Picea Photography is a project of Jarret Miles-Kroening. Miles-Kroening (b. 1999) was raised in North-central Wisconsin surrounded by forest, farm fields, and the vast expanse of the northern wilderness. He has focused on creating images with traditional silver-based, black and white methods. In recent years his photography has focused on exploring the complex relationship between people and land in a region where colonialism and extractivism has radically altered the landscape through forestry, agriculture, and mineral exploitation. His photographic practice is heavily informed by the seasonality and rich diversity of the north-woods. This compliments his education at the University of Wisconsin- Madison in Horticulture (B.S 2021; MS 2024), where the impacts of agriculture and need for sustainable land practices drive research and education.
Projects such as "Wisconsin State Parks" and "Walking Portraits" extrapolate on the dynamic concepts of wilderness, human touch, and public lands. Others such as "Flora" and "Farmhouse" examine inhuman flowers and objects a through a human point of view, highlighting their complex emotions and personality.
Picea is the genus which spruce trees belong to, many of which are keystone species in the environments of the Northern Great Lakes.