Fine Art and Exhibitions
Photographic series, exhibitions, artist books and signed limited-edition archival prints, from illuminated landscapes and cultural histories to portraiture and pure light forms.
Painting with light
Peter Solness is a multi-award-winning Australian photographer, artist and educator. Working in darkness with long exposures and hand-held light, he reveals landscapes, people and places in unexpected ways.
Light becomes the brush
For more than two decades, Peter has worked with darkness as the canvas and light as the brush.
Moving through the frame during long exposures, he illuminates each subject by hand. Each image is built slowly over time – part photograph, part performance.
His work spans fine art, landscape, portraiture, history, education and collaborative public art, and has been exhibited and collected across Australia and internationally.
Explore Peter's work
Workshops and Education
Hands-on light-painting workshops for schools, photographers and learning institutions. Participants work with darkness, movement and simple light sources to make expressive photographs of their own.
Featured now
Exhibition opening 10 October 2026
Tree Stories - revisited
27 years after the original Tree Stories book was published, Peter revisits these special trees—to catch up with old friends. A solo exhibition of more than 30 large-format prints with an audio-visual presentation.
New book, available 10 October 2026
Tree Stories - revisited
48-page full-colour photography book with written essays. Portrait format, 21 × 27 cm, soft cover. $35 plus $10 postage within Australia; $28 each for two or more.
Available from 10 October
Landscapes. Histories. People. Light.
Across his series, illumination is not a visual effect but a way of drawing attention to the character, history and presence of each subject.
Recognised and collected
Twice winner of the NSW Parliamentary Photography Prize, Peter has been a finalist in the Dobell Drawing Prize, Head On Portrait Prize, Olive Cotton Award and Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award, and has exhibited at photography festivals in China and the Netherlands.
Selected awards
- 2026
- Finalist, Head On Landscape Prize
- 2025
- Finalist, Olive Cotton Award
- 2023
- Finalist, Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award
- 2019
- Finalist, Dobell Drawing Prize, National Art School
- 2019
- Finalist, Head On Portrait Prize
- 2018
- Finalist, Percival Photographic Portrait Prize
- 2015
- Winner, Illumination Public Art Project, Gallery Lane Cove
- 2014
- Winner, NSW Parliamentary Landscape Photography Prize
- 2010
- Winner, NSW Parliamentary Plein Air Photo Prize
- 2009
- Finalist, Olive Cotton Award
Public collections
- National Library of Australia
- State Library of New South Wales
- NSW Parliament Collection
- Museum of Sydney
- Art Gallery of Ballarat
- Macquarie University Gallery
- Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
From the studio
Exhibitions, new work, books, workshops and stories from the field.
Bring an idea into the light
Artworks, exhibitions, workshops, public light projects and media enquiries.
Or email peter@solness.com.au.