Art Show: “Where I’ve Been, What I’ve Seen”

WHERE I’VE BEEN, WHAT I’VE SEEN, is an exhibit of photographs by Peter Southwick, a longtime member of First Parish. A renowned photo journalist, Peter also enjoyed documenting his travels. The photos were part of an exhibit that he mounted the past summer at the Booth Bay Opera House.

Peter Southwick retired in 2017 as Associate Professor of Journalism in the College of Communication at Boston University following a career that included ten years on the staff of the Associated Press and nine years as Director of Photography at the Boston Globe.

Peter moved to the Boston area to attend Harvard College and earned his BA in Government, but much of his undergraduate life was spent taking photographs for The Harvard Crimson, the university daily newspaper.

Peter entered professional journalism at The Real Paper, an alternative weekly in Cambridge. A freelance career followed that included work for Newsweek, Time and Parade. He joined the photography staff of the Boston Herald American in 1978, and covered such stories as the visit of Pope John Paul II, the parade of Tall Ships, and the 1980 presidential campaign.

In late 1980, he moved on to a staff photographer position in the Boston bureau of the Associated Press.  He traveled extensively within the US, covering everything from the World Series and the Super Bowl to political conventions and presidential inaugurations.   His photos earned awards from the National Press Photographers Association, Boston Press Photographers Association, National Headliners Awards, and the Associated Press.

Peter moved back to newspaper work in 1990 as photo editor of the Boston Globe, and after two years was promoted to Director of Photography.  He left the Globe and joined the Boston University faculty in 2002.

Peter moved to Arlington MA in 1977.  He and his wife Jean Rosenberg lived here from 1980 until he passed away on September 15, 2025. His work can be viewed on his website petersouthwick.smugmug.com.