A man hands me his camera and asks me to take a picture of him with his family in front of the White House. It's my sixth grade class trip. This is fun. I start taking my own pictures of these families. When we get the film back, mom asks "Who are these people?" "I don't know. I just like doing this."

Now I call these pictures "portraits" and I direct them.

Education
Boston University, biology & psychology
New England School of Photography, graduate of Applied Photography Program
Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, Photo Etching Fellowship
Arnold Newman Master Class, Maine Photographic Workshops

Experience
Mr. Urban has been an established Boston photographer for over a decade. His portrait work includes Todd English, Mass Senate President Therese Murray, authors Susan Orlean and Robert B. Parker, Michael Dukakis, Pops conductor Keith Lockhart, Mayor Thomas Menino, Joyce Kulhawick, ART founder Robert Brustein, Carleton Varney and Fay Wray. He has been published in The New York Times, the Boston Globe magazine, Improper Bostonian, New York Magazine, Boston Magazine, Inc., and Photo District News online. He has taught black & white darkroom (Boston Photo Coop) and “Portraits under Pressure” for the Commercial & Industrial Photographers of New England (CIPNE).

Clients
Commercial clients include American Express, Intuit, the Berklee College of Music, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, CVS Pharmacy, WGBH and Summit Mortgage. He is well known for his pro bono photography for many Boston charities and public service organizations including the AIDS Action Committee, American Cancer Society, Community Servings, the Fenway Health Center and the Community Research Initiative of New England.

Exhibitions
Three Columns Gallery, Harvard University, 2008. "Advertising My Friends".
Camera Club of New York, 2008. Four "Proof of Motion" images selected for 2007 National Photography Competition. Larry Fink juror. The Bubble chosen as promotional image for the event.
The Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins CO, 2007 International Exhibition. One of 48 photographers out of 3500 from six nations selected for exhibit by juror Roger Reynolds, President of The Royal Photographic Society, London.
Gallery Kayafas, Boston, Featured Artist, Group show "Motion Measured" July 2007 Boston Globe Review.
"Faces of Downtown" 65 portraits commissioned by the Boston Redevelopment Authority exhibited at Boston City Hall 2007.
Gallery Kayafas, Boston, solo exhibit, Widescreen Portaits, March 2006.
Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester MA, 2005, Widescreen Portraits. solo show, Emerging Artist Gallery.
Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester MA, finalist 2005 juried competition, Andy Grundberg New York Times, curator.
Visual Aids Archive, NYC, ongoing.

Awards
Critical Mass 2007 Finalist.
Houston Center for Photography, "Proof of Motion" was one of four Fellowship Proposals to be recognized for 2008.
The Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins CO, 2007 International Exhibition. Director's Award.
The Camera Arts Showcase Edition, "She Has Her Reasons" selected for publication in the November/December 2007 issue of CameraArts Magazine.
Boston ArtWindows. Juried commission to create and install "Advertise this", City of Boston at Downtown Crossing.
Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester MA, juried competition 2004 (curators: Karen Haas, Boston Museum of Fine Arts and Edward Boches, Mullen Advertising). Finalist and special award.
CIPNE Judges Choice Award 2001.
Fuji Film’s “New Approach Award”, April 2001.
Abbott Laboratories, annual calendar award, publication and prize, Feb. 2000.
Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, Fellowship Summer 1998.

Publications / Other Media
"Urban Renewal" by Neil Ward, Photo District News (PDN) March 2008. Feature on private commission of street portraits for 40' running mural near Fenway Park.
"The Poetry of Motion" review by Kate McQuaid for the Boston Globe, 7/19/07.
Peter Urban and Mayor Menino interviewed at launch of ArtBlock, NECN and NPR 2007.
"Loocie does Acupuncture" the Improper Bostonian, 2006.
"Peter Urban", Bay Windows, Boston, Anthony King 2006.
"Snap Decisions" the Boston Globe - Sidekick, Sarah Tomlinson 2006.
"Advertising my Friends" the South End News, Boston, Linda Rodriguez 2006.
"Local Artist Gets Downtown Exhibit" Boston Courant, Thomas Grillo, 2005.
"Widescreen Portraits" Boston Globe, June Wulff, 2005.
"In the Picture - A Fond Memory of Fay Wray" the Boston Globe, Mark Shanahan 2004.