Freeman Patterson works in two closely related fields -- photography and visual design -- on a regular, ongoing basis. He always has photographs or related projects in the imagining, planning, creation, or execution stage, and continually gives himself assignments that maintain, improve, and develop the craft aspects of his work and the quality of his seeing. Because he believes strongly that all art forms (visual, performing, literary, etc.) enrich and contribute to the development of the others, Freeman makes time for reading, writing, listening to music, watching films and videos, attending theatre, interacting with CD-ROM's, and meeting with artists and others involved in the arts.

Freeman has had numerous solo exhibitions of photographic prints: "Freeman Patterson: Monograph", The National Film Board of Canada, widely exhibited in Canada, the United States, and many other countries between 1973 and early 1980; A Moment In Time Gallery, Toronto, ON, 1974; North Market Arts Gallery, Saint John, NB, 1980; "One Planet, One Man," Aitken Bicentennial Exhibition Centre (Frazee Gallery), Saint John, NB, 1993, which toured to several other galleries in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, 1993-1995; "ShadowLight," The Royal Ontario Museum (Gallery of Contemporary Culture), Toronto, ON; "Odysseys," Tatar/Alexander Gallery, Toronto, ON, 1996; and "Bouquet", a second touring exhibition which opened at the Aitken Bicentennial Exhibition Centre, Saint John, NB in 1998. Since 2000, Freeman has had solo exhibitions in private and public galleries in Toronto, Oakville, Hamilton, Sarnia, Windsor, Vancouver, Fredericton and elsewhere. In addition, his prints have been included in numerous group exhibitions created by the National Film Board of Canada for New York's Museum of Modern Art and other galleries and museums around the world. It is far more difficult to determine and describe Freeman's exhibitions of colour transparencies.

Between 1963 and 1970, when he was endeavouring to establish himself as a photographer, he entered many competitive exhibitions (whose standards were approved by the Photographic Society of America) throughout North America and abroad, and had his images chosen for more than 500 of them. Subsequently, he sat on the juries of numerous such exhibitons. During this period, but especially since, he has made major audiovisual (slides with music) presentations to art groups of various sorts, art educators, and to the general public. An abbreviated list of North American cities where he has appeared includes Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, London, Toronto, Montreal, Fredericton, Saint John, Halifax, St. John's, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Atlanta, Dallas, Birmingham, Asheville, Cleveland, Cincinnati, New York, Hartford, and Boston. Many sponsors in these and other centres have requested return engagements.