All images copyright by the individual photographers

	Projection Amy J. Carpenter Amy’s creative photography project was a result of Covid restrictions, and it was lucky for us that we get to experience the resulting images. Jacqueline, the Mannequin, is the star of Amy’s venture. Using an inherited collection of Victorian clothes, a great amount of imagination, and cleverly posed mannequins, Amy made Jacqueline a star; sometimes even gracing the cover a magazine. It was Projection however, that caught my eye. All the other photographs caught Jacqueline in various situations. Some were magazine covers, some were posed outdoors with a car, or on a lawn, or in a bathroom. Projection was the only photo that was not a direct photograph of Jacqueline herself.That made it very interesting to me. It looks as if Jacqueline was being projected on a screen set up in the family backyard, next to the garage, at nighttime. It’s very cleverly done in a monochromatic blue tone that mimics a summer evening (note the flowers). Our brain reacts to faces looking right at us in a way that wants us to figure out the scene we are a witness to.  Any photograph that captures our imagination and makes us stay with the image a while is a great success.
	Hostas by Cathy Fraser Rochesterians are lucky to have a great place to explore and find photographic opportunities in the Finger Lakes Region. Cathy Fraser has little travel time because she and her family live in a 100-year-old family homestead above picturesque Keuka Lake. Even better, her two exhibited photos are of flowers in her garden. Hostas is a beautifully rendered black & white photo emphasizing the grace and delicacy of this shade perennial. Rather than the whole plant, Cathy selects a small section to photograph that takes advantage of her macro techniques that is part of her skill set. The softness of the photo is most striking and emphasizes the ribs and edges of the leaves. The composition engages the use of threes with the diagonals of the stalks. Another element is the leading lines of the ribs and stalks. The use of a portrait format creates the effect that the leaves seem to be reaching for the sky. Finally, the black & white allows us to ignore the color and appreciate the structure of the Hosta. Wonderfully done, Cathy. Thank you for sharing.
	Spring Beauty by Christy Hibsch In order to create beautiful images of birds on a consistent basis, a wildlife photographer understands the many elements that combine to make an effective photo.  This includes exposure, composition, light, sharpness, perch, pose and background.  In Spring Beauty, Christy Hibsch clearly understands these elements. The photo is well composed by placing the bird within the natural frame created by the blossoms. The viewer is drawn into the image because of the bird’s sharp eye. Its striking pose causes the viewer to wonder what this little creature is planning to do next.  In Christy’s image, the perch is as important as the bird itself.  It gives clues to the type of habitat where the bird lives and the time of year in which the photo was captured.  By creating distance between the bird and its background, Christy has produced an image with a background that is pleasantly out of focus, which effectively highlights the bird. Spring songbird photography brings colorful, vibrant opportunities. Christy has taken advantage of this time of year to create an effective photograph of the natural beauty that surrounds us throughout this season.
	Natural Treasures: Peacock Connection by Nancy Anne Holowka Nancy’s way to deal with the Covid lockdown was to venture out to local parks where she rediscovered the joys of childhood collecting – fruits, nuts, pinecones, and acorns that became her new travel souvenirs. Returning home, she uses a colorful silk scarf under a few carefully selected pieces of her collection to photograph. Her Kallitype printing process, a chemical procedure patented in 1889 is described in her exhibit and is critical in creating her unique images with consistency and rich tonal values. The Peacock Connection is particularly striking because the design and circular flow of the threading of the scarf assist in keeping one’s eye in the photo. The scarf acts as a frame for pinecones and acorns that compliment as well as call attention to the hues of the scarf. The exhibit is a very impressive display of creativity, planning, tonal consistency and purposeful framing. Well done, Nancy.
	Webs Melissa Mance-Coniglio Spider webs are amazing structures, functional and beautiful. But seldom do we see such perfection as is revealed in Melissa’s wonderful photograph. She’s taken advantage of the natural light reflecting off the webs to set them apart from the surroundings. Her use of selective focusing – and the resulting bokeh – provides a soft and colorful background against which the three webs shine. The branches of the shrub, stiff and hard, accent the gentle delicacy of the weave. The strands that are holding the webs and the individual segments respond obediently to gravity with their parabolic arcs. This is a photograph that we might spend a long time with, appreciating both the spider’s craft and the photographer’s eye. Thank you, Melissa.
	Fire Island Lighthouse at Sunset by Patty Singer Sunset is a magic time, the sun approaches the horizon and all of the colors that have been hiding during the strong light of day emerge. The clouds pick up the receding sun, making them colored in beautiful oranges and yellows. Patty has captured this magic with her photograph Fire Island Lighthouse at Sunset. Many photos of lighthouses are photographed to include the coast line and the ocean or lake for which they serve as a warning beacon.  Patty has shot the longhouse from the land side…almost taking the lighthouse out of the environment we are used to seeing portrayed. The road leads the eye to the lighthouse, through the tall grasses, pulling the viewer into the photograph. The composition is symmetrical, well balanced. Colors are strong in the sky but muted in the grasses and the lighthouse itself. The beacon at the top of the lighthouse is powerful; it is bright and centers this photograph.  Although at first view it is a beautiful landscape, one can let their minds wander when contemplating this photo and play with different symbology of what the start lighthouse represents, letting your imagination soar.
	The Blue Rope by Loni Titus Often the best photographic subjects are things that we would normally walk by, not paying much attention. Maybe just thinking it is “only” a rope, for example, and moving on to find more “interesting” subjects. Loni did not do this. As she states in her Artist’s Statement once it started raining the colors of the rope “popped”. In stopping, looking at something and seeing how the weather could have a large effect on a photograph is the strength of her work on this photo. The composition is very simple, just a rope but the beauty of the photograph is how the rope moves sinuously along the bright red floor. The textures of the two objects contrast with the symmetry of the rope and the relatively random colors and shapes of the floor. This image is very strong graphically, showing simplicity in the juxtaposition and movement of the rope on the ground. The colors of the ground serve as a great background to the rope. As an added treat the small water droplets, some of which are frozen in space add even more interest to this photograph.