emotional responses at Museum of the Gulf Coast

Jerry Connally’s nature photography exhibition, “Lightening in a Camera,” is running through July 29 at the Museum of the Gulf Coast.

The exhibit is free and open to the public. The art is available for purchase online or at the museum.

“The exhibit is a combination of black-and-white or colored photos that were chosen out of thousands of my images,” Jerry Connally said. “The curator, Robert Fong, decided which photos were my strongest and most unique, and I am very happy with the selection.”

At the beginning of the reception, Fong revealed the images were taken during Connally’s, “long way home” excursions after he got off from work.

“Well, I’m a service station technician,” Connally said. “Sometimes I must work in Louisiana, and I always look at the map to see what kind of traffic there is on the way back because of all the construction. If it looks like the traffic is backed up, then I’ll take Highway 27 South to Holly Beach and photograph a sunset, birds or water creatures.”

“Harvey’s Approach,” a blackand-white image of the Martin Luther King bridge exiting Pleasure Island depicts ominous, approaching storm clouds and was taken before the hurricane made landfall.

“This picture summons a lot of emotion for a lot of people when they realize that it was Hurricane Harvey,” Connally said. “The intensity of the clouds invokes memories of fear of the unknown. Many people were being rescued by boats, their homes were destroyed, they didn’t know what was going to happen to them.”

Connally said he and his wife were tired of sitting in the house and drove to the beach to break the monotony of the approaching storm.

“While we were watching the radar, I said the storm was approaching, so we might go ahead and go home,” he remembers. “I saw that picture from my rearview mirror and told her, immediately, I was going to be turning around at the base of the bridge, wherever I could. She would drive, and I was going to take a picture.”

Another special picture featured is “Lightening on the Ship Channel,” a vibrant colored image of a stormy sunset emerges over the Port Neches Wheelhouse restaurant as rain pours from the dark blue and fire orange clouds.

Hope Scott, Port Arthur teacher, said she is a member of the museum but this was the first photography exhibit she attended.

She was drawn to “Lightening on the Ship Channel” and “Purple Rain.”

“The first photo was the reason I attended the show,” she said. “As a new photographer, I wanted to know how he captured the lightening. He gave me his undivided attention and was gracious in answering my questions and giving me tips.”

The brilliance and attention to detail of the same work, captivated Ruth Houston, a retired choir teacher and Port Arthur Historical Society member.

“The clouds looked like they were painted,” she said.

“From black, blue and purple to pink and neon orange, I felt drawn to the photograph. The photo was so unusual because during storms, I don’t recall seeing colors that are so vibrant.”

“Single Strike,” a black, white and gray image of a storm over the ocean depicts a lit-up lightning bolt.

“I love the simplicity of the photo,” said Travis Connally, a Silsbee native. “The contrast of the monotone gray against the lightening itself captivated me. I spoke to my uncle after the show, and he gave me the back story.”

It was during a “long way home” excursion from Port Neches to Sea Rim State Park that he captured the storm.

“He chased the storm until it was clear of buildings, and this was the only shot he could take,” he said.

“There was a life lesson that I took from his story. Chase an opportunity even if there is only one shot left. The result will be rewarding.”

The opening night reception brought in more than 100 people to celebrate Connally’s exhibit.

To purchase Connally’s art visit fineartamerica. com/profiles/jerry-connally.

— By Sierra Kondos

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