News of the current exhibit and events at Image City

 

Image City Photography Gallery
Newsletter #152   January 10, 2020

Best wishes for a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year!  

We publish our Newsletter during each of our exhibits to pass along information and reviews of the exhibit, selected images and news of participation opportunities at Image City. We thank you for your interest and we look forward to another great year of fine photographs and events. We hope to see you at each of the 13 shows we produce in 2020.

 

 

Our current exhibit at Image City is our 13th annual juried show. Dick Bennett, Chairman of The Magic of Light Show 2020, was especially pleased with the submissions by the 84 photographers entering and the diversity and quality of photographs that are currently on display in the Gallery. It was an exciting evening for the Friday night and Saturday afternoon receptions, with many photographers, friends and family enjoying conversations and photographs, as well as the anticipation in learning that Margy Meath and Megan Crandlemire were selected winners of the two Partners' Awards. We appreciate the long-standing participation of Lumiere Photo; their Gift Certificate was presented for the People's Choice Award on Saturday to Marie Costanza. Rochester is very fortunate to have Lumiere Photo serving the community.  

 

In addition to the excellent photographs presented by the 84 photographers in The Magic of Light 2020, we are also very pleased to have photographs by Scott Matyjaszek in the Neuberger Gallery. Scott joins us again with a beautiful selection of photographs from his Wisdom Tree Series. We've had many appreciative comments on Scott's integration of his photographs and poetry.

 

Click Here to see our website listing and link to a preview of a stimulating selection of the superb photographs in the show. The exhibit runs through Sunday, January 26. There is no admission fee at Image City and the Gallery is accessible to all. Hours are noon-6pm, Tuesday through Saturday and noon-4pm on Sunday. Here is a list of all of the participating photographers in the exhibit, we very much appreciate their continued involvement and support.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Awarded Photographs of the Exhibit


After reviewing the photographs selected from the photographer submissions,  Gallery Partners selected two for awards. The photographers were presented $150 awards by Image City.

 

Vespers by Margy Meath   Margy also creates a very emotional photograph. Interestingly, the title Margy selected for her photo is a term from the Roman Catholic liturgy meaning a sunset evening prayer service, giving thanks for the day just past and an evening sacrifice of praise to God. The simplicity and elegance of Margy's photo envelopes us in the wonder and majesty of nature and its beauty. Yes, it's simply a photo of an owl on the top of a tree branch. Yet, a complete defocusing of the background, the balance of the motionless branch and the intimacy of the eyes transports one into the space that Margy has created. In addition, the size and color of the background serves to enhance and accentuate the presence of the owl. The clarity of the owl and branch allows one to explore every detail of this beautiful bird, from the bracelet-like rings that surround the face, the smooth feathers on the chest to the talons wrapped around the tip of the branch. Even the pine tree's shape and needles seem real enough to touch. With rural land acreage decreasing in our area, most people don't have the opportunity to see such an owl, much less take a photograph of one. Vespers is certainly an appropriate title for this artistic vision of the grandeur of His creation. Thank you for your wonderful vision, Margy.  

 

Water Colors by Megan Crandlemire   Good photographers create images that trigger an emotional response from the viewer. Photography in this sense, is an interactive activity. Megan's Water Colors is playful and fun evoking the time of one's childhood, grabbing a brush with some water and seeing the magic of vibrant colors spreading and mixing across the paper. Megan even selected vibrant colors of the pencils which come close to one side of a rainbow - red, orange, yellow. Well that might be a bit of a stretch, but it's close. Correct? But she also presents us with a visual pun, as the colored pencils appear to be immersed in water or a bubbly liquid. Megan has selected three pencils, understanding that a good composition usually contains an odd number of elements to be visually pleasing. The background is black, so the focus is on the interaction of the colors and bubbles. The pencils are sharpened to relatively the same amount, not perfectly sharp, but with enough lead left to use for some time. And the bubbles only appear on the pencils themselves, further accentuating the pencils' color. Looking closer the bubbles not only emphasize the color of the pencil they are 'attached' to, but many also have reflections of the other pencils tying the composition all together. Finally, Megan has placed the pencils above the center line creating tension for the viewer. Thank you, Megan, for such a delightful and creative photo for us to enjoy. 

 

Fading Away by Marie Costanza    Serenity and a feeling of fullness are a couple emotions one could take away from this photo created by Marie. She incorporates many elements of composition including symmetry, lines, color, foreground, background, visual tension, framing and shapes to produce the emotions she wishes to convey. For example, the horizon is in the upper third of the photo, creating a tension for the viewer. It is also level, which is natural and is important compositionally to the viewer for symmetry. The colors are darkened and muted which enhances the peaceful and soothing feeling. Marie also creates a balance or symmetry to the photo with the positioning of the branch and moon almost as mirroring images. In additions, the shape of a triangle is formed by the branch, moon and the large trunk in the water. The texture of the water complements the clear smooth sky and silhouetted tree branch, separating the background from the foreground. One final element is the slight string of color above the moon that acts as a nice border or framing element and forces one's eye back into the image. Thank you, Marie, for such a calming scene.  

 

 

Image City Critiques Group


The Image City Critique Group will meet again Wednesday, February 5th, beginning at 6:30 pm.  Anyone is welcome to join us. We meet the first Wednesday of each month.  Please email Don Menges ( dmenges521@gmail.com ) if you have questions about participation.

 

 

Photograph used in Promotion


We very much appreciate and acknowledge the use of Bonnie Gamache's photo, Sunset on the Seaway, as a backdrop for The Magic of Light 2020 for the promotional postcard and poster. The abstract photo deserves to be seen without text, a dramatic part of the exhibit in the Gallery exhibition; be sure to seek it out when you attend.

 


Sunset on the Seaway
Bonnie Gamache

 

 

Calendar of Events

Image City Photography Gallery, 722 University Avenue

 

January 26, Last Day of The Magic of Light 2020

January 28, First Day of Full Circle by Don Menges 

January 31, 5 - 8:30pm, Reception for Full Circle by Don Menges

February 5, 6:30pm Image City Critiques Group Meeting

February 7, 5 - 9pm,  First Friday Gallery Night

 

Image City Photography Gallery Hours

Tuesday- Saturday Noon - 6pm

Sunday Noon - 4pm

 

There is no admission fee to visit Image City and we are accessible to all. 


in the Heart of the Neighborhood of the Arts 

 where our mission is to create a quality exhibition and learning experience for photographers and the art-loving community.

 

Image City Photography Gallery | 722 University Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607 | 585.271.2540  info@ImageCityPhotographyGallery.com | www.ImageCityPhotographyGallery.com