Genea Barnes has always been compelled by reality and imagination. Wanting to see what is really there, underneath the masks. But appreciating the masks, the show, and the deceit that our perceptions carry.

While studying chemical engineering at UC Santa Barbara, Genea began to see moments in time, frozen. Sometimes she would see the depths of someone’s soul, sometimes the guise they presented and sometimes she would see something that was completely her own. She could not shut it off, and over time it became distracting. Eventually, she realized she was on the wrong path and returned to San Francisco, California, where she continues to reside.

With a desire to show the world how she "saw", Genea took her first photography course in 1996. Through the ensuing years, she has fine-tuned her skills and developed her own personal style. No longer focusing on showing the world her perception, she tries to bend reality and change the viewer’s perception of how they may look at things. She might show you what is there, what may be there, or what is not there at all. In her commercial work, she finds it both challenging and intriguing to help her clients translate their own images and desires through her images, while maintaining her personal style. Her work focuses on translating the human form through fine art, entertainment, and portrait photography.