Home

About the Gallery

Current Show

Show Schedule

Gallery Photographers
    Partner
    Artists-in-Residence
 

Exhibition Opportunities

Links

Sponsors

Image City Feature Articles
Gary's Photographic Tips
Newsletter Archive

 

 

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

Holiday Show 2016

 Peter Marr and 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

Peter Marr's Picks of the Exhibit
Dead Sea #8 by Emily Berkson

Dead Sea 8
by Emily Berkson

Emily’s outstanding Dead Sea images have a magical quality that truly captures how nature can be as beautiful and awe-inspiring even in the absence of  any living animals or plants. I particularly admired print 8 because of the exquisite palette of pastel colors that sweep across the landscape, together with the impressive and inspiring foreground. In the latter, one witnesses a small grouping of saplings that tragically illustrates the life and death struggle for survival in one of the harshest environments on earth. That nature should try and grow and nurture anything, even on the edge of this salt lake is astonishing, but it does support the fact that there is a sacredness that the environment is still alive. What is heart-warming, is the fact that the dead spindly, tree -like structures have created an uplifting and creative design that resplendently towers above the lake. Thankfully, all this was achieved before the high salt content choked off all the nutrients, killing the plants, but their skeleton forms still dance to nature’s music in defiance to the utter stillness that pervades this landlocked lake. Visually, it is remarkable that in this hostile setting, the lake surface delightfully glows with a panorama of delicate hues that is unsurpassed in their radiance. The early evening illumination entrancingly transforms the distant hills into a pastiche of warm delicate pinks, pale oranges and reds that look resplendent against the pale blue sky. This soft diffuse lighting spills over across the sea itself, being reflected as gorgeous pastel hues which take on more bluish tones towards the foreground. Gentle undulations on the surface of the Dead Sea create a mystery of their own, and I wonder if these ripples are trying to create music of their own, in competition with the sounds that the dead saplings are creating. This is a truly memorable image that shows how nature can create visual wonderment in an area that is so forbidding.

Peter Marr

 


Otago Tree Birds by Ted Tatarzyn

Otago Tree Birds
by Ted Tatarzyn

Ted is an amazingly talented nature photographer who has traveled to all seven continents, often to remote and sometimes inhospitable areas, to bring back outstanding and memorable images, many of which are in his current print exhibition at the Image Gallery. The artist is a master observer and interpreter of nature, eminently displayed in his uplifting and resplendent photograph, Otago Tree Birds. Like many of Ted’s inspiring images, it is printed and mounted on an aluminum substrate that imparts a clarity and brilliance that is unsurpassed. When viewing this remarkable print, one has an exalted inspiration that nature itself would be justly proud of the artist’s interpretation of this lovely scene. In diffuse early morning light, with barely a breath of wind in the air, the photographer has expertly used a long exposure to record this epic image. The viewer is aware of a large lake set against a dramatic mountain vista, and in the lake there is a resplendent tree. The latter has a large trunk which gracefully and artistically curves to one side, probably as a result of the prevailing winds in this region. From this splendid trunk system, a series of mostly vertical limbs curve upwards, from which delicate foliage effortlessly spreads out to form a canopy in which a flock of birds use as an overnight roosting site. The intricate arrangement of the branches and greenery create a superb visual pattern set against the mountains and the striking sky that is filled with horizontal layers of impressive cloud formations. The long camera exposure eliminates any visible ripples on the lake’s surface, but there is subtle water movement which helps define and characterize the colony of small rocks in the foreground. The size of these rocks indicate that the lake is shallow, which would strongly support why the tree is surviving so well in a lake environment. One creative and imaginative result of the long exposure and quiet light, is that the landscape is bathed in lovely blue tones that makes this entrancing print even more magical, and awe-inspiring. This is an unforgettable image of breathtaking beauty for every viewer to admire and enjoy.

Peter Marr

Peace on Earth by Dick Thomas

Peace on Earth
by Dick Thomas

Dick’s stellar and inspiring exhibition is a great tribute to his passionate love of nature and the environment, and hopefully his fine art prints will give viewers the opportunity to be further aware of the beauty of the remarkable world we live in. Peace on Earth is a majestic and captivating print that would grace any Christmas calendar with its creative eloquence and reverence for nature. Under spectacular soft, diffuse lighting, one is enthralled by an early winter scene in which light snow is gently falling on a lovely sweep of a grassy meadow, which backs onto a magnificent stand of tall trees. The author has creatively used a shutter speed that renders the snow as small distinctive particles that contribute gracefully to the overall atmosphere and perception of this wonderful print.  The amount of snow does not completely cover the grass, leaving grassy patterns that flow effortlessly across the foreground before curving around the left hand side of the print and disappearing into the forest. The lovely lighting and diffuseness of the snow particles reveal the power and majesty of the trees, and even many of the stately vertical tree trunks are just visible, adding to the beauty of this pastoral landscape. Into this inspiring vista, one is captivated by the presence of a red fox. The latter is no ordinary fox, for he is in magnificent shape, all the way from his thick bushy tail to his resplendent red coat and remarkable facial features. This is an animal in peak physical condition, that has access to other sources of nutritional food than that which is the result of hunting prowess. Remarkably, the fox has obligingly stopped at the right spot in the frame, and with no fear has allowed his curiosity with the photographer to override his natural survival instincts In such a sublime setting, the fox’s presence is further evidence of how wonderful nature is, and how memorable it is for Dick to capture this decisive and special moment, where being at one with the environment has resulted in a spectacular image for every viewer to marvel at and enjoy.

Peter Marr
  

Peter Marr

We are very grateful to Peter for his thorough review and selection for Peter's Picks. Peter was born in England in 1935 and came to live in the United States in 1968. He worked for the Eastman Kodak Company for 34 years, retiring in 1998. During his employment and continuing into retirement, he has been an enthusiastic photographer. His photography has won him numerous awards throughout Kodak and in International Salons, including 5 George Eastman Medals, which is the top honor awarded to the most outstanding picture in the Annual Kodak International Salon. He has served as a judge in both local and international photographic competitions for the past 20 years, and is a Past president of the Kodak Camera Club and past chairman of many of the Kodak Camera Club organizations. In the past five years or so, he has devoted his photographic skills and interest into nature photography, notably bird photography. His bird photography has been the subject of several one-person exhibits, the most recent being at Ding Darling NWR, in Sanibel, Florida, The Roger Tory Peterson Institute in Jamestown, New York, and at the Webster Public Library in Webster, NY.

Partners' Picks of the Exhibit
 Datdawtaung Cave by Josh Bulriss

Datdawtaung Cave
by Josh Bulriss

Josh Bulriss, in his excellent Datdawtaung Cave photograph, uses the strong directional light from the outdoors to beautifully illuminate the statues and rocks inside the cave. It is the play of light which makes this image so outstanding. He accomplishes this by placing his camera close to a right angle from the light's path and at a height which allows the light to flow diagonally across the full frame of his image.

 A certain uniqueness is created by having the light flow from the right side back to the left side of the image. This angle enables the vertical columns and statues to be side lit from the perspective of the viewer. Each of these structures is front lit from the opening of the cave but dark on the sides facing the viewer. The result is that all statues and most rock structures are partly lit and partly in deep shadow. The fact that the statutes are of three basic sizes produces interest and causes viewers to speculate why. It is meaningful that all of the statues are facing the light at the front of the cave.  

Congratulations to Josh Burris for using powerful natural light and interesting subject matter to produce a superb photograph with strong three-dimensional communication.

Towers
by Bruce Elling

A frequent visitor to Image City and an original participant in “Through the Student Lens,” Bruce’s work (as well as his students) often focuses on architectural design. Bruce frequently engages large geometric shapes with plenty of lines and angles to showcase his passion for design. This particular image, Towers, follows Bruce’s technique, but with a twist – literally! If we didn’t know, from the other examples in this exhibit, that Bruce takes advantage of architectural design; we might be fooled into believing that this image was of something else – perhaps from another world. It appears as a diptych, yet the right and left seems to mirror each other. The curves of the building on the left appear similar to the curves on the right. Perhaps there is a reflection working in this image. Additionally, it is difficult to tell where the straight sides of the building become curved; a bit of intrigue. Another fine image produced by Bruce Elling.

 

  
 
Image City Photography Gallery  ♦   722 University Avenue  ♦    Rochester, NY 14607 ♦ 585.271.2540
In the heart of ARTWalk in the Neighborhood of the Arts