Eric Renard | The Backlight City

The Backlight City
by Eric Renard

“The Backlight City” focuses on life in cities, including Budapest, Porto, New York, Casablanca, and Chefchaouen. In these black & white images, I shoot into the light source, whether direct or reflected, and people are transformed into mysterious shadowy figures, and objects break into primitive shapes and lines. The silhouettes become abstractions, graphic forms with little or no details, yet we are able to discern gender, age, and maybe even their purpose at that moment. The images include aspects of minimalism, street photography, and architectural photography.

Eric Renard

Eric M. Renard is a Los Angeles-based fine art photographer and one of California’s leading contemporary artists. His passion for photography was ignited at Tufts University in Boston, where he studied photography under Siegfried Halus. After graduating, Eric worked as an architectural/real estate photographer in San Francisco before moving to Los Angeles, where he also works as a Creative Director for advertising.

Renard’s most recent solo show,, “Retrospective Hindsight,” exhibited over 20 photographs, including color and abstract images created over the past 25 years. “Retrospective Hindsight” embodies a reflection on the past and a lens into the future. The exhibition showcases a carefully curated selection of work spanning two decades and illustrating the artist’s growth and shifts in style, technique, and thematic focus. From the early days of experimentation to the refinement of a distinctive voice, each piece tells its own story while contributing to the overarching narrative of evolution through current work.

Eric has also curated several photography exhibitions, including Photography Unveiled in 2026, Black & White Captures of the World in both 2024 & 2025, and the IAP Awards.

Eric M. Renard’s photography has been exhibited in art galleries in London, Paris, Barcelona, Budapest, Athens, Mexico, Brazil, New York, Texas, Oregon, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Connecticut, and across California. His photography has received numerous Best of Show awards and has been published in both books and photography magazines, including the cover of Black & White magazine.

Eric M. Renard is co-president of The Artists Gallery in Los Angeles, the Exhibition Chair for the California Art League, and a member of the Board of Directors for the SFVACC.

Eric Renard
Email: eric@ericrenardphotography.com
Website URL: ericrenardphotography.com
Instagram: @renard_photo