Exeter Gallery features two solo photo shows in September
EXETER — Henri Cartier-Bresson, the photographer who believed photography can capture the meaning beneath outward appearance in instants of extraordinary clarity, famously said “The creative act lasts but a brief moment, a lightning instant of give-and-take, just long enough for you to level the camera and to trap the fleeting prey in your little box.” The Seacoast Artist Association in downtown Exeter invites us to experience this in two solo shows by two of their longtime gallery members.
Seacoast Artist Association Board Member and immediate past President, Dennis Skillman of East Kingston, has a lifelong interest in nature and conservation which started when he was growing up in rural Pennsylvania with a family that loved the outdoors. “We lived on the side of a mountain, with no other homes between us and the big woods,” he tells us. “As I grew up, I explored every corner of that land. Everything wild and natural was a mystery to be understood and appreciated.” Dennis has been photographing the outdoors for more than 40 years. “When I retired, the time I had to pursue photography increased dramatically, especially wildlife, natural landscapes, and outdoor scenes.”
His exhibit “Close to Home” focuses on the flora and fauna of our local yards and gardens as seen through a camera’s lens. “From the spectacular beauty of flowers to the hidden lives of smaller residents. the complexity of these ecosystems never ceases to amaze me! The closer I look, the more I see, and the more I appreciate nature’s genius in the intricacy of the web of life found where we live. The colors, the shapes, the birds, and the bugs that inhabit this ephemeral world are all subjects for my camera. Some are so fast or rare that they are a challenge to pin down, other subjects wait patiently for the observer to take notice and capture their beauty at the right moment. Many of the images were taken in our yard and in gardens in the local area. All of them were taken ‘Close to Home’!”
Amesbury (Mass.) photographer and longtime SAA gallery artist Dave Saums has been photographing for 50 years and exhibiting in fine art shows and galleries for 30 years. “The Seasons of Light and Color” demonstrates what can be accomplished with film photography as well as digital imaging. “The use of light and shadow, along with color, or the absence of color, can express as many different moods as the earth gives us across all four seasons,” he says about his show “The Seasons of Light and Color.”
“The shadows and the angle of light in my one black-and-white image shows a key in a lock in an old wooden cabinet and is dramatically different from the angles of light seen in the others. Heavy late summer clouds in a blue sky along the marshes of Essex, Massachusetts, is an example of bold colors and strong shadows. By contrast, soft late afternoon fall colors on the floor of Yosemite Valley show the strong western sunlight illuminating the incredibly beautiful shape of the classic Half Dome which leaps from the earth's surface surrounded by black oaks and the magnificent warm light of other trees and grasses. Moving into winter, a fast-moving plow train on Pan Am Railways in Ward Hill, Massachusetts, shows the soft light of a late winter day's distant sun, yet with fine snow particles thrown out as the plow storms past, while winter light and the sharp angles of the sun's position cast long shadows of an older birch tree against a snow-covered meadow with Stowe's Spruce Peak in the distance in another.”
These two Body of Work photography shows will be on display at the Seacoast Artist Association from Aug. 29 through Oct. 2. All photos are for sale. The public is invited to a Second Sunday reception to meet these artists and others on Sept. 9, from 5 to 7 p.m. Second Sunday Exeter is now a town-wide celebration of art and culture in Exeter. Parking is free. The gallery is located at 130 Water Street and is open Wednesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m.m to 5 p.m., and Sunday, from 1 to 4 p.m. Call 603-778-8856 during gallery hours with questions and follow them on Facebook for any updates.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Exeter Gallery features two solo photo shows in September
