The Dawning of a New Year

It begins with a gentle lightening of the horizon. No more than a hint of what is to come. So subtle and gradual is the beginning that it is not always recognized for what it is. It could be the lights of a nearby town or the harsh beacons of a highway. It couldn’t be the dawn. Could it?

There is something magical about the moment when night changes to day. That precise moment is calculated and published in newspapers. The longest and shortest days are celebrated as solstices. Even birds become silent in reverence for that moment.

Then it pounces. Minute by minute the sky evolves and suddenly a new day is born. Each one begins in a different way. Sometimes it’s a symphony of light and shadow blending brush strokes of crimson and pink over a dark, dusky blue. Always changing, never waiting until the camera is in the right place, never hesitating for “just one more picture”.

And sometimes the dawning is cold and dreary. Black drains from the sky to reveal a gray, monochromatic world, as if it were veiled to the eye. Trees float into focus as the minutes silently pass.

When enough of the new light filters through, the day begins in earnest. The wind picks up, birds begin to sing, and people move about. Suddenly, it’s another day.

The dawning of the New Year has always been a time of hope, a new beginning. There is the feeling that no matter how dark and dismal the past has been this day is the first day of the rest of your life. It is a chance to start fresh. Past mistakes don’t count.

But why this day? Why do we not celebrate it on the first day of spring? Or on the day of the first new moon? The fact that different countries and religions celebrate it on different days tells us that it’s not the particular day that is important. It’s the feelings we associate with it. So wouldn’t it be nice if we made a fresh start every morning as the sun slips past the horizon to banish the dark corners of our lives?

Happy New Year. Happy new day.

--Janet Worne

Henri Cartier-Bresson Quote

“A photograph is neither taken nor seized by force. It offers itself up. It is the photo that takes you. One must not take photos.”

--Henri Cartier-Bresson

Minor White Quote

“Often while traveling with a camera we arrive just as the sun slips over the horizon of a moment, too late to expose film, only time enough to expose our hearts.”

--Minor White

Living With Photography

You have acquired a stunning collection of photographs. Now what? There is nothing more paralyzing than facing that blank wall and wondering how to begin. The good news is that there are a few guidelines and suggestions that will help you make that commitment, hang the pictures and still keep the “Wow!” factor that drew you to the images in the first place.

Start by studying your collection and looking for patterns or themes. Are they mostly Black & White? Do you prefer color landscapes? Or is it an eclectic mix? How about your room décor? Is it traditional and formal? Or do you lean toward casual and unstudied? You can choose an arrangement that complements the space.

If you have one large eye-popping image, your job is a little easier. But a small or medium sized photo can look lost on a large wall. Grouping a collection of photos can have more impact than dotting them around the room. Group photos by topic (architecture, landscapes, rusting cars, etc), style (black & white, color, dark and somber, etc), or by frames (black metal, brown wood, barn siding, etc). And sometimes the unifying theme is its diversity.

This process is highly personal and there are no right answers, only results that make you feel good. Here are a few tips to get you started:

-Use newspaper or brown craft paper cut in the size and shapes of your art and try out different arrangements by taping them on the wall. Or lay the artwork out on the floor to help you visualize the result.

-A grouping of photos works best with 2-3 inches between frames, you can tack strings on the wall using a level to keep a consistent space between photos.

-Framed photos can be grouped on shelves.

-Arrange smaller pictures around a large anchor picture.

-A row of photos hugging a chair rail emphasizes the architectural detail.

-Anchor your art to a large piece of furniture. As a general rule of thumb, a large grouping of pictures over a sofa should be about two-thirds of the width of the sofa and about 6 or 7 inches above the back.

-When not anchoring to furniture, hang at eye-level.

-But the most important thing to remember is; always follow your gut and break the rules when it feels right.

--Janet Worne

Douglas Kent Hall Exhibit

The Albuquerque Photographers’ Gallery is pleased to host a very special showing of the work of the late photographer, Douglas Kent Hall (1938–2008). “Precious Metal: Rare Platinum-Palladium and selected Silver Prints” will be on display from November 2nd to December 5th, with a reception on Friday, November 4th, 6:00-9:00 PM.

Born in Utah, Hall went on to a prolific career as a fine art photographer and writer. After acquiring his first camera in the 1960’s, he photographed such subjects as rock stars, cowboys, Native Americans and bodybuilders, to name a few. He published twenty-five books and has taught and exhibited widely. He has won numerous awards for his photography, books and writing, including an Academy Award for a documentary film on the American Cowboy.

In the 1990’s, Douglas Kent Hall produced a small series of platinum-palladium prints. He chose some of his most evocative images of the American West to reproduce with this special process. Hall’s platinum-palladium prints display an astonishing amount of warmth and depth, including a purity of black tones seldom seen in these types of prints. Moreover, the photographer used a paintbrush in the dark to apply platinum-palladium emulsion to sheets of hand-made paper, so that each print appears surrounded by its own unique field of painterly strokes.

During this special show, the Albuquerque Photographers’ Gallery will display a selection of the few remaining platinum-palladium prints made by Hall. Individual images were only printed in multiples of two or three, and the last time they were available to collectors was over a decade ago at the Platinum Plus gallery in New York City. This will be one of the year’s most exciting events for local photography connoisseurs.

The Albuquerque Photographers’ Gallery is located at 303 Romero St., NW, Suite N208 in Old Town, Albuquerque.
For more information call (505)244-9195 or visit: www.abqphotographersgallery.com
For more information on Douglas Kent Hall visit: www.douglaskenthall.com

Henri Cartier-Bresson Quote

“Composition must be one of our constant preoccupations, but at the moment of shooting it can stem only from our intuition, for we are out to capture the fugitive moment, and all the interrelationships involved are on the move.”

--Henri Cartier-Bresson

New Members

APG has added two new members to our group of talented photographers.


Tye Hardison arrived in August to replace the departing Peter Boehringer. He brings with him a dramatic and unique vision to the gallery. His love of nature started 30 years ago while hunting and fishing in northern New Mexico. Later, after he purchased his first camera, he went on to photograph the many enchanting landscapes of our state. More...

Mellany Herrera replaces Rebecca Golding starting this month. Mellany’s work is filled with color and imagination. Her vision is realized using digital tools and High Dynamic Range (HDR) process resulting in rich and detailed images. Check back at our website in the next few weeks to see more about Mellany.

We will miss Rebecca and Peter even as we welcome our new members.

Bill Brandt Quote

“It is part of the photographer’s job to see more intensely than most people do. He must have and keep in him something of the receptiveness of the child who looks at the world for the first time. Too much self-examination or self consciousness about it or about one’s aims and purposes may, in the early stages, be a hindrance rather than a help.”

-Bill Brandt

Hummingbird Photography Simplified

Each spring, New Mexico backyards are humming with black-chinned and broad-tails as they battle over feeding territories and entertain us with their aerobatics. A month later, the Rufous arrive with their bright flashes of red and orange. Photographers everywhere are scrambling to take “the best hummer shot ever”. They dream of the elaborate (and expensive) equipment they will need to accomplish their goal.

If you research hummingbird photos on the Internet, you will find most, if not all, serious shooters use strobes. As in LOTS of flash units fired remotely from multiple angles. While this undoubtedly produces some stunning and sharp images, it is also quite expensive and time-consuming to set up. But there are other ways to do it.

I have never used more than a single flash, sometimes with an flash extender on a 300mm lens, and found that approach is often more frustrating than useful. For one thing, the birds freak out at the moment of the flash and wind up in strange unflattering flight positions. Another disadvantage is that flash units must recycle, which prohibits using the continuous shooting mode available in most digital SLR cameras.

So this spring I decided to try a simpler setup with no flash. The main issue with any wildlife image is subject sharpness. And getting a sharp image means lots of available light. Why? Because you need both a high shutter speed to freeze motion, and a small aperture (more depth of field) to get more of the subject in the focal range. A fast lens is your best friend here. A 70-200mm, f2.8 is a good candidate. Or an 85mm, f1.8 will work well because you can be fairly close to the birds--if you let them get used to your presence and do not make quick movements. I even used a 50mm, f1.8 with some success, as can be seen in this image. Finally, use higher ISO than usual if your camera body can deliver clean images with it.

My backyard portal faces east, so about an hour after sunrise I have great backlight on the birds at my feeder, which hangs on the east end of the portal. This is great for silhouette shots, but not so hot for anything else. The key is to use a reflector. I improvised one out of standard foam board. The white surface reflects the sunlight quite well, but must be positioned close to the feeder. I used a ladder to hold the reflector, while I stood on the second rung and placed my camera with 50mm lens just above it. With a longer lens, you will probably need to be further back from the feeder. Also, it helps to be shooting at a horizontal or downward angle to get a dark background from trees or bushes since the sky will be too bright.

Experiment with different reflector angles, distance, and lenses until you get your own 'perfect hummer shot'.

-Tom Spross

Ernst Haas Quote

“The camera doesn't make a bit of difference. All of them can record what you are seeing.

But, you have to SEE.”

--Ernst Haas

Pinhole Photography

Taking pictures with a pinhole camera is like peering through a chink in a wall and looking into the past. The resulting photos look as if they have been taken at least a hundred years ago, which makes sense considering Leonardo Da Vinci was the first to use the pinhole concept with his "Camera Obscura." The basic idea is that light travels through a tiny hole and casts an image, backwards and upside-down, onto the negative. Exposures range from 30 seconds to nearly 2 minutes depending on the size of the hole.

To make this historic camera you can use an oatmeal box painted black, inside and out. The lens is a piece of aluminum pie plate pierced with a needle and taped over a 1.5 square inch hole in the side of the box. I use black and white photographic paper as a negative, which is placed inside the box (in total darkness) to fit the curve of the wall opposite the lens. The emulsion side faces the hole. It is this curve that gives the extreme wide-angle look to the pictures. Use a heavy piece of black paper secured with rubber bands over the lens as your lens cap. After setting the camera in position for the picture, with a rock on top to keep it steady, remove the lens cap for 30 seconds or so. You will need to try a few times to find the correct exposure.

Back in the darkroom, develop the paper negative in the normal manner (there are many good books that describe this process in detail) using black and white chemistry. Sandwich this negative with another piece of paper (emulsion to emulsion with the negative on top) and shine a light through it to produce the positive, which then must be developed like the negative. You can also scan the negative on a flat-bed scanner and create the positive in Photoshop. If done correctly the result is a photograph similar to the ones you see here.

There you have it, cheap and easy photographic thrills. Amateur photographers quite often ask me what kind of camera I use and how much it costs. They are impressed with expensive gear. I tell them it doesn't matter what equipment you use, a photographer can make a good picture with an oatmeal box.

I admit I still have a few bugs to work out here. With a little refinement and experimentation I could clean up some of the extra lines and strange flares of light in these pictures. But I kind of like them. It adds a little of the old world feel that these images have. And who's to say that the smudges of light in the cemetery picture are flaws in my lens and not civil war ghosts?

-Janet Worne

W. Eugene Smith Quote

“What use is having a great depth of field, if there is not an adequate depth of feeling?”

- W. Eugene Smith

Working Hard...

We are hard at work, getting ready for Karl Koenig's show, "In This Place...". The photos have been hung, the invitations are out, and we are preparing refreshments for the reception--this Friday, 6-9 PM.

This show is not to be missed. Karl's work is amazing and one-of-a-kind. He is the inventor of an alternative process he calls, gumoil, which exudes a very organic quality. He also uses the photogravure process with quite beautiful results. We hope to see you there!

How to Photograph Fireworks

There are two classic images that have come to represent the Fourth of July: American flags and fireworks. Both stir up feelings of patriotism. Both are plentiful on the Fourth. Both figure prominently in our childhood memories. Only one is easy to photograph.

Flags are portable, can be photographed day or night and will hold still or wave at you, depending on the wind.

Fireworks are another matter. Even professional photographers have some trouble getting good fireworks pictures. It takes patience, perseverance and a little experimentation.

What follows here are a few guidelines to get you started. Remember, these are only starting points. Try a variety of exposures and angles and see what works best for your camera and situation. Many of the suggestions here will only make sense to photographers with a basic understanding of how a camera works, but there are a few suggestions for those with no background knowledge as well.

Camera
I would suggest an SLR 35 mm camera, digital or film, preferably one that you can operate manually. A wide-angle lens works best if you are close to the source, a longer lens may be needed for fireworks at a distance.

Point & Shoot
Cameras that only work in an automatic mode do not generally work well. But it can’t hurt to try. Some cameras may adjust the exposure without a problem. There are now several Point & Shoot cameras on the market with a fireworks setting. My Point & Shoot has a Night Scene mode that will use a slower shutter speed. Read your manual and try several different modes. Turn off the flash if you can or cover it with tape. You may still end up with a blurry picture or no picture, but you could also be surprised with a good shot. Sometimes a blurry photo makes an artistic statement.

Tripod
Most important is to use a tripod or set the camera on a steady surface such as a wall. The exposure will be a long one so avoid all motion--unless of course, you want to deliberately move the camera or zoom the lens for a special effect. This means that even with the camera on a tripod, you’ll need to use a radio remote or shutter release cable to fire the camera. You can get away with pressing the button yourself if you’re careful to squeeze gently without jostling the camera. You could also try setting the self-timer. The only problem with that is that it’s harder to coordinate with the firework bursts. Another trick you could try is to set the camera on an extra long shutter speed and cover the lens with black mat board while you press the button. The main thing to remember is, no motion. That also means it may be difficult shooting pictures from a rocking boat.

Focus
Pre-focusing on infinity works best unless you have people in the foreground that you want to light. With a Point & Shoot camera, the Landscape Mode (typically it’s the icon with the mountains) will give you an infinity focus.

Location
Where you shoot from is an important consideration. You don’t want crowds clustered around jostling your camera. You’ll want to avoid bright streetlights. You need to decide if you want close, tight shots of just fireworks or if you want a wider view showing some of the surroundings.

Drive around at least 2 hours early to scout for optimum shooting locations. Avoid distracting elements such as telephone poles, electric lines, and trees that might blur during long time exposures (although that can be used for an artistic effect if you so choose). It's nice to frame up the fireworks with people, a building or a statue to give the fireworks a sense of location. Look for elevated shooting positions. Roofs of parking garages can provide an excellent vantage point.

Foreground
Including something in the foreground can add to the picture. It could be spectators, an interesting building or landmark or even a body of water with reflections. If you include people, you have the choice of letting them go dark as in a silhouette or lighting them. A nearby street lamp might add just the right amount of light or you might choose to use a flash.

Flash
Those who have more advanced cameras and strobes might try "dialing down" their strobe output while shooting fireworks with a crowd scene in the foreground. This will reveal some detail in the people, but won't over expose them. Look in your strobe manual for instructions on exposure compensation. On a tripod, you can still allow several seconds for fireworks while shooting with strobe fill. Also, many strobes allow a manual reduction in full power. Try experimenting with 1/8th power on the strobe using 400 ISO. But don't forget that turning the strobe off and thus allowing a silhouette of foreground objects, trees, and people can also be quite effective.

Exposure
Getting the exposure right is the experimental part. It will take many tries to get a good shot. Even if you come up with the perfect exposure, each burst will have a different intensity. Digital cameras make it easier because you can view the results immediately and make adjustments on the spot. The key is to “Bracket”, which means take shots at different settings so that you get at least one at the correct exposure. Here are some basic rules of thumb to get you started.

On a digital camera you can start with an ISO of anywhere from 100 to 400. Your aperture should be on f/8 or f/11. Your shutter speed should be anywhere from 1 to 3 seconds, although I’ve seen good pictures taken as fast as a 15th of a second. The longer exposures will give you more light trails from each burst. You can even leave the shutter open on a “bulb” setting and get several bursts in one picture.

This is just a starting point. Look at the results and adjust accordingly. The ISO needs to be low because at higher settings a digital picture will show a lot of “noise”, especially with a longer exposure. The small aperture setting is because of the intensity of the fireworks. The longer shutter speed will allow you to capture the whole blast.

A film camera is similar but you need to bracket more since you can’t see the results until later.

Many of these suggestions may not work for you. Use what works and ignore the rest. Since fireworks photography is largely experimental and unpredictable, don’t be afraid to try different things. You could end up with a “lucky accident”.

 

-Janet Worne

Minor White Quote

“No matter how slow the film, Spirit always stands still long enough
for the photographer It has chosen.”

- Minor White

Karl P. Koenig is Coming to APG!

The images are haunting and evocative. They glow with a life energy that draws the viewer in. Dead fish in the marketplace, off-beat scenes in New Mexico, and twisted trees, “natures own architecture”, all seem to have a spirit that lives and breathes within them. This remarkable body of work will soon be on display at the Albuquerque Photographers’ Gallery.

Beginning on July 15 through Labor Day, we will present “In This Place…”, an exhibit by the world-renowned photographer, Karl P. Koenig, with a reception for the artist on Friday, July 22, from 7 to 9 pm.

Koenig works chiefly with two alternative processes: polychromatic gumoil, which he created in 1990, and non-toxic photogravure, which uses Solar Plates. Gumoil is a versatile, labor-intensive process using oil pigments and gum arabic mixed with potassium bichromate for its UV sensitivity. Koenig literally invented the process and wrote the book on it, entitled “Gumoil Photographic Printing”. Photogravure is a printmaking process whereby a coated copper plate is exposed to a positive image, forming an intaglio surface receptive to lithography inks.

Both of these processes result in images that are hauntingly old-world. The gumoil, especially, is sensual and textural. In the wrong hands, unusual processes such as these can easily degrade into trite and gimmicky. No matter what tools or techniques are used, you must start with a great image and the technique must be appropriate to that image. Koenig’s work achieves this and more.

“I devote considerable thought and experimentation,” he says, “in choosing the best method, the optimal combinations of textures and colors, and appropriate size for each image.”

After a successful career in psychology, first as a professor and then in private practice, Koenig changed course and pursued his artistic passions. He studied lithography, silkscreen and non-silver photography. In 1990, he pioneered the new—yet old looking—‘alternative process’ that he named Gumoil. He has had work exhibited in Australia, Switzerland, Agentina (to name a few) as well as extensively throughout the United States, including a showing of Concentration Camp Architecture photos at the Holocaust Museum in Houston.

For Karl P. Koenig’s full resume of achievements, including the complete, and impressive, list of publications, exhibits, workshops, lectures and awards, visit his website.

Diane Arbus Quote

"A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know."

--Diane Arbus

Urey is Back!

We are quite pleased to have Urey Lemen, one of our founding members, back with us after a short hiatus from the gallery. Visitors to the Albuquerque Photographers' Gallery have been enjoying his top-notch photographs for many years. His award-winning work captures the scenic beauty of the New Mexico landscape and reminds us why our state is called the "Land of Enchantment". To view more of his work visit his homepage.

Welcome back, Urey!

Lewis Hine Quote

“The picture is a symbol that brings one immediately into close touch with reality. It speaks a language learned early in the race and in the individual.”

--Lewis Hine

How To Shoot a Moving Sky (The old-fashioned way)

A sandstone arch, millions of years in the making, soars overhead. Countless stars, light-years away, burn trails through the infinite sky. For me, this photograph is about the immenseness of the universe and the passage of time. Both of which make me feel small and yet it is oddly comforting. I find myself wanting to ponder the meaning of life and my place in it. This image takes me back to the creation of the world.

So it only seems appropriate that I used a basic, non-digital method to achieve it.

This image was the result of a five-hour exposure after days of trial and error. I shot this on fuji-color film, ISO 400, f-stop of 5.6, using an old Canon FTb camera and 35mm lens. I needed a fully manual camera that did not rely on the battery to keep the shutter open for long periods. Here are some tips if you want to try this yourself:

1. Pick a dark, cloudless night with no moon. Any light spillover will ruin the picture. Clouds will reflect and amplify any light—even light from the stars.

2. Find a remote location away from city lights—for the above obvious reasons.

3. You’ll need an interesting foreground. I went to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky. A place like Arches National Park or the Bisti Badlands would work. Even a gnarled old tree with plenty of sky around it works. This is where your creativity shines.

4. Mount your camera on a sturdy tri-pod and position it, paying attention to the composition of your image.

5. When you’re ready, set the camera on Bulb (which keeps the shutter open until you push it again) and hit the shutter release.

6. You may or may not choose to light the foreground. I popped a small strobe several times along the underside of the arch. I used a slight warming filter on the strobe. I wanted it to look campfire-lit.

7. Find a comfortable spot and wait. I set my watch alarm and went to sleep in my car. When the time is up, close the shutter.

8. The first exposure was four hours and the second was five. They both worked but I think the five-hour exposure turned out the best. The third exposure was blown out because of the coming dawn.

--Janet Worne

Ernst Haas Quote

"Best wide-angle lens? Two steps backward. Look for the 'ah-ha'."

-Ernst Haas

Spring—New Mexico Style

The word “desert” conjures up an image of dry, brown hills and mesas, possibly dotted with small green pinion trees as pictured in a Georgia O’Keefe painting. What people who are unfamiliar with our high desert may not know is that New Mexico’s spring is full of surprises and unexpected intense color. Sometimes you have to get out of your house or car and look for it, but it’s there.

One of the first and most colorful things to bloom near my house is the hedgehog cactus, also known as the claret cup cactus. Now a cactus is one of the most inhospitable-looking plants I can think of. And looks are not deceiving in this case, as I have spent a lot of time pulling cactus spines out of my dog and sometimes my ankles. In April, however, small burgundy buds appear amid the spines and not long after, there are scarlet blooms that are as soft and inviting as the spines are sharp and downright scary.

The wonderful thing about being a photographer is that I find myself on my knees observing things at close range instead of throwing a quick glance out the car window while driving by.

--Janet Worne

Bill Allard Quote

"I think the best pictures are often on the edges of any situation, I don't find photographing the situation nearly as interesting as photographing the edges."

- William Albert Allard

Labor of Love

The Albuquerque Photographers’ Gallery is not only weathering the economic storm of the past couple years, we have recently moved to a larger space and added an eleventh member.

APG was founded in 2003 as Albuquerque's first cooperative photo gallery and has been a constant presence in Old Town’s Poco A Poco patio since then. When we decided to move we found no shortage of spaces available—fallout from the difficult economy. But as a co-op, APG is uniquely equipped to survive. There are eleven of us who have a shared workload and shared financial burden during difficult times. Co-ops foster a team atmosphere with a built-in support system and the effort it takes to make it work is truly a labor of love. Prospective buyers benefit as well by the generally lower prices and the variety of styles to choose from in one space, including innovative work that is not scripted by commercial constraints.

The eleven current member/photographers are; Peter Boehringer, Robert Medina Cook, Roberto Crespin, Bill d’Ellis, Rebecca Golding, Melissa Lea, Urey Lemen, Tom Spross, Gale Sutton, Kent Winchester, and Janet Worne.

Our new gallery opened on April 1, 2011, on the west side of the San Felipe de Neri Church in Albuquerque. Our address is 303 Romero Street, suite N208 Plaza Don Luis in Old Town. There will be an official Grand Opening Celebration on May 7, 2011.

Come and visit us soon!

--Janet Worne

WE ARE MOVING! – BUT NOT FAR

We are pleased to tell you that the gallery is moving to the west side of the Old Town Plaza in Albuquerque. Although our new location is only a couple of city blocks from the old, the move marks the great distance the gallery has come in its first decade. The new space is much larger, better lit, and more welcoming than our current quarters.
Beginning April 1st – and no, this is not an early April Fool’s Day joke – we’ll be in the Plaza Don Luis on the northwest corner of the Old Town Plaza, across the street to the west of the Church. (303 Romero St). We will occupy suite N208 upstairs. Served by an elevator and multiple stairways, we’ll be easier to find and have space for you to sit, have a cup of coffee, and look at the artists’ portfolios. Please come and enjoy our photographs of this land of clear light we’re privileged to photograph for you.

We’re busy preparing the space now, installing a new lighting system, erecting partitions, and planning new displays. We’re excited about the move and can’t wait to get to the new space. We’ll have a grand opening reception and will announce it here. In the meantime, we’re still open at the old location, ready to show you all our photos, including a perfect old adobe wall, a mysterious gate, or an endless southwestern horizon in which your imagination can roam, as free as the wind.

Introducing Peter Boehringer

Meet Peter Boehringer, our very newest member. His beautiful photographs will be added to our gallery in March.

Peter’s attraction to photography started very early in life and he had the good fortune of growing up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the breathtaking scenery was the backdrop for his first experiments in black and white. He received his first camera at the age of 14 and used his school’s darkroom for processing. However, with the lack of a personal darkroom and challenges of developing color film, as well as taking the time to pursue a career in the healthcare field, Peter put his photographic ambitions on hold.

Then in 2002 he moved to California with its captivating landscapes and discovered the tremendous improvement in digital photography. His passion for the art was rekindled. His main areas of interest are landscape, wildlife and nature, especially in the American Southwest where he now resides.

Welcome Peter, we look forward to having your work grace our walls.

Introducing Kent Winchester

Meet Kent Winchester, one of our two newest members.

Kent is a native New Mexican who has wandered the southwest – and other places – with a camera in his hand since he was ten years old. That was when his father, a professional photographer himself, first gave him a Kodak Brownie and showed him how to load film and click the shutter. After that he was pretty much on his own, but with Ansel Adams' books on photography never far away.

A trial lawyer, Kent's day job kept him from pursuing photography full time until recently. But backpacking vacations and work-related trips took him and his camera all over the western United States. Working first with film and now with both film and digital cameras, he continues to wander around the west, waiting for the light, and clicking his shutters.

We welcome him to the gallery and enjoy adding his individual style to our mix.