All images copyright by the individual photographers

Partners' Picks by the Guest Photographers
	Parallel Universes, by Dennis Adams  Dennis displays a smorgasbord of colors, texture and feelings in his Mindbending Digital Art exhibit. Dennis has some element of photography in each but makes no attempt to represent physical objects accurately. These are clearly in the metaphysical world of imagination, feelings and abstraction. Parallel Universes is a wonderful example of his work. Compositionally, Dennis has covered most everything:  the rule of thirds, lines, triangles, and varying brilliant color. Checking Google, the idea of parallel universes is an abstract concept of a conjectured set of multiple possible universes, including ours, which make up reality. How often does one say, “Well, in another life, I did . . . . If I hadn’t taken that choice, I probably . . . .”  Every choice we make creates an alternate reality from the one we are in at any second. Physicists hypothesis that our ‘real’ universe was created from a big bang. One can think of Dennis’ image as an individual life beginning with birth, represented by the burst of light in the upper third left quadrant. The majority of the lines emanating from that point represent a ‘life line.’ Some are long and straight, others take a sharp turn, some are shorter and seem to end in clouds and others are disrupted from other lines seemingly coming out of nowhere. It is likely, that all of us can say that we are not the same person we were 5, 10, 20 or 30 years ago. What events, decisions or people disrupted the timeline we saw for ourselves at different times in our life? What do you think Dennis meant by Parallel Universes?
	Iguana by Clyde Comstock   We are very pleased to have Clyde as a visiting artist for the next several months. Once again Clyde has presented a beautiful collection of natural photographs, focusing on a recent trip to Costa Rica. The iguana is perhaps one of the most interesting members of the reptile family and Clyde has captured the beauty and elegance of this animal in its natural habitat. This is always a challenge. Against a purposeful, out of focus background, he keeps her attention riveted on the iguana. This image brings us, the observer, very very close to this wonderful animal. The high-quality focus on the incredible texture so present on his head, shoulders, leg and body contribute to the beauty of this photograph. Accentuated by colored pearls above the shoulder the eyes glisten in the light and we can wonder if it’s connecting to us directly.  The wonderful circle on the bottom part of his head contributes to its amazing colors. The ancient look at this animal is reinforced by the loose skin hanging from the neck, resembling chain mail armor of the Middle Ages. The neck spines reach up, almost looking like flames coming from his head. We can only imagine what the Iguana’s ancient distant relatives, the dinosaurs, must have appeared like with their brilliant colors, perhaps even decorated with feathers.  Clyde has done a masterful job in making a technically superb image of an amazing subject!
	Quartet by Tim Fuss   When you look at Tim’s photography the first thing you notice is the quality of light he captures.  It exists in all of the photographs he has shared with us. Often it is natural daylight from a window, but Tim is well versed in the use of studio lighting. Regardless, he is masterful in his use of light.  Quartet is a perfect example of Tim’s creative style.   There is a lot to consider in this photograph that many people, including photographers miss. The end product is a compilation of many detailed considerations. Pressing the shutter is actually a small part of it.  First, it’s important to know that Tim used his COVID time to actually repair and rebuild these four beautiful instruments. The next step is to “stage” the guitars so that they interact with one another.  If Tim had simply stood the four guitars against the wall, there would be no communication between the instruments. These are carefully placed to create motion within the image. A little twist here, a small turn there… and then laying one down contradicting the vertical-ness of the photograph. The lighting is impeccable. The faces of the guitars glow with warm hues. The necks blend into the dark background making a connection with their surroundings. The small space of wood floor compliments the tonality of the guitar surfaces. Finally, Tim selected to make this a tight square print with a large matt.   This technique keeps the observer “in the photograph” by separating it from other elements surrounding it.  The tight square also does not let our attention move out of the frame. We are captured and it’s difficult to move away from this photograph.  Congratulations Tim.  This is a very fine and well thoughtout photograph. We appreciate you sharing it with us.
	Crossing Over by Dick Thomas   In Dick’s write-up of his current show he talks about creating an emotional response in the eyes of the viewer. His photograph Crossing Over definitely provides that.  The simple subject of a bridge leading to a tree draws you into the image immediately, having your eyes walk up the steps of the bridge towards the tree. His use of black-and-white is very effective, as it shows off the textures of the bridge as well as the wispy lighting of the tree. Light is used very effectively; as the center of the bridge is well lit well the sides are in some level of shadow. This photograph is one which can invoke many different thoughts to the viewer. It gives them an opportunity to look at it for a long time, being pulled into the image, thinking about walking over the bridge to a new world, moving from darkness into light, and many other potential thoughts and emotions  that one may have. Were very pleased to have Dick show his work again at the gallery, providing his personal vision and allows the viewer to apply their own vision to each image.