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Peter's Picks of the Month
September
9-
October 4,2009
Rochester Mosaic
Sheridan
Vincent
Peter Marr picked his favorite
photos of the show
by the featured and guest photographers and also describes the strength of the
images he has chosen.
All images copyright by the individual photographers
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Fox Hunting
by Joe Woody
In a
series of excellent nature photographs by Joe Woody in the East
Gallery, I chose the collage of the red fox hunting to comment
further on, because it not only impressively illustrates the
harsh and fragile competition for survival in nature, it is also
a great tribute to the hard work and tenacity of the author in
recording such a striking sequence.
In the wild, where successful hunting for prey is
absolutely critical for survival, the acute sensory organs of
hearing and smell of the red fox are dramatically recorded here,
resulting in a successful outcome for the fox.
The central image is just priceless, in showing the
“attacker” driving his body vertically into the snow to capture
the unfortunate quarry.
This series of images is virtually impossible to plan,
and are not the result of just being in the right place at the
right time. Nature
photographers have to blend with the environment, like a fish in
water, and this collage, as well as Joe’s other first rate
images, are a great tribute to his knowledge, patience and
alertness in recording these precious moments in nature.
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F15E Strike Eagle
and Kayaker
by Donald Race
Of
the superb images by Donald Race, exquisitely photographed, framed
and presented, I wanted to comment on two of them, because although
they both capture peak action that is frozen in time, they also
convey quite different cerebral sensations.
The stellar image of the
Strike Eagle is just an
amazing print, an impressive tribute to the author’s technical and
artistic skills. The F15E, flying low and at high speed at the air
show has been photographically captured in high detail, just as
though it were sitting on the ground.
Cerebrally, however and this is by no means a criticism of
this incredible shot,, the more one looks at the image, tranquility
takes over, resulting in the plane seemingly floating in the sky, a
spacecraft in orbit for all to admire.
Contrast
this with the Kayaker, an
excellent image caught in peak action, as the racer uses all his
strength and skill to battle the raging white-water.
Here, as with the F15E, everything is frozen in time and
almost every element in the picture is impressively clear, sharp and
detailed. Although the
kayaker is moving at only a fraction of the speed of the airplane,
the exhilaration of motion, strength, concentration and speed are
all dramatically evident.
We feel at one with this racer fighting the elements, and we
truly experience danger and the high level of technique required to
battle the raging water.
Cerebrally, instead of tranquility and peace that we embrace
with the Strike Eagle, our mind speeds up the sensation of speed as
the kayaker fights to control his small craft in a sea of seething
water. These are two
truly outstanding images.
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Hamamatsu by Roger Hart
Hamamatsu by Junko Mills
Puerta Plata by Chris Luft
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International Sister Cities
of Rochester
As part of the dynamic
exchanges between Rochester
and its eleven sister cities, the panel of prints in the exhibition show images
from ten of them. Particularly fascinating are the two images of the annual
Hamamatsu Kite Festival, which truly captures the spirit, rivalry and enthusiasm
of this three day event. These pictures show the citizens from various locales
of Hamamatsu
proudly displaying multicolored flags, and wearing tunics that have sashes of
printed script depicting the different areas of the city. Although I am sure
that the rivalry is friendly, you can almost hear in these peaceful times the
“Banzai” or war cry coming from this fervently excited crowd.
These are scenes not of organized chaos but of people that are intensely
proud of tradition, eagerly awaiting three days of historic competition.
In contrast to these
exuberant displays, it is fitting to comment on one of the other images that
display a more poignant portrait of one of the other sister cities, namely a
scene shot in Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.
This expressive print sensitively captures the emotion, poverty and
non-glamorous life in this part of the world. It is sad to see the colorful
shacks and dilapidated conditions captured so movingly in this excellent
photograph. Particularly telling is
the man with the machete who has just “pruned” the lone tree in the image,
carrying the branches in his arm, no doubt to provide needed fuel for his family
fire. This is a very touching
image, and one truly hopes that with the help of the Sister Cities International
Network, there will be municipal, cultural and especially economic help for all
of the sister cities, particularly for Puerto Plata.
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Rochester
Mosaic
by Sheridan Vincent
There are not enough superlatives to describe
this outstanding exhibition. In past reviews in this gallery, I have
used such words as incomparable, matchless, scintillating,
quintessential etc, but for this unsurpassed show, I have run out of
adjectives, so I will have to get a new dictionary. This will surely
be a month to celebrate Rochester, and I hope everyone from far and
wide in this great city will visit the gallery. With this
exhibition, they will get an incredible appreciation of the grandeur
and beauty of Rochester that very few have seen or taken in, with
gracious thanks to Sheridan,
whose artistic vision and consummate photographic talents have given
us an exhibition par excellence.
Ansel Adams and John Sexton have stated that the greatest
photographic opportunities are within a few miles of where you live-
easy for them to say when Ansel resided in Yosemite National Park,
and John lives in Mount Carmel
bordering Point Lobos. Now, after seeing these outstanding prints of Rochester, I now can believe them.
These stellar images are an example of the power
of the photograph to produce a communicable meaning.
We must look at them with enough attention to discover in
them what has never been seen before.
The exhibition emphasizes the ability of photography to
communicate, and the sheer pleasure that the communication of a new
perspective gives.
Viewers need to liberate their vision and reawaken their sense of
wonder and intuitive awareness.
It has been said that looking is a gift, but seeing is a
power. The eye that is penetrating sees clearly, and the
understanding that is penetrating has virtue. Another way of saying
this is comparable to a Taostic statement, namely, “The bells and
stones have voices but, unless they are struck, they will not
sound”.
I hope that everyone who visits this exciting and
definitive exhibition will take the time to look, to see, to
envision and to wonder at the power and beauty of a city that no one
else has come close to capturing photographically so exquisitely as
Sheridan has. You might
ask, what are my favorite images, what are “Peter’s Picks?” The
answer is that I love them all.
Sheridan
has given us a wonderful mosaic assemblage. Rochester should be proud to have such a
talented artist who has given so much of his time to give us images
the likes of which we have only dreamt of.
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