Kim SignoretPaar Photographs​​

        Kim tells stories with her camera. She creates images of people and places with a sense of how the moment feels and at the same time searching for something deeper, opening the curtain for the viewer to see, imagine, feel.                   
        Kim won her first competition with a B&W photo of a boy in a tree when she was thirteen and dreamed of being a National Geographic photographer. With a degree in journalism from the University of Iowa, she went west in 1980. Her career in California and Mexico focused on public relations, publishing and fundraising. 

        Since 2009, Kim has immersed herself in photography. In both 2014 and 2023, she won Best of Show at the International Exhibition of Photography at the San Diego County Fair. In addition to competing and showing her photography in various venues, Kim teaches iPhone photography at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Retirement Center and other organizations. She was the president of Poly Photo Club at Balboa Park in 2022 and 2023.

 

SHOWINGS | AWARDS

• American Photographic Artists - San Diego Chapter (APA-SD) "Untitled" Annual Juried Exhibition at Bread

           & Salt, December 14, 2024

• American Photographic Artists - New York Chapter (APA-NY) 3rd Annual Juried Competition and Exhibition

           at Soho Photo Gallery, New York City, December 3 – 8, 2024 

• 2024 Photo Contest, Sierra Club Photo Section, San Diego, December 2024

            1st place in Human Made; Honorable Mention in Wildlife 

• 19th Annual Black and White Spider Awards, November 2024

             1st and 4th Honorable Mention awards in the Children of the World-Amateur category;  

             four Nominees in Fine Art, People, Photojournalism, Portrait, Amateur

• "People & Places," solo show at UCSD Faculty Club, August 15 – October 11, 2024 

• UCSD Emeriti/Retirement Association Art Show, Belmont Village Senior Living, La Jolla, June – Dec 2024 

• 2024 International Exhibition of Photography, San Diego County Fair, June 12 – July 7, 2024           

            1st place in Documentary; 1st place in B&W-Architecture; 2nd place in B&W Scenic 

• 17th Annual International Color Awards, Nominee, Architecture, April 2024

• 2023 International Exhibition of Photography, San Diego County Fair, June 7 – July 4, 2023           

            Best of Show and 1st place in Large Prints; 1st place in B&W-People Formal/Informal; 2nd place in B&W

            Nature; 3rd place in Documentary; Honorable Mention in Documentary and Color People Informal 

• 2023 SnowCreek Collaborative Show at The Photographer's Eye, Escondido, June 10 -- July 1, 2023

• 2023 Anza-Borrego Desert Photo Contest & Show, February 5 – 26, 2023

           Honorable mention, People Enjoying the Park

• 2022 Coronado Library Art Show for UCSD Visual Arts Group 20th Anniversary, Sept 1 – Nov 28, 2022

• 2022 Best of DPX at 20/20 Gallery, Oceanside, CA, two shows: June – Aug and Aug – Dec, 2022

• 2022 International Exhibition of Photography, San Diego County Fair, June 8 – July 4, 2022           

           1st place in Color Scenic Landscape-Spring; 3rd place in B&W-People Formal/Informal; 4th place in B&W

            Architecture/Cityscape; Honorable Mention in Abstract 

• 2022 Virtual Art Show, UCSD Visual Arts Group, May 1 – June 30, 2022

• 2022 Poly Photo Club Exhibition at Nelson Photo, February 1 – 28, 2022

• 2021 Virtual Art Show, UCSD Visual Arts Group, May 1 – June 30, 2021

• 2021 Anza-Borrego Desert Photo Contest & Show, February 1 – 28, 2021

           Honorable mention, Cellphone 

• 2020 Women in Creative Photography Exhibition: Shades of Black & White, Front Porch Gallery, Carlsbad

          March 1 – June 12, 2020 

• 2019 Summer Price Center Art Show, UCSD Visual Arts Group, July 1 – August 29, 2019

• 2019 International Exhibition of Photography, San Diego County Fair, May 31 – July 4, 2019           

           3rd place in Color-People, Informal-Candid; two Honorable Mention awards in Cellphone

• 2018 International Exhibition of Photography, San Diego County Fair, June 1 – July 4, 2018           

           3rd place in Plants & Trees; Honorable Mention in Night

• 2018 Portraits, Center for Fine Art Photography, Ft. Collins, CO, December 22, 2017 – January 26, 2018

• 2017 Summer Price Center Art Show, UCSD Visual Arts Group, June 5 – August 17, 2017

• 2017 International Exhibition of Photography, San Diego County Fair, June 2 – July 4, 2017           

           4th place in B&W-People; Honorable Mention in Color-Winter; Honorable Mention in Flowers

• 2016 Winter Art Showcase, UCSD Extension, San Diego, December 10, 2016

• 2015 International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention, New York City, October 27, 2015 
• 2015 Summer Price Center Art Show, UCSD Visual Arts Group, June 15 – August 21, 2014
• 2015 Artists Exhibition, UCSD Retirement Resource Center, January 26 – August 30, 2015
• Best of Nature Photography Show, Ordover Gallery at the San Diego Natural History Museum, 
          October 25, 2014 – February 1, 2015 
• 2014 International Exhibition of Photography, San Diego County Fair, June 7 – July 4, 2014
          Best of Show and 1st place in B&W Architecture/Cityscape; 2nd place in Color-Spring; 4th place in Cellphone
• 2014 Summer Price Center Art Show, UCSD Visual Arts Group, June 9 – August 25, 2014
• 2014 Spring Art and Music Exhibit, UCSD Retirement Resource Center, May 27 – August 30, 2014
• 2013 International Exhibition of Photography, San Diego County Fair, June 8 – July 4, 2013
• 2012 International Exhibition of Photography, San Diego County Fair, June 8 – July 4, 2012
          Donor Award in Waterscapes; Honorable Mention in Color-People

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ACTIVITIES

• Teaching, iPhone Photography and Photography, UCSD Retirement Center, 2014 to present

• Judge, Year-End Competition for the Camera Club of Laguna Woods Village, November 2024

• Presenter, iPhone Photography, Sierra Club San Diego Photo Section, October 19, 2024

• Workshop Instructor, "Cellphone Photography in the Forest," Art Camp 4 Grown-ups at Camp de

          Benneville Pines, San Bernardino National Forest, Sept 2024 and Sept 2023

• Teaching, iPhone Photography, Poly Photo Club, Photographic Arts Bldg, Balboa Park, July 20, 2024

• Judge, Digital Critique for the Camera Club of Laguna Woods Village, March 25, 2024

• Teaching, iPhone Photography, Fallbrook Camera Club, March 18, 2024

• Teaching, iPhoneography, Camera Club of Laguna Woods Village, December 15, 2023

• Teaching, Cellphone Editing and Workflow, Women in Creative Photography, November 2, 2023

• Judge, Digital Critique for the Camera Club of Laguna Woods Village, October 23, 2023

• Judge, Darkroomers Photographic Club, August 16, 2023

• Teaching, iPhoneography, Camera Club of Laguna Woods Village, June 12, 2023

• Presenter, Birds in Panama, Photo Naturalists Camera Club of San Diego, May 22, 2023    

• President, Poly Photo Club at Balboa Park, November 2021 to November 2023

• Teaching, iPhoneography, Rancho Santa Fe Senior Center, August 2, 2022

• Teaching, iPhoneography, La Jolla Community Center, June 8, 2022

• Teaching, Mobile Travel Photography, Women in Creative Photography, June 2, 2022

• Guest speaker, “How can I take better photos with my cellphone? Photograph at night … make a B&W                  photo … remove a telephone line?” UCSD Sounding Board, November 4, 2021 

• Guest speaker, “How are Cellphones Shaping the Future of Photography?” San Diego Independent                        Scholars, April 18, 2020

• Teaching, iPhoneography, Del Mar Community Connections, May 29, 2019

• Teaching, iPhoneography, OASIS San Diego, 2018-2020

• Judge, 2016 International Exhibition of Photography, San Diego County Fair, June 3 – July 4, 2016
• Judge, 2015 Year-End Competition, Darkroomers Photographic Club, Balboa Park, January 9, 2016
• Judge, 2015 International Exhibition of Photography, San Diego County Fair, June 6 – July 4, 2015

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EDUCATION

• Certificate, Photography: Images and Techniques, UC San Diego Extended Studies, January 2011

• B.S., Journalism, University of Iowa