traveled and A Bird’s Dream were selected for the juried 2017 36th Western Spirit Art Show in Cheyenne, Wyoming
· The images Barracks #2 and Littleton Depot were selected for the 2017 Representing the West: A New Frontier exhibit at the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center in Pueblo, Colorado
· The images Main Street, Anderson, Texas and Blizzard Disorientation have been selected for the 2017 Abstracts Matter Juried Show at the 311 Gallery in Raleigh, North Carolina
· The image Nonconformist has been selected for the juried 2017 Flat of Eggs Exhibit sponsored by the Colorado Egg Producers exhibit at the Art Students League of Denver
· I received Honorable Mention Awards for three images in the 2017 International Photographer of the Year competition (awarded in 2018): Eternity in the Fine Art: Landscape category, Road to Nowhere in the Fine Art: Landscape category and Fluorescent Fractals in the Fine Art: Abstract category.
· I received Honorable Mention Awards for two images in the 2017 Monochrome Awards competition (awarded in 2018): Blowing in the Wind in the Architecture category and Blizzard Disorientation in the Photo Manipulation category.
· The images Lunar Dunes and The Old Drive-In were selected for showing in the juried 2016 Eye of the Camera Exhibition in Littleton, Colorado
· The image The Cranes’ Morning was selected for the juried 2016 Exploring the Light exhibition sponsored by the City of Lone Tree, Colorado
· The image A Bird’s Dream was selected for the juried Colorado Photographic Arts Center 2016 Members’ Exhibition; the image Pinwheels was also selected as Special Mention for inclusion in the online exhibition
· The image Riot Gear was selected for the juried 2016 Real People Show of the Northwest Area Arts Council exhibited at the Old Court House Arts Center in Woodstock, Illinois
· The image A Bird’s Dream was selected for the juried 2016 Wallowa Valley (Oregon) Festival of Art
· The images Shrine Under the Stars, Pinwheels, and Leaving the Pack were all selected for the juried 2016 Gateway to the Rockies Art Show in Aurora
· The image A Bird’s Dream was selected for the juried Evergreen (CO) Artists Association Fall 2016 Show
· The image Sails in the Dunes was selected for the Estes Park (CO) 2016 Lines into Shapes juried show
· The images Pinwheels and Too Many Trips were selected for the juried 2016 Boulder (CO) Arts Association show
· The image The Road Less Traveled was selected for exhibition at the opening of the new Lone Tree (CO) Library in 2017
· The image Lunar Dunes is featured in Issue #33 of Extraordinary Vision Magazine, a respected online photography publication
· The image Nautilus was judge Joseph Roybal’s first choice in the Macro Monochrome competition of the Lone Tree Photography Club
· The image Lonesome Valley was judge Jeff Johnson’s first choice in the color print competition of the Lone Tree Photography Club
· The image The Cranes’ Morning was awarded 2nd place in a Front Range Photography Meetup competition
· The image Sea Cave Doors received Honorable Mention in a Front Range Photography Meetup competition
· Served as an official photographer of the 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 Cherry Creek Arts Festival in Denver, CO
· Served as the official photographer of the 2017 and 2018 Purple Stride 5K Run/Walk fundraiser for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network-Colorado Affiliate in Denver, CO as well as the 2017 Purple Lights event
