In his compositions, Iowa State University photography professor Steven Herrnstadt mines place for haunted and haunting resonances.

Whether his subject is a blossom, a butterfly, or a prairie sky, this photographer's lens restores him to the fascination of childhood.

In this closeup, we focus on a central Minnesota artist who uses multiple media to explore place, gender, and history.

Artist Thomas Agran took an unexpected landscape for his subject: the convulsed earth of a construction site that had once been a farm.