Featured Artist
Jan Birch:The Places We Are Thankful For
A Los Angeles photographer who learned her craft with a 35mm camera and a darkroom. Jan Birch captures coastlines, palm-lined streets and quiet mornings, the places worth being thankful for. Printed and framed by Helm + Oar.
Shop the artist
Bring home a Jan Birch moment
Each piece opens with its frame already selected. Pick your size, and it arrives ready to hang.
“Helm & Oar completely exceeded my expectations. The artwork is absolutely beautiful — rich colors, stunning details, and frames that feel truly high-end. Every piece transformed my space and added a sense of calm and meaning. The entire process, from ordering to unboxing, felt seamless and special. You can tell they care deeply about craftsmanship and customer experience. I’m already planning my next order. Couldn’t recommend them more!”
DJ · Verified buyer
“I absolutely love this piece of art! Couldn't be happier with this purchase.”
Rachel P. · Verified buyer
“Love it. Peaceful.”
Beth W. · Verified buyer
I. The artist
Meet Jan Birch, fine art photographer
Jan Birch is a fine art photographer who lives in Los Angeles. Photography has been part of her life since she was a girl. She wore a 35mm camera around her neck, and prints dried in the darkroom.
Later, working in the film industry in Europe, she was filled with awe by the cultures, sounds and emotions around her. She wanted to capture them herself. Since then she has traveled from large cities to small villages, and she still travels internationally for commissioned and passion projects.
Her belief is simple. It is the subtlety and nuance that turns a photograph into a story you can experience with your whole self. Her prints now hang in homes across Europe, Australia, South America and the US.
A shoreline at low tide, framed for a living room wall.
II. The places
Places worth being thankful for
Every Jan Birch print begins somewhere real: a beach, a boulevard, a café terrace. These are four of the places that live in her work.
Laguna Beach to Malibu
A lone surfer at the water's edge, beachgoers beneath the bluffs, a calm dawn over the sea. Four coastal photographs make one quiet series.
See the shoreline series
Beverly Hills, California
The Beverly Hills Hotel, photographed in color and in black and white.
See The Beverly Hills Hotel
Venice, California
A skateboarder pauses at the edge of a concrete bowl as the sun bursts through. A fleeting moment of balance and youthful freedom.
See Drop In
Paris, France
From a busy café front to the Eiffel Tower, Paris appears in many moods in her work.
See Iconic ParisIII. The moment
Break Time: the story behind the photograph
At Laguna Beach, the sand is pale, the waves are gentle and palms line a long, quiet shore. Far down the beach, people gather at the water. Closer, a lone surfer waits.
It is a pause. No one is hurrying, and nothing needs to happen next. That is the moment Jan Birch caught, and the one you keep when it hangs on your wall.
In a week for giving thanks, this is a print for the beach you love and the people you walked it with. Hang it where you pass it every day, and let it remind you to slow down.
IV. The California shoreline
California beach wall art: the shoreline series
Four photographs of the Southern California coast, from Laguna Beach to San Clemente to Malibu. Hang two, three or all four for a gallery wall that feels like a long walk by the water.
V. At home
California wall art for the living room, and beyond
Calm, nostalgic and quietly confident, these photographs settle into a room.
In the living room
Hang one large piece above the sofa, sized to about two-thirds of its width. Black and white lets the room's wood, linen and leaves carry the color.
In an entryway or hallway
A tall print, like Street To Surf, turns a narrow wall into the start of a trip.
On a gallery wall
Group three from the same series. The shoreline repeats, and the story builds from frame to frame.
VI. The whole collection
Every Jan Birch print
37 photographs, shown in a mix of frames. Every piece comes in Black, White, Hickory and Heritage Walnut.
Street To Surf
Shop in Black
Iconic Paris
Shop in Hickory
Al Fresco
Shop in Black
Californian Fireworks
Shop in Hickory
Eiffel Essence
Shop in Hickory
Iron and Stone
Shop in White
Le Favorite
Shop in Black
Los Angeles
Shop in Black
Morning Pariscapes
Shop in Hickory
New York Noir
Shop in Black
The Beverly Hills
Shop in Hickory
The Malibu Sun
Shop in White
The Windy City
Shop in White
To The Finish
Shop in White
The Endless Frame®
One frame. Multiple works. Stored inside.
Home of the Endless Frame®: the luxury fine-art system that lets you swap and store your art in seconds, and refresh your walls without ever replacing the frame.
What collectors say about Jan Birch
“Love this picture above our fireplace mantle!”
Lisa F. · Verified buyer · on The Boulevard
We have several prints from Helm + Oar and this one is another great addition. Great quality.
Very happy with the photo and framing. Couldn’t have been any better!
Lovely piece. The print is Crisp and modern.
Made by Helm + Oar
Printed and framed with care
Every Helm + Oar piece is printed with archival, Giclée-certified inks, so the depth and detail last.
Each frame is solid White Oak with Artist Grade Crystal Acrylic, and your art arrives ready to hang with the hardware pre-installed.
Good to know
Questions about Jan Birch
Who is Jan Birch?
Jan Birch is a fine art photographer based in Los Angeles. She began with a 35mm camera as a girl and later worked in the film industry in Europe. She still travels internationally for commissioned and passion projects.
Where does Jan Birch photograph?
Many of her photographs are set in California, from the Laguna Beach and San Clemente shoreline to Malibu, Venice and Beverly Hills. The collection also includes Paris, London, Chicago and New York City.
Where was Break Time photographed?
At Laguna Beach, California. It is one of four photographs in the shoreline series, together with San Clemente Play, Low Tide and California Morning Haze.
Is Break Time good black-and-white beach wall art?
Yes. It shows a palm-lined beach with gentle waves and a lone surfer at the shoreline. It suits beach houses, living rooms, bedrooms and offices.
How are Jan Birch prints made?
Each one is printed with archival, Giclée-certified inks by Helm + Oar and framed in solid White Oak with Artist Grade Crystal Acrylic. It arrives ready to hang.
Which frame suits a Jan Birch print?
Heritage Walnut warms black-and-white work and feels classic. Black sharpens a city scene. White keeps a bright room airy, and Hickory feels relaxed and natural.
Your turn
Choose your moment
A beach you love, a street that feels like home, a trip you were lucky to take together. Find the photograph that holds it.
Meet all our Featured Artists →Featured artist: Plant Passenger →How to size and hang art →