Photo Center NW, Seattle

When Photo Center NW was originally founded in the early 1980s it was known as the Exposure School of Photography. Since then it has undergone numerous transformations, some of which included becoming a nonprofit organization and an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. Now standing as a mecca for students and creators in the Pacific Northwest art community, the center hosts regular exhibitions in addition to a robust curriculum of classes and workshops. Their faculty conducts 53-credit certification programs and 10-week courses within the facility’s four labs devoted to black-and-white and digital photography. The building also houses an immense reference library and plans to add a daylight studio and a playground for the cameras to relax in the very near future.