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If you are unable to visit our gallery and would like to purchase photographs from this preview or others in the gallery, please contact the gallery and call 585-271-2540.

 

Gallery Picks of the Show

2 Men, 2 Visions
by Dick Bennett and Carl Crumley

Gallery Partners' have chosen their "Picks of the Show"

click here to return to the details of the exhibit

                                                                                                                                                                             

All images copyright by the individual photographers

Partners' Picks
Leopard Cub by Dick Bennett

Leopard Cub
by Dick Bennett


Dick Bennett has produced this captivating photograph of a beautiful leopard cub. For good reason he needed to take this photograph from a significant distance from the cub and by shooting through a variety of interfering subject matter. By using selective focus he was able to isolate the cub and the gray rock upon which he/she is perched as the only subject matter that is distinctly in focus. The viewer’s attention, like in all photographs, is attracted to the sharpest objects in the image. By virtue of its sharpness the leopard cub perched upon the gray rock becomes the subject of the photograph.

There are other reasons that our eyes and minds are attracted to the cub. Stare for a moment at the two eyes of the cub. Notice that the cub’s eyes stare directly back at you. Dick skillfully captures this threatening feeling of “eye contact” between the cub and viewers of the image.

The alertness of the leopard communicates further the feeling that he/she may be ready to charge the viewer. The body tension of the cub’s shoulders and the slight curl of it’s paws around the rock seem to produce good positioning for launching an attack. By capturing these subtle but telling features in his image Leopard Cub, Dick has produced a powerfully interactive image linking the leopard cub and the image viewer.

Angel Fish by Carl Crumley

Angel Fish
by Carl Crumley
 

The Angel Fish image is part of Carl’s “What is it?” series, one of his six groupings in the show. Carl enjoys an eclectic approach to his photography searching for those images where the “camera sees what the eye can’t see”. The Angel Fish is one of those images. Carl refers to it as a happy accident (and we all have those), but recognizing what you have after the fact is also an important aspect of photography. This image, shot at a shutter speed less than intended, contains just a bit of motion blur that makes it a recognizable abstract. An angle fish is discernable, yet the movement of it has created an other-worldly effect that is very pleasing to the eye. As Carl has suggested, our vision of  this scene, would have seen an angel fish in an aquarium. A camera allows us to play with what we see and create something that we can’t see with our eyes… slow motion captured in a still frame! Nice work Carl.

Sleepy by Joann Long Sleepy
by Joann Long
Utilizing color, selective focus and composition, Joann has created a beautiful photograph.
The lush green of the background and the leaf compliment the green of the frog.  The use of selective focus renders the background a neutral pallet on which the leaf and frog are then the subject of interest. Outdoor photography is often challenged with overly busy backgrounds. By keeping the plants behind our frog out of focus, this overcomes this potential problem very effectively.
The way the leaf has been photographed and the image composed takes your eye to the face of the napping frog.  The lines of the leaf's center move from the lower right to our model, the frog!  Green is not an easy color to work with photographically. In this photo Joann works with variations on the color green to make for a wonderful example of how to keep an image almost mono-chromatic but still be very interesting as a "study in green".

Dirty Windows by David Schroeder Dirty Windows
by David Schroeder


David’s forte lately has been for minimalization and strong abstracts that highlight texture, color, lines or whatever he wishes to emphasize as he peers through his lens.

David challenges the viewer to view something specific rather than stepping back to see the full scene. Dirty Window is a symmetrical design of six windowpanes, though no one pane is complete in the frame. Each pane is dirty, but not as in brownish or brackish color that obscures the view. Rather, it appears as if someone has taken a brush and finely brushed or swirled a substance on the glass. This whitish color may have been from a long ago paint decomposition that has streaked the window. Upon closer examination, as one looks through the windows there are splashes of color like someone used a large strokes of different colors on a tapestry. What emerges are blurred colors that seem to represent plants. What is clear is that David places these colors in the left side of the frame near the power positions thus creating a tension with the symmetrical feel of the windowpanes. As with a landscape image the sharp focus foreground of green plants with touches of red serve as a counterpoint to the swath of color hiding just inside the middle ground window that has a pleasing texture. All of this adds the perception of depth to the photo that may not have been apparent at first glance.

David searches for patterns and textures where others may over look or not deem important from a broader perspective. Ironically, he challenges us to see a broader perspective within a very tight frame. Dirty Windows is a very pleasing work of art.
Whiskers by Michelle Turner


Whiskers

by Michelle Turner

Michelle has presented an excellent series of photographs taken on a recent trip to Antarctica. Noted photographer and educator Jay Maisel teaches that one component of a good photograph is something he calls “gesture”.

For example, a picture of a small boy with his hands at his side is far less engaging that one where he is doing something, like waving or hands on hips, etc. Jay teaches that gesture is not only something that can be shown by people, but it can be shown by animals and inanimate objects as well

Another component of a strong photograph is a strong graphic composition for the viewer to admire. This photograph presents all of these factors in a very creative way.  The sea lion is not shown in complete form, only the head and one of its flippers is presented.

There is a whimsical feeling to the photograph, the tendency to anthropomorphize animals is something that we all do and this image allows the viewer to do this, attributing strong feelings about the subject to the viewer.

The use of minimal color is very effective, reflecting the minimum pallet that is most likely presented to the photographer.  The blue background, the amazing actual color of ice in Antarctica nicely frames the body of the subject.

 

This photo is NOT just a documentation of what a sea lion looks like, but is ABOUT the sea lion.  The viewer feels a strong affinity to this animal, and the enjoyment that it appears to being displaying.  Even lying on the frigid surface of the ice!

 
 

  
 
Image City Photography Gallery  ♦   722 University Avenue  ♦    Rochester, NY 14607 ♦ 585.271.2540
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