Richard Garrod, Chester Ng, and Matthew Farris: Metaphors, Masks, and Movement
2009 Juried Exhibition Winners Show
September 4 through October 16, 2010
Opening Reception: September 11, 2010 4-6 pm

Richard Garrod – First Place
Richard Garrod, photographer, poet, philosopher and educator, entertains the eye and the soul with visual metaphors of unique simplicity and elegance. Richard’s passion for the unseen in the visual world is shared by the viewer in this collection of prints gleaned from a lifetime of photographing and teaching. He has inspired several generations of photographers to reach beyond the ordinary and find the paradox in the world they inhabit.

Mathew Farris – Second Place
Matthew Farris, photographer and educator, comes from the commercial world and found a doorway into the magic of movement during a trip to a Japanese Garden. Always inspired by the power and beauty of Impressionist and Modernist Art, Matt experienced a moment when objects transcend their physical reality and become “movement of energy and color through space.” This selection is from his current body of work—“Koi”—a study of movement and color through space.

Chester Ng – Third Place
Chester Ng, photographer, forester and businessman, comes from the business world into the world of photography through a lifelong interest in images and their impact on the world. Chester has explored the environmental portrait and it led him to the discovery of old world exotic cultures, their rituals and ceremonies. This selection from Chester’s current body of work—A Portrait of Anonymity—features his portfolios on the Venetian Carnival and Whirling Dervishes. They beg the question—“Who are we? How do we alter persona and conceal our true identity?” Centuries-old masks, rituals and dance allow the viewer into a world of possibilities.

Charles Cramer
Earth, Water, Light
October 23, 2010 through January 9, 2011
Lecture: Photography:  Interpretation and Performance, Saturday October 23, 2010, 2:30 pm
Opening reception: Saturday, October 23, 2010, 4-6 pm

Cascade Creek, Spring, Yosemite, © 1987 Charles Cramer All rights reserved

Biography 

After spending seven years of college studying classical piano, Charles Cramer visited Yosemite National Park, and soon realized he wanted out of those tiny practice rooms! Realizing the similarities between interpreting music and interpreting a negative, he soon became enamored with making prints. Thirty years later, he is recognized as a master printmaker in both darkroom-based dye transfer printing, and now in digital processes. In 1987 and 2009, Cramer was selected by the National park Service to be an artist-in-residence in Yosemite. His prints are available internationally through many galleries, and his work has been published by National Geographic Books, Sierra Club, and the Yosemite Association. He has taught digital imaging for the Ansel Adams Gallery Workshops, Anderson Ranch, John Sexton Workshops, and others. He is included in the books Landscape: The World’s Top Photographers, published in 2005, and First Light, published in 2009. His work can be seen at ww.charlescramer.com.

Artist’s Statement

During the last 30 years, I have wandered with my camera throughout the landscapes of the United States. I am drawn to photograph primarily by the “light” and only secondarily by the subject. I search for that special kind of light that can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. This brings me out at seemingly odd times—sunrise, sunset, during storms and snowstorms. The weather can be onerous. But when everything comes together for a photograph, all that is quickly forgotten.

The end goal of my photography has always been to make beautiful prints. I have spent a large part of the last 30 years refining my skills not just photographing the natural scene, but learning how to make the best possible prints from these images. This led me to take up dye transfer—an impossibly complex and time-consuming method to make color prints. Only recently, with the maturation of digital imaging, have I embraced another process that can rival a dye transfer print.

My goal is to capture moments in time and space that resonate and transcend the subject. Images that evoke an emotional response, while remaining faithful to the landscape.

2011 Juried Exhibition
January 22, 2011 through March 31, 2011
Opening reception: Saturday, January 22, 2011
Accepting submissions through November 19, 2010

All Center for Photographic Art exhibitions are exclusively sponsored by Freestyle Photographic

2009 Juried Exhibition and Auction
September 19 through December 5, 2009
Announcement
Winners
Auction/Catalog

People, of and by Ansel Adams
March 23 through August 30, 2009

People, of and by Ansel Adams, curated by Jeanne Falk Adams and Sarah Adams. Rarely seen portraits by Ansel Adams from the personal collection of Michael and Jeanne Falk Adams highlight this truly historic show held in Ansel Adams' hometown of Carmel, California.

Highlighted in this exhibit are portraits of Ansel's contemporaries--people who were significant in Ansel's life- such as Georgia O'Keeffe & Orville Cox, Robinson Jeffers, Mary Austin, Albert Bender, Cedric Wright, Beaumont Newhall, Alfred Stieglitz, and Edward Weston combine with loving images of his family.

Although Ansel is universally known for his landscapes, Jon Holmes wrote this of his portraits: "His portraits really stand apart. These are tactile images in which the viewer can reach into the frame and touch the subject." Also included in the exhibit are portraits of Ansel Adams taken by his friends, family, and colleagues.

The exhibition: People, of and by Ansel Adams was sponsored by Betty and Jim Kasson.