All images copyright by the individual photographers

Partners' Picks of Guest Photographers
	Young Eagle at Letchworth by David Braitsch David is an accomplished photographer who has shown many times at Image City.  I wasn’t sure it was the same David when I saw all these wonderful bird photos (and one tortoise) on the walls.  As his artist statement reveals, this is a newly developed interest of Dave’s, compliments of COVID-19 providing more time to work on this skill.  I have always admired wildlife photographers. You need a lot of time and a lot of patience. The photo of the young eagle caught my eye immediately. Of all the photos in the Neuberger Gallery, this one is actually a portrait… and a posed one at that.  You can see that this is an immature, healthy bird. His head is cocked, perhaps listening for David.  He is extremely attentive to his surroundings; ready to burst off that post in a second should he spot food – or Dave! Dave has positioned his head perfectly in the top third of the photo and the eye and beak are tack sharp. These are skills brought over from Dave’s past photographic experiences. Also note that Dave shot this upward. There is no foreground, other than the post the bird is sitting on. This gives the eagle a more regal and majestic perch. In his other photos it is clear that Dave used a large aperture to provide a nice soft background. In this photo that may not be the case. The background clouds seem more in focus but softer.  The striation of the clouds run opposite the feathering of the young eagle. There is a really nice separation between the bird and the sky lending to a comfortable and natural background.  Thanks for this Dave.
	Mysteries of Thought and Nature by Lisa Cook In her exhibit Lisa has created a powerful and thoughtful image by combining several different photographs.  This is a great example of how “the sum can be much greater than its parts” This is a photograph that one cannot just look at and move on…it requires the viewer to look carefully at the various parts and how they interact.  The components look almost like they are all made of stone, maybe marble.  The background is both eerie as well as intriguing, with starts above what looks like a face or maybe not. Books have such strong symbolic interpretations…knowledge, learning, history, etc.  The hands are beautifully resting on the open book…one wonders what the pages say but you cannot make this out.  Not only are the tones of this photograph well-presented but the composition is very strong with the eyes immediately moving to the hands and the book, then enjoying the interesting background then going back to the hands and book.  As Lisa says in her artists statement, “Covid has affected photographers as they are now limited to their immediate environment as well as putting many of us in an isolated, introspective world”.
	Blaze Laura Knecht Laura creates beautiful abstracts in this exhibit.  She is a visiting artist and her photographs reinforce that decision. These images are “found,” they’ve captured relics of the past, weathered.  Most of us would just pass by these subjects, seeing only the entire space they occupy.  But in the capture of one of her images, she has selected only a part of this relic at a particular angle and perhaps changing the intensity of color or the contrast – always to create a response in the viewer.  This is a bold presentation.  The white stroke could be a blaze by itself, dramatically interrupting the black background.  The orange blaze overpowers the white, placing the white in the background.   More than just the powerful strokes – each is full of details, of structure. The power of this image lies in this careful selection of her subject.  The viewer is not sure if this is part of traffic lines drawn on the seat, parts of letters painted on a wall or many other possibilities.  But the origin is not critical, we can just enjoy the selection and presentation of a clever selection of subject material and how it is rendered in her photograph.
	Under the Sea Betsy Phillips Betsy excels finding beauty in weathered or decaying substances.  A rusted piece of metal, a stained wall or other objects provide her with material for her photographs. She often finds not only beauty but creates an opportunity for the viewer to view themes.  Betsy is a master at putting colors together that draws the viewer to continue looking.  This is easily seen in so many of the photographs that she presents in this exhibition.  She also uses a larger format which allows the viewer to see all of the details of her work.  Under the Sea is a great example of her work—the blue reminds of the sea and the color in the foreground looks like coral. She allows us to assign in our minds interpretations of her images.   The structures in the top half of the photograph are so beautifully organic, with a real sense that these shapes are really underwater.  The blue haze that lingers at the top is light gently sifting into the sea from the surface.   Just above the blue at the center of the photograph is a dark region that suggests depth – the dark region isn’t really “above” but rather behind the brighter blue area.  So, guided by Betsy, we can let our imagination take us on a journey beyond what was the original subject.
	The Rage of Ontario by Kevin Tubiolo Kevin writes that his goal in photography is “to create a mood, a feeling and a connection for him and any other person viewing the photo.” The Rage of Ontario” certainly achieves that goal. Kevin starts out by placing what could be the subject, the light house, dead center, a clear violation of one of the ‘rules’ of photography. However, the light house is clearly not the subject; the lake is, particularly the volume of spray to the right of the light house occupying about 10% of the photograph. Kevin likely used a fairly fast shutter speed, judging by the water droplets that may be seen in the wave action to the right and foreground. Yet, he edited the spray to appear as a massive object. To continue his metaphor, rage usually denotes uncontrolled and unclear specification of anger. Kevin is very conscious of the effect of clouds in his exhibit. The anthropomorphic depiction of the threatening clouds completes the emotional story that Kevin relates. Finally, this is a perfect candidate for black and white to fully feel the rage of the scene. On a side note, unless Kevin took this from his car, which I doubt, the physical part of taking a picture in these wind conditions is considerable. As one example – consider the sand on the beach that is blowing around. Thank you, Kevin for a wonderful example of how you connect with your audience.