Spring 2026

After a long, successful photography career in Santa Fe, Nicolas Trofimuk has set up shop in Carmel with a welcoming new gallery in Su Vecino Court. 74 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 6 Photo: Kelli Uldall SHORT CUTS ART W hile Nicholas Trofimuk grew up fascinated by art, his path first led him to medical school and to becoming an oral surgeon. “When I opened my surgery practice in New Jersey, I was dabbling in photography and started hanging my prints on the wall,” he says. “After 27 years in medicine, I moved to New Mexico with my wife Joette, the greatest person in the world.” Trofimuk started shooting the local scenery with his large format cameras. His stunning prints of the New Mexico landscape sold imme- diately, when the couple opened Photogenesis Gallery in Santa Fe’s La Fonda Hotel. “Joette did the selling and I did the framing, matting and shipping,” he says. Trofimuk was soon regarded as one of the most prominent modern photographers in the Southwest. After Joette’s passing, daughter Christy O’Connor, who owns Diggidy Dog on Ocean Avenue, encouraged her father to move to Carmel. Trofimuk traded the high desert for seascapes and flowers and opened Carmel Vibes Gallery. “My eye is always searching for symmetry,” he says. “If I’m at the beach or walking around town and see something beautiful…I get this feeling of excitement that I call ‘vibes,’ and I have to photograph it.” Carmel Vibes Gallery is located on Lincoln between Fifth and Sixth in Su Vecino Court. For more information, call 480/280-4836 or visit www.carmelvibesgallery.com . Carmel Vibes Galler y Opens with Stunning Photography B Y B R E T T WI L BUR