A neon sign lighting an empty parking lot on a summer night. A mosaic of plastic recyclables, neatly cubed and stacked. The graceful turn of a dead snake, roadkill with an odd beauty.

These images represent a fraction of the Boise PhotoGrid. The public collection combines the talents of 14 photographers, most with ties to Boise State as alumni or professors. The photographers are creating a time capsule - an honest look at Boise and Garden City, and at the diverse visual identities of these rapidly growing places.

Photo by Christina Rouse provided by the Boise PhotoGrid

John Francis, a Professor Emeritus in the art department, began the project in 2025, inspired by a similar project in Portland, Oregon that began 30 years ago.

"I started thinking about Boise and how it's changing. And I had always wanted to develop a community of photographers who could support each other. I thought this would be a way to do that. Everyone on our team brings a unique vision to the work," Francis said.

Photo by John Francis provided by the Boise PhotoGrid

The team works from a map of Boise and Garden City broken into a grid of 42 squares, each approximately 1.7 square miles. Each month, the photographers pick a square at random and venture out. Photographers shoot in a range of formats, from 360-degree panoramas to Polaroids, from images akin to scientific studies to those with deliberately shallow depths of field. Even with everyone photographing a relatively small area, no one sees that space in the same way, Francis added.

In addition to cataloguing a changing city, the project challenges old habits and preconceptions.

"I think most people get into a routine. We will go the same way to work, to school, to the store," Francis said. Exploring through the Boise PhotoGrid has brought Francis to parts of town he didn't know. He recalled a yard off Overland Road boasting a garden of decorative rocks, bowling balls and bowling pins and the Hyatt Hidden Lakes Reserve in West Boise. The city transformed the former gravel excavation site into a wildlife refuge. The Boise PhotoGrid immortalizes all of it.

"Our basic ground rules are that no one criticizes the work. There's a lot of freedom. I told the other photographers, 'This is not something where I'm running it.' I want people to have their say. The photographers feel like they're invested in the project. We don't always agree with each other. But I think we enjoy getting together."

Meet some members of the team

Shawna Donahue (BFA, studio art with an emphasis in art history, 1993)

"The Boise PhotoGrid has made the familiar feel unfamiliar again. It reminds me that a city is never one fixed picture, but thousands of overlapping stories waiting to be noticed. Working on the Boise PhotoGrid encouraged me to look more carefully and pay attention to the ordinary places people often pass without noticing. Some of my favorite photographs have come from small, unexpected discoveries: an aging sign, a changing neighborhood, a peculiar detail, or a moment when the light transformed something familiar. Together, the images become more than a record of the city. They form a collective portrait of its history, character, contradictions and constant change.

Photo by Shawna Donahue provided by the Boise PhotoGrid

Sue Latta, lecturer in the School of the Arts and double Bronco with a BFA and MFA

"The PhotoGrid project has gotten me to actually photograph places that I've driven by for years and thought, 'I should take pictures of that place.' It's gotten me to do things I've never done, like stand in the middle of a football field. I've discovered things I didn't know were there, trailheads, parks, and abandoned places. It makes me look at things in Boise the way I look at things when I travel, like an explorer noticing every little thing. My wife and I have turned it into a date opportunity; we find food in the grid and have a meal together while we're exploring."

Photo by Sue Latta provided by the Boise PhotoGrid

Weston McGhee (BFA, photography, 2015)

"Not having much of an objective other than 'Here is this month's square, document/photograph the zone' leaves all of us an open book. A lot of times, too, I'm thinking to myself when we see each other's work, 'Wait, where was this at?'

Photo by Weston McGhee provided by The Boise PhotoGrid

Gregg Mizuta (BS, business and finance, 1984)

"I enjoy seeing the different points of view in each grid and discovering so much in a city I have lived in for several years."

Photo by Gregg Mizuta provided by the Boise PhotoGrid

Jason Sievers (BA, graphic design, 2002)

"My favorite part of being in the group is getting together and seeing what everyone else has shot. It is truly humbling to be in the company of some great artists and to get a glimpse into their process and how they frame the world in front of their lens."

Photo by Jason Sievers provided by the artist

Michal Temkin Martínez, professor of linguistics

"Coming into this, I felt like one of the least experienced photographers in the group, so it has been incredibly cool to see what the formally trained members focus on, learn from their styles, and feel so welcomed by the core group. It's teaching me a lot and affirming my own artistic abilities. Photography started as a hobby during my first sabbatical. Right before it began, I was walking on the beach in Miami telling my husband, 'I don't know who I am without being a teacher, a mentor and an educator.' He said, 'You need a hobby,' and bought me a camera that was nicer than my point-and-shoot. When you get a part of the grid you're familiar with, the challenge is not going to the known. The better photos come from discovering a part you don't know or finding the mundane."

Photo by Michal Temkin Martínez provided by the Boise PhotoGrid

Tran Tran (BFA, graphic design, 2023)

"One of my favorite experiences was photographing historic buildings and seeing how the light changed their character throughout the day. I was surprised by how every street, alley, and neighborhood had its own story to tell. As someone who came to the United States from Vietnam, this project became more than a photography assignment. It helped me see Boise as home."

Photo by Tran Tran provided by the Boise PhotoGrid

See and hear more

Ming Studios in Boise hosted a Boise PhotoGrid exhibition in 2025. The gallery will host a second exhibition in the near future.

The Boise PhotoGrid shares images through its Instagram account, @boise.photogrid, and through Facebook.

Idaho Matters featured the project in a 2025 broadcast.

About John Francis

After retiring from Boise State in 2018, Francis continued teaching graphic design and photography as an adjunct instructor at Boise State and the College of Idaho. A highlight of his years at Boise State was leading a summer study abroad program in Japan focused on art and for more than a decade. The recipient of many grants and awards, Francis exhibits his work nationally and internationally. He also writes articles about his work. Find them on his website, johnfrancisphotography.com.

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