Joyce was born and raised in Washington, DC, but her time was always spent in the country riding horses. She became a veterinarian in 1984 then worked in England and Ireland for a few years before coming back to the states. Currently she owns Harmany Equine Clinic in Flint Hill, VA, a practice devoted to holistic medicine for horses but also sees a few small animals and naturally raised livestock.
During all her education and travels, her camera was never far away, though she had no formal training until the mid 1990’s when she decided to begin studying photography seriously. She has exhibited in several galleries and has photographs in private collections.
Joyce is a founding member of the Old Rag Photography Gallery, a cooperative in Sperryville, VA. She is also a member of Glassworks Gallery in Sperryville. In 2012 she won Best in Show at the prestigious Nature Visions exhibit in Manassas, VA, along with other images in the top group each year. She has had images in the semi-finals in the international Nature’s Best competitions, and also images in NANPA’s (North American Nature Photography Association) international competitions. She regularly has images juried into the Darkroom Gallery in Vermont.
Joyce has written and illustrated two books with her photographs and has contributed significant portions of the illustrations to two books by other authors. She is past president of the Manassas Warrenton Camera Club and lectures to photography clubs on various topics. She teaches photography classes at Old Rag Gallery.
In her spare time she hikes in the mountains, rides her horse and raises grass-fed Scottish Highland cattle on her farm in Flint Hill.
Artist’s Statement
I grew up in a darkroom with black and white photography sitting on a high chair, then graduated to slides and in 2008 finally joined the digital age. It has been an interesting and fascinating journey. When I look back at my life’s work, nature has always been the primary topic. Though my interest is all of nature photography, wildflowers and landscapes are my real passion.
Recently, with the creativity that digital encourages, I have become passionate about iphoneography and other non-nature photography. I am enjoying making abstracts and painting with my camera, breaking down an image into its colors and shapes.
Brian J Zwit 