Art Through The Lens 2020

Yeiser Art Center presents ART THROUGH THE LENS 2020 OCTOBER 23RD-NOVEMBER 28TH

Robert Shapiro, Land Of The Norse #3

The Yeiser Art Center The Yeiser Art Center (YAC), a non-profit corporation with 501(c)(3) status, was established in 1957 as the Paducah Art Guild for the purpose of promoting the appreciation of the visual arts and for their creation. It started as a small volunteer organization with founding members Mary Yeiser, Ginny Black and Bob Evans leading the way. Today, YAC has a permanent exhibition space that hosts seven shows annually and a permanent collection of over 200 works. The center offers visual artbased programming including educational classes for both children and adults, public gallery talks and artist lectures. YAC also has a supporting membership program as well as many loyal and terrific volunteers.

As a strong voice for the visual arts in our community, YAC continues to promote the visual arts by presenting dynamic exhibitions and programs. The exhibitions are chosen to showcase a diverse range of art forms, styles and techniques with work ranging from traditional to contemporary. The center provides the regional community the opportunity to view original artworks, provides a forum for artists and serves as an educational resource for schools, colleges and community organizations.

Through our exhibitions and programs, YAC also provides art experiences for children while advocating for the importance of a good visual arts education in our local schools. We advocate for the visual arts in the region by promoting established and emerging, regional and national artists.

YAC strives to be a good community partner. We foster collaborative projects where possible, seeking to secure funds and contribute time and expertise to support other community arts projects. The center serves as a cultural attraction in Paducah’s historic downtown district, which adds to the city’s overall strength and competitiveness as a tourist destination. YAC strives to carry out our original mission and to further continue the development and appreciation of the visual arts by operating as a non-profit visual arts organization that serves adults and children of all ages throughout the region without regard to race, color, religion, ethnic origin, sex or disability.

Art Through the Lens The Yeiser Art Center is pleased to host the annual international juried fine art photography competition, Art Through the Lens. Originating in 1975 as the Paducah Summer Festival Photo Competition, Paducah Photo has grown from a fledgling contest into an international juried exhibition. Over the past 40+ years, this exhibition has become one of the Mid-South’s most prestigious annual photographic events. In 2013, Paducah was bestowed the honor of being designated a member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Creative Cities Network in the area of Crafts & Folk Art. To embrace both this international honor and reflect the international growth of the exhibition, Paducah Photo has taken on a new name, Art Through the Lens.

We extend our sincere gratitude to our award sponsors for 2020: Aaron’s of Paducah, Kentucky Care, Paducah School of Art & Design, Kentucky Arts Council, and the many anonymous donors that make this show possible.

Congratulations to this year’s award winners and to everyone selected to be included in the exhibition!

Lauren Chambers Art Through the Lens 2020, Juror You may recognize her work from The Smithsonian Magazine with her much publicized and compelling “Portrait of a Gorilla,” now on display at the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art. But Lauren Chambers’ trajectory to becoming a professional photographer was not traditional or honed in the confines of a classroom; it was shaped by her natural curiosity as an observer and refined by a true connection to people and to animals.

Lauren spent the beginning of her career as a successful executive in the corporate world. She worked for The Wendy’s Company team that managed the highly publicized merger with Arby’s, and then later their separation. Back then, snapping a few photos to decompress after work was a way to shake off the corporate hustle and escape into her “shutter and click.” But a 2010 trip to Costa Rica where she spent 3 weeks tracking Capuchin Monkeys was life changing. There was a moment when she realized she was truly, intuitively, communicating with them. It would reveal her great love for animal photography and change the course of her corporate career forever.

“My process doesn’t start by taking a photo of the animal, it starts with a conversation I have with them before ever picking up my camera. The photograph is the resulting documentation of that conversation.”

By 2012, Lauren decided to make her photography passion her business. She was inspired by her husband, internationally renowned sculptor, Kevin Chambers, whose work is showcased in The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and in private collections all over the world. Together, they would partner on projects, bringing form and figure to life with a camera and clay. In 2015, they opened KLC Studios, Inc., a midtown Atlanta atelier style studio specializing in bronze sculpture, fine art instruction, and photography services.

Today, Lauren has built a photography business that still leans into her corporate roots, with interiors for designers and marketing firms. But her undeniable connection to animals and their conversations with her are now not only documented in her “Obsolescence” series, it has informed a greater goal.

“Now my mission is to also educate the public on the importance of zoos and their critical role in conservation. This shift has blossomed into partnerships with zoos all over the country and my participation in conservation efforts all over the world. My love for all animals runs very deep, and their welfare is a constant weight I carry.”

Juror’s Statement Let me begin by thanking Lexie Millikan and the staff at Yeiser Art Center for asking me to juror the “Art Through the Lens 2020” exhibition. Being a juror of an art exhibit is humbling, a learning experience, an avenue to give encouragement, and without a doubt, an honor. I also want to thank all of the artists who submitted artwork for consideration; I truly enjoyed seeing your work. I commend every artist that submitted, whether accepted or not. It takes great courage and humility to be willing to place your works on display to be “judged” by a peer.

The quality and range of this year’s 640 submissions made the job of choosing only 60 for this exhibition quite a challenge, albeit a delightful one. I was thrilled to see the variety of processes used in the work submitted for this show. There were an abundance of excellent composite and colorful works, I wish I could have recognized more than just a few. There were also many sensitively seen landscapes and star filled skies that caught my eye.

Of the many qualities one might want in an image, my initial review was about the “wow” factor. Did the work pull me into the artist’s mind quickly? Did it speak to me? Is this image memorable? Content that engages me may not necessarily be the same content that draws in someone else. That’s why it is important to know this is completely a subjective process.

During my next review, I looked at evident technical skills, composition and originality. The entries that stood out the most to me hovered between abstract and dreamlike or were decidedly expressive in their approach of the subject or technique.

My final review was of the whole exhibit once more and to verify my initial choices. I have always found it difficult to judge the merit of a photograph solely by its screen presence.

Sometimes a picture turns on subtleties that can only be conveyed in the final presentation.

For this reason, Lexie walked me through the whole exhibition via FaceTime so that I could pick the prize winners with confidence.

I hope the audience enjoys the show as much as I enjoyed looking at the images and selecting the exhibition. I also want to add that like most juried exhibitions, this selection of work is only a representation of my personal preferences on the given days of looking at it. It is hardly ever a definitive critique on the merits and artistic qualities of the images submitted.

This is certainly true when considering how much I wanted to include the extra 48 images I had in my “maybe” folder. I simply ran out of room. Thank you for showing such outstanding imagery.

Armin Amirian| Isfahan, Iran Analogy-01 Digital C Print 2012

Armin is a 25 year old artist based in Iran. He is inspired by the work of many before him and the plight of his country and has chosen to create dynamic interpretations of the collective experiences of boasts of his people.

He has one important mentor: his father. The elder Amirian taught him what he knows in theater, painting, sculpture and music. His first camera was a gift from his father. The younger Amirian soon developed a passion for photography and film, and pursued a career in these fields.

Amirian was previously into documentary photography, but it didn’t satisfy him. “I wanted to recreate locations, direct, and then take photos…to expose something and say that I want it to be seen and heard. All the photos you see have the same decoupage and creation of a film.”

Although Amirian’s photos reflect social issues, they are in fact, the artist’s interpretations, and not documented real-life scenes.

Mark Anderson| Paducah, KY Identity Digital photography 2020

Born and bred in Paducah, Kentucky, Mark has spent the last decade working and traveling internationally as an engineer and logistician with an emergency medical organization. He draws inspiration from the diverse cultures and environments he encounters.

Norman Aragones| San Jose, CA Growing Up Acrylic/metallic paper 2019 The main paradigm in my photographic art revolves around the concept of depth (having some level of meaning within the phot and thus attempting to elicit a viewer’s reaction through deliberate imagery). My hope is that the viewer comes away with some feeling, idea, and /or perspective from seeing my photo(s). The techniques I use in creating photographic images are not something specific. I just try to work diligently in creating something in particular (that I had envisioned previously in my mind’s eye).

Paul Atkinson | Raleigh, NC Morning Veil Photographic Metal Print 2020 I find myself drawn to landscapes - unending, unpeopled, wide-open solitude - perhaps, because I find that solitude so freeing. And capturing a piece of that freedom, that solitude, and confining it within a frame, doesn’t feel confining at all, but rather more like a window I have opened in my own existence through which I can now escape. I find that particularly rewarding. Sometimes, though, that window has another name, aloneness; and it is through this window that I feel the stare of others as they peek in to catch a glimpse of my own private imaginings and fears, which I have attempted, somewhat clumsily, to conceal in the shadows.

Juliane Backmann | Los Angeles, CA Payphone Silver gelatin print 2020 Everyday life is full of poetry and cinematic scenes. I'm capturing those scenes and entice the viewer to reexamine them and see more than mundane and overlooked objects. Using the 5"x7" view camera slows down the photographic process and allows me to delve deep into the atmospheric space of my subjects.

Sylvia Bandyke | Royal Oak, MI Found Art photography 2020 Typically keeping an eye open for interesting reflections, light patterns, views of a subject while looking for hidden beauty in everyday life. I like using the collage format to integrate associated images into a cohesive unit that is more compelling due to the embedded story. Displayed in Grand Rapids, MI ArtPrize event in ’14 –’18. In ‘18/’19/’20 displayed locally in juried exhibits of Artists’ Society of Dearborn (won 1st place in photography in ’19), Dearborn Community Arts Council (won honorable mention in ’20), Mount Clemens Anton Art Center (won Director’s Adult Pick in ’20), Muskegon Museum of Art, City of Livonia, Detroit Scarab Club, Midland Center for the Arts, Northville Art House & Three Cities Art Club. In ‘19 was also included in national juried exhibits at galleries in MA, CT, VA, WA, OR, IL, NC, CO, NY; now in ’20 juried into shows in TX, MS, MN, CA, KS, FL. Continue to be juried into online international shows of Linus Galleries, APERO Catalogue, Light Space & Time Gall

Alice Becker | Evanston, IL Winter photography 2020 I use photography to identify and define the environment in ways viewers might not otherwise see or imagine. I am attracted to shapes, angles, patterns, textures and color contrasts. I am attracted to sites and locations that may have a daily reality but which I turn into an aesthetic reality as well. I focus naturally on these details for my work as I am drawn to them and their juxtaposition. I do not focus on any particular subject matter. I follow my instinct and interest or image at the moment and pursue my goal to take the reality of an image and highlight the image for the viewer to see in a different way.

Ricardo Beron | Nashville, TN Top Sail Park, FL photography 2017

Lunch HD print on metal/Limited Edition 2017 I am a Colombian native who has lived in the US for more than 22 years and has been chasing color and nature as a graphic designer and is now as a photographer. Over the last couple of years, I have been inspired by people, nature and traveling. I do believe we have a disconnect with our planet so I try to find connections through photography. My passion for photography have brought me joy, disillusionment and much excitement. I do hope people are inspired as I have been by other photographers body of work.

C. Todd Birdsong | Paducah, KY Out of Sight Digital photography 2019 My work is divided into several approaches and disciplines: analog and digital photographic processes, sound and transmission art and object making using found items and electronics. Execution of my work takes the form of conceptual installations and performances. Concepts of family, memory, journey, indeterminacy and randomness are used to examine the ideas of mindfulness and being present in the moment of witnessing, understanding and decoding our daily lives which seem to be interrupted and thrown into a seemingly constant state of distraction. Artists who inspire me are Eliot Erwitt, Brian Eno, and John Cage. I reflect ordinary life and its ups and downs. I am attracted to the simple ebb and flow of daily life, whether it be curious, carefree or even boring. I look for the unusual and in-between moments in the everyday and attempt to capture simple moments, or “gifts�, as Erwitt calls them. I endeavor to create images that are natural and mysterious, old and new, shared and unique.

Beth McKenna | Davie, FL A Roll In The Surf Print on metal 2020 My career in photography came quite unexpected as it was never a field of study for me, but rather a door that continually opened . My first experience with a camera was while working as an underwater videographer in the Cayman Islands where I had amazing opportunities to photograph an array of sea life and where I realized that photography as a career was even possible. Life took me back to the US where I returned to school to study interior design. Unbeknownst to me a friend put me forward as an potential for a position at our community newspaper and I decided to once again walk through the door! People, Places and Things, I photographed it all. While I navigate different areas, I am always taken right back to photography where I know I belong. It is my passion. This particular photograph was captured during my honeymoon on the Florida west coast. No one witnessing the mating of these manatees had ever seen anything like it before and I truly felt like I was meant to see it. I was counting on an amazing sunset and got so much more! While capturing people has always been my passion, I am venturing into new areas. In this case however, I feel blessed to have been taken back to my marine life roots where it all began.

Raymond Bonavida | Los Angeles, CA Moondance Photograph; dye-sublimation on aluminum 2019 'Moondance' explores the boundaries between the familiar and the unfamiliar in an effort to shift our viewpoint from a static representation of our Moon towards a fluid representation stretched across time. Each single exposure is a unique story of movement with inherent spacetime dynamics. I believe that our Moon is under-represented in contemporary photography given its role in the current revolution in space exploration.

Donald Brown | Charlotte, NC Chincoteague Sunrise Awakening Archival Giclee Print 2019 After 24 years with the military and 25 years in Corporate America, Donald fully expects to enjoy 25 years or more practicing his first love of photography. An avid hobbyist since his teenage years, Don's primary love is nature photography: landscapes, wildlife and plant life, but he frequently explores other subject categories and areas of expression and is especially interested in the craft of fine art printing. He now spends full time practicing his chosen avocation of nature and wildlife photography in many of the U.S. parks and wildlife reserves. In his spare time he teaches a Master class in Fine Art Inkjet Printing at the Light Factory of Charlotte, one of 4 galleries in the U.S. specializing in Photography and Film. Don’s images are a reflection of his basic philosophy of making pictures rather than taking them. The image captured by the camera is the start of the process of crafting the final image that matches his vision. The final product is the result of artistic vision and craft. Don's educational background includes an associate degree from Yale University (Institute of Far Eastern Languages-Chinese), a BS degree in Statistics from Syracuse University, an MS degree in Computer Science from Texas A&M University, and an MBA degree from Ohio State University. You are invited to visit my photo galleries linked from my blog at http://debphotography.blogspot.com .

Alexandra Buxbaum | Mesa, AZ La Alberca Photographic print on metal 2019 This photo series focuses on animals from different environments around the world and how they adapt to and integrate into both manmade and natural environments.

In the image La Alberca, this is “The Pig of St Anthony,” a medieval tradition carried out in La Alberca, Northern Spain. Yearly a pig is officially blessed and released into the village and is communally fed and looked after by residents.

These photos remind us that we need to carve out a space for all of the variety of life on this planet that we all share and call home.

Frances Byrne | West Hartford, CT Hexagrams 10 Digital Photography 2020 My work is a study of the visual properties of necessity or utility. The goal is to document visual characteristics of subjects whose forms are a product of intended purpose, and therefore are unconcerned with a preconceived idea of desirable appearance. Subjects with this indifference towards any visual qualities that do not exist to further function are the basis for creating my images.

Tim Christensen | Southern Pines, NC Acorn Weevil Wet plate collodion 2020 I grew up under the big skies of the West looking at the ground. A passionate interest in living things compelled me to get my Ph.D. in Genetics from Cornell and become a Biology professor at East Carolina University. My well-practiced attention to the small and unnoticed bits of nature fill my walks through North Carolina. As an MFA student at ECU I have explored historical methods including: Cyanotype, Gum Bichromate, Van Dyke, and wet plate collodion. I have also pushed the boundaries of digital photography with my precision work in astrophotography and the creation of micro-panoramas.

Al Crane | Grants Pass, OR Double Exposure: Maple Leaves/Water Reflection Archival Inkjet 2018 This image is from a series in which I have been using natural elements, the changing seasons, and my own image to explore connections between nature, the self and the passing of time. The photos are digital, double-exposure produced in-camera at the time the image was recorded. It is a simulation of a traditional film camera double exposure where the dark shadow areas of one exposure are filled in with the lighter areas of the second exposure. There are ways to create similar effects in post-production, but my desire was to makes the double exposure spontaneously at the instant it was recorded, leaving some aspects to chance. Ultimately, my goal is to feely photograph and combine elements from the physical world as a means of exploring idea of impermanence and the transitory nature of life.

Donna Dangott | College Station, TX She Stands With The Crows Archival pigment print of manipulated digital photograph 2020 Even The Beauties Will Fade In Time Archival pigment print of manipulated digital photograph 2020 My work has always been exploratory in technique. At times I have incorporated both traditional and non-traditional photographic methods, as well as, utilizing hand-rendered imagery via drawing, collage or other multi-media applications of artists pigments. All of my current work involves digital photography which often is then intentionally altered or manipulated with several different software applications into a significantly altered version of the original image.

My images often blur the line between fact and fiction—and I have found the medium of photography particularly well suited for pursuing that realm in a visual context. I strive to weave together elements of our tangible external physical landscape that we inhabit with our less tangible but equally as relevant internal psychological landscape. The realm of dreams—both conscious and subconscious— has always fascinated me and often figures into the imagery I create.

Steven Edson | Arlington, MA Surface Tensions Photography: archival pigment print 2020 “The camera works to document the external, but more importantly, magnifies the mysteries which exist within one’s self” How does emotion impact memory? How does the familiar slide into the unknown? Steve’s images dissolve into studies about our solitary existence. His images reveal over and over the metaphorical fog that shrouds our experience. Not just an observer, Steve is present with us, describing but also raising questions about what we think we see. Steve thrives on creating fresh and authentic images while he experiments with both his and the viewers perceptions and explores the roads less travelled.

Surface Tensions is a current series of work. These are a meditation and observations on the impact of water created by tides, currents, wind, light, and reflections. This a straight photograph as seen from a very specific location where the elements come together for a magical choreography of lines, color, and graphic shapes. Outside of basic color corrections which are made on all digital captured images, this has not been altered and stays consistent with the original inspiration and vision seen when the shutter was pressed.

Sam Elkind | Santa Fe, NM Caught-1 Photo inkjet Print 2020 Motion attracts the eye. This image, “Caught – 1,” is part of a portfolio with hypnotic, wind- driven forms at the core, producing oddly resonant shapes from common plastic bags.

Lost in a moment of carelessness and blown until snagged on a random fence, these pieces of waste flutter and tear, ripple and split.

The shapes in the “Caught” portfolio, as shown here in a single example, pull in two directions. While responding to the beauty of these forms, we see that the shapes are, in fact, just litter, part of the billions of tons of plastic waste that threaten our world. We depend on plastic, using it constantly in countless ways, then discarding it. The reckless disposal of persistent wastes is catching up with us – strewn across the land, buried underground and churning in the oceanic “great garbage patch.” These shapes, collected in a photo book also entitled Caught and available through Blurb.com, are emblems of the environmental tragedy we perpetuate daily.

Polly Gaillard | Greenville, SC Butterfly Agave #2 Original cyanotype 2020 Originally these photographs from the series entitled Unearthed were made digitally and printed as black and white archival pigment prints. Each succulent was “unearthed” from its pot and placed on a black backdrop for the picture. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, I longed for a more unmediated process of image-making than digital capture, like the days I spent in the darkroom in my youth.

These cyanotypes are made using digital negatives on chemistrycoated watercolor paper and exposed to the sun. This imperfect method of creating requires me to be open to the magic and inherent flaws of the process. During this unfortunate pandemic, I’ve allowed myself space and time to explore a more hands-on method of making imagery much like the processes that spurred my initial interests in photography

Edward Gia | Ridgewood, NY Untitled Pigmented Inkjet Print 2017 Edward is an artist born and raised in New York, NY (Queens-based) who works with photography and video.

His current body of work titled, (DIS)CONNECTED, is a project that is an investigation of his relationship with his family and his sexuality through the use of portraiture and the domestic interior of their Latin American home.

Since looking through his family’s photo album, the snapshot aesthetic has seeped into his work and he has adapted it into his own style.

Through this, he is portraying his identity through the lens of his feelings. It’s as if there is a lack of emotion or a missing puzzle piece that he is trying to put together with his family as a way to show others that they are not alone in their own journey of self-acceptance.

This helps to further emphasize the work though his family’s history and values.

Teresa Gilson | Mayfield, KY Rainy Afternoon Photography 2019 By trade, I am not a photographer, but by soul, I am a photographer.

When I think of my photographic journey, I am reminded that I am just a small speck in this great big world, capturing the small bits and pieces that surround me. I have always loved photography, and feel at peace when behind the camera, I have spent most of my journey on the nature and wildlife side, thinking nothing of lying on the ground shooting a mushroom in the woods, because the light was just right. Or, standing in the freezing cold, poised with camera to eye, waiting for the eagle to take flight.

Sometime, more recently, I discovered that “urban wildlife”, as I call it, started to gain my interest. I had the opportunity to learn and practice a bit of street photography, and realized that humans can be just as interesting as any animal in the wild. I guess you could say I am quite diverse in what I like to photograph. I may not be the best nature photographer, or the best street photographer, but when the camera is pulled to my eye, in the moment, what I see with my eye deserves to be a part of my journey.

Laura Greenwood | Bloomington, IN Mesquites Darkroom lith print 2018 To understand sustainability issues, there must be an honest conversation about human relationships with the natural world and its place in our society. This untitled photographic series considers perceptions and integration of the natural environment into westernized societies of the American South and Australia, where the images were captured. The photographs in this series explore human interaction with the environment and the role culture plays in our perception of the natural world within the greater scope of life.

American folklore and history of the United States originates as late as the 1600s, when Europeans first colonized the area. That is to say, the foundation for contemporary American values began during a modern, quickly industrialized age, with little influence from cultures that have direct ties to the earth.

Christianity provides older creation stories and parables much of Western society is grounded in; however, it is interesting to note that these narratives are human-centered. Contrarily, Australian Aboriginal or Indigenous American creation beliefs and legends focus on spiritual beings that become animals and elements of the earth itself.

“You can’t see the forest for the trees.” This is an appropriate adage when considering modern sustainability issues. The topic is so vast and there are a plethora of subtopics enjoined, that it can be difficult to connect to on a personal level. When deliberating human beings’ connection to the environment, however, the proverb is more meaningful if flipped to read, “You can’t see the trees for the forest.” In our fast-paced, technologically advanced world, our brains file specific items into broader, simplified categories in order to process the information more quickly. This means that we literally see the forest, and not the trees, unless we consciously force ourselves to break down scenery into individual items. This unintentional oversight makes it difficult to consider individual lifeforms as meaningful.

This series uses haunting, lonely imagery that isolates natural elements, in intimate portraits, dissecting the enormity of scenery into smaller, significant parts. It engages with the cultural significance of how the natural environment is perceived and consumed, as well as the differing roles humans assume in this relationship, either with intention or by default of action. This series captures the dichotomy of careful stewardship of the earth and the unsupportable consumption of natural resources within the same ecosystems. The careful tending of mesquite trees in a drought-stricken environment, in which rings were dug around the trees to collect rainwater, is compared to rows of feeble cotton plants, grown in an unsuitable climate, just possible through the extreme expenditure of natural resources.

The photographs encourage the viewer to build a relationship with the environment by providing an alternate reality in which objects and landscapes are familiar enough to connect to, yet sufficiently removed from experience to instigate questions of where the scene exists and whether it should exist at all. This series is an incomplete story of life, for which humanity will eventually write an ending.

Paul Grumley | Paducah, KY Go Forth Digital photography 2019 While trying to master the art of digital photography, I am always looking for the unusual presentation, the different perspective, or the surprise photographic opportunity. I am not satisfied with a photograph that only represents the scene that is before me and so, with my picture, I attempt to interpret the mood, emotion, and feeling at that point in time. The composition of the image, the juxtaposition of shapes, lines, patterns, and forms, and the play of light are very important components of my work. By learning different photographic techniques, I am able to achieve these goals with camera in hand but I employ the digital darkroom to complete the project.

I have always had an interest in photography but never had time to seriously dedicate myself to that pursuit. After retiring from the practice of medicine, I began taking classes in digital photography at the Paducah School of Art and Design. I have learned much and continue to focus on my art and to find my voice in photography.

Richena Holbert | New Haven, KY The Camp Photography 2020

Veni. Vidi. Vera.

Kuria Jorissen | Snohomish, WA Ocean of Stars Astrophotography 2020 I chose to become an artist because I grew up with art all around me, and expressing myself creatively was always more interesting to me than working in a cubical. My parents were both graphic designers, and they dabbled in many other forms of art. I realized that I always had a disposable film camera on hand, and that I enjoyed composing through that small viewfinder. When I was in high school I started to explore more in digital photography. I ended up getting my first DSLR in my Sophomore year and it became hard to find me without that camera attached to my hip. Another passion of mine from when I was a kid was camping and being out in the wilderness. I would camp every summer with my family under the stars in the Rocky Mountains. While in college I discovered Astrophotography which really became the perfect method to combine my top tier passions — the stars and photography. With my photography I seek to show the importance of the State and National parks and the dark skies which they showcase. The night sky is a fleeting thing in places like the city where the lights never go off. I have set out to capture the unique beauty of the night sky and all the splendor in the landscape around it.

Elizabeth Kayl | Loveland, CO Ink Blots Digital photography 2020 As a photographer by passion and not trade, I am intrigued by both the ordinary and extraordinary. I scan for those moments that speak to me as something that I can capture and add to‌perhaps through framing and composition, perhaps through post processing. I enjoy traveling and never explore without my camera, poised and ready to provide me my next canvas to paint. I am particularly fond of works in abstraction, as they do not limit me. Monochromes are also of great interest, as it presents such a timeless quality. Ultimately, I seek to capture a story. I hope you will enjoy the stories that I feel compelled to share.

Nancy Knauer | Minneapolis, MN Kate’s Dahlia Archival Digital Print 2020 Connecting with the natural world allows us to understand its value and therefore moves us to preserve and protect our lakes, rivers, forests and dark night skies. My hope is for viewers of my work to find a place to rest, to breathe a little deeper and walk away refreshed.

Martin Krafft | Ruston, LA Family Photo #134 Vinyl based on water damaged chromogenic print 2019 Emulsion: a fine dispersion of minute droplets of one liquid in another in which it is not soluble Susan Sontag writes about the photographic image as a trace, “stenciled directly off the real.� My work expands and complicates that idea of photograph as trace in the process of working through the death of my grandmother. This image, based on a photography she took that was exposed to water, hints at both her absence as well as her lingering presence; she lives on through the image, through familial bonds, through a complex network of generous actions radiating ever outwards. She is both here and not here, dissolved and distinct. The image presents an inversion of traditional middle-class representations of family cohesiveness and health, making space for the inevitable decay of those family bonds.

Patricia Littlefield | New Paltz, NY Messages Photography 2020 I am drawn to textures, rust, interesting coloring and juxtapositions and find I just have to take photos of them to possess them. After downloading and studying my photos I find that there are some interesting relationships between them and that part of one could work together with another to create a totally new image or environment. Or sometimes content from one photo can just enhance another one. I have greatly enjoyed putting together up to three photos together. Software is a huge factor in doing this and I have several programs that will expedite the process. Of course, sometimes a photograph is so right the way it is that it needs to just be left on its own.

Tsung-yu Lu| New Taipei City, Tawain Leaves of Small-Leaved Barrigtonia Archival Inkjet Print 2020 This an artwork of the project "White Night". During the journey of shooting trees, I occasionally found a special perspective: interpreting trees in the dark through black and white inversion, thus starting the entire exploration of this project.

I like trees and shooting trees, but shooting them in a city with a cluttered background is not easy, and it is even harder at night. However, I therefore found that if the unpopular technique of black and white inversion is applied to the trees in the dark, it might bloom such an impactful image: sometimes it can produce a sketch-like texture, sometimes it can create artistic mood like ink painting.

Raj Manickam | Minturn, CO Juniper’s Last Gasp Photography 2020 This is an in-camera overlay of two images. One is a dead Juniper tree, and the other is a photo of compacted recycled materials at a landfill facility I visited. Juniper trees thrive in the most inhospitable conditions. Juniper will withstand bone-chilling cold temperatures, scorching heat, intense winds, and with very little water. Junipers have a lifespan between 350 to 700 years. Enduring all challenges, even the indomitable Juniper will perish if we pollute indiscriminately. Protect our environment, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

David McCrae | Seattle, WA Nigella Color pigment inkjet print of a digital scan 2019

The history of photography is replete with examples of image capture without a camera. My present focus, ‘From a Scanner, Darkly,’ began when I had no time to work with film. Instead, a scanner and a computer became my substitute for photosensitive materials and a darkroom. The subject matter initially came from the pantry and the garden. Food and flowers; simple subjects but not mundane, for they feed the body and the mind.

We returned to Seattle in 2008 after 18 years in Berkeley and resumed shopping at the Pike Place Market. I felt the need to honor the people we bought produce from for they work hard with not much recompense. Frank's Quality Produce has been run by the Genzale family since 1928 and we buy from Frank, Jr., the 4th generation. Alm Hill Farm is a Skagit Valley farm growing flowers and produce for farmers’ markets.

The most recent work, ‘sumi-esque’, was inspired by a show of sumi-e paintings by Isamu Noguchi and Qi Baishi.

Peter Miller | San Mateo, CA Haight & Masonic Digital Photography 2019 Guitar & Song Digital Photography 2018 SCENES: SAN FRANCISCO, an ongoing project that I began in 2016 The images are ruminations on man and place, chance encounters, and the infinite details of the visible world.

The camera and I are part of the string of events to create an image. On my long walks through the city, I choose a scene and then capture frames of strangers unpredictability entering and exiting the world in front of me. Are the chance connections with these individuals established as a random sequence of outcomes? Or are they pre-determined?

I attempt to get close to my subjects and create tension with dense and sometimes confrontational compositions. I capture all the details from foreground to background. I want to communicate an intense experience of the environment, where every square inch is important. Rendering the details increases the sense of literalness — a permanent capture of a single ephemeral moment.

Paul Murray | Jamestown, RI Serene Color photographic print on archival paper 2018 I am very much a visual traveler interacting with the world and ideas on a variety of levels through several planes of vision that intersect with time and space. At those intersections, I hope to capture an intriguing moment and portray it from my perspective. Often, I venture well beyond the pathways of others in my photographic journeys.

Color, light, and gesture are important elements in my work.

My use of these varies intrinsically across landscapes, nature, people, and culture. My choices of timing, perspective, and composition are intended to draw the viewer into the setting and moment.

In creating art, I try to remain open to possibilities, trust my instincts, and discard labels that are divisive. I use technology to increase my creative options and productivity, but not to replace my vision and responsibility.

As an artist, I hope my images communicate in a unique and engaging way.

Joe Papagoda | North Haven, CT Yellow Bunny Peeps Digital photography 2019 Joe Papagoda is a Connecticut based artist known for dramatic compositions combined with primary colors, and often unexpected subject matter. He builds upon the foundation of artistic expression and overhauls traditional approaches with his recognizable style.

Having also worked as a product photographer and a marketing & advertising consultant one can see his influence from working on the commercial spectrum through his use of a limited color palette and bold subject placement to draw in the viewer while keeping the work straightforward.

Michael Potts | Phoenix, AZ Chrysalis #1/10 Archival Digital Print I try to avoid influencing my subjects other than with a few suggestions or keywords if they are timid. It’s important to draw out the creative energy in my subjects that society represses and to let them be free of constraints and mores.

I am more interested in what they want to share with me than what I might be able to impress upon them. It is easier to do this with children because most of them have not yet been taught to hide themselves away.

With my underwater work (which I am only able to do a quarter of the year) I seek moments of sublime peace (that fine line where the conscious and subconscious meet), and the creative chaotic (where energy is released and that border is broken and the potential becomes kinetic). I see the water as a metaphor for a dream medium and I try to meet my subjects on that boundary and hope that we are able to take the viewer there.

John Puffer | Vincennes, IN Bowl in a room of a home (House of Siricus): Pompeii, Italy Archival Inkjet Print 2020 This image is one of 66 in my portfolio/book entitled Pompeii: What Remains, a compilation of selected photographs made over the past 20+ years at the site of Pompeii in Italy. I have traveled with students over that time to sites in England, France, Switzerland, Greece, Italy, and Egypt but for me the ancient tragedy of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii has affected me more than anywhere in the world. These photographs and the making of the book and through several exhibitions have been my passion over the last several years.

Ronald J. Saunders | Reno, NV Clouds at Spring Gap 1 Digital pigment print on Epson Premium Glossy Paper 2017 The primary objective of Ron’s work is to create a print. He strives to create pieces that have the characteristics of beauty in natural landscapes. A large amount of Ron’s art is done in black and white and usually on a glossy media. He endeavors to get elements of the sky in most of the works because sky and clouds work so well with black and white prints. The earth is in a slow transition while the sky is infinitely more dynamic. In such cases the captured images may look different every few minutes.

Ron hopes his effort to transform an image and experience to a print is enjoyed by others.

Kevin Rose Schultz | Floyds Knobs, IN Forties Fantasy Cyanotype print on cotton 2019 My love for vintage dresses began when my grandmother altered her wedding dress for me to play dress-up. I have been collecting vintage dresses since my college days. I began to imagine the possibilities of printing some of these dresses four years ago. I was teaching Cyanotype printing to my high school photography class at the time and was dreaming of a way to contact print full size dresses. A friend helped me find a huge piece of glass and my husband built a custom contact printing frame. After some trial and error exposures, I was ready to print some dresses.

The Cyanotype process enables me to capture an image of the details of each beautiful dress. I can preserve the many wonderful details even though the fabric may be disintegrating. I believe that the clothes we wear say something about the wearer and I hope that some of the “spirit� of the owner is revealed in the print. The Cyanotype Dress prints have an ethereal energy that brings new life to the garment.

Robert Shapiro | Metropolis, IL Land of the Norse #3 Digital photography 2018 The Vikings brought the first horses to Iceland in the late 9th century making them one of the oldest breeds of horse in the world. They were short, stout, gentle and even-tempered workhorses and provided the only means of transportation until the introduction of the car in 1904, a 1000 years later. In Iceland they have never been crossbred with other world strains making the 80,000 horses that dot the lush green pastures of the coastal plain today all one magnificent pure breed. The low incident light, the incessant onshore wind, the brooding dominance of the volcano across the bay all figured into the composition of the photograph.

Wendell Shinn | La Mesa, CA Land’s End Metal Print 2019 I search for innovative ways of seeing our environment by exploring novel techniques that entice my viewers to reconsider their interpretation of the world. My photography has evolved over decades from landscapes to layered reflections, composites and panoramas turned into circles or stretched into rectangles. I enjoy a quirky sense of humor including an extensive series on ravens dressed and ready to rule their own world. In this work, I want to explore the basic rules of how we see the light in general. This series uses infrared photography allowing the photographer to capture light below normal human visual limits of 2000K. This is how cold-blooded animals see the world: snakes, fish, insects, and frogs. The resulting colors are infinitely adjustable and more than a little sinister, expanding our ideas of the makeup of our planet. I now enjoy my art and retirement in La Mesa, CA.

Edward Shmunes | Columbia, SC Revelry Archival pigment print on fine art paper 2019 My challenge as an artist is to try to achieve a fresh and engaging approach to any material. By instinct, present an honest, yet somewhat surreal, commentary on the real or imagined world in which I live.

Denis Sivack | Brooklyn, NY Car Hopped Digital capture, archival pigment print on canson marine fibre rag 2020 My photographic concern lies not by starting with an idea or working in the directorial mode. Instead it is by seeing and responding to the transitory world around me and its evidence of contemporary human activity.

Everything here is of ephemeral street work in the process of change.

Paul Stapp | St. Paul, MN Miss Torso Archival pigment print of digital photograph 2020 The structure of a display case or vitrine protects and frames an artifact. The very act of placing something in a vitrine amplifies its perceived importance and its ability to evoke wonder and desire.

The windows along Main Street function in much the same way, even if the “curator” of the display may have lost track of the actual state of the presentation. The objects of the interior are often out of sync with the environment hinted by the reflections and architectural details of the exterior. It’s this interplay and incongruity that I look for in my work.

Jack Straton | Portland, OR Phoenix Photography/lucia ink print 2018 The surrounding world calls to the heart of each of us to notice, to drop our perceptual filters and truly see, to pause and participate in the being-becoming that surrounds us. The photographer's eye must overcome its habituation to the world surrounding us so that what one attends to what is really present. If one is willing to pause and truly see with gaze unfiltered by preconceptions, one finds a profound connection to the world. It is the job of the photographer to capture the visual clues that evoke a sense of home, of connection, of an awareness of our larger selves in such a way that the viewer of the work may feel a resonant connection.

Noticing the play of light across a surface is the key to finding this world-resonance. This beneficence of light upon the gaze of the photographer can become a kind of benediction upon the head and the heart of the viewer. She may have an experience that is akin to remembering something she has never seen or someplace she has never been.

Ronald Toth | Murray, KY Hairy Cactus Digital photograph, inkjet print 2020 Most of my images are of plants, either whole or fragments.

Many are made with a macro lens or a microscope. I am interested in the shape, color or pattern, not the plant itself.

My former profession was teaching and doing research in plant science. Over the years I have photographed many parts of plants, some of which had strange and beautiful shapes, but my interest was in their scientific message, or usefulness in teaching.

Now that I am retired, I have been making images of many whole plants or parts of plants, which are of interest to me, just for their visual impact, without regard to any scientific usefulness. The images have no meaning, social content, or message. Whatever feeling the viewer might carry away from the image must of course be personal.

Timothy Tracz | Sherman, TX Lumens 5.19.20c Archival inkjet from scanned lumen image 2020 These images (Lumens) represent a recent investigation of the process of lumen exposure. This is a process of exposing silver based b/w enlarging paper to uv light, in a photogram like procedure, in this case using organic material, primarily flowers, fruit and vegetables, and additional material as deemed useful for variety and picture design. After exposure and without fixing the paper, I scan it at a very high resolution, resulting in jpeg files that are in excess of 300mb. After that, I use Photoshop tools to enhance: mostly making areas darker or lighter. The lumen exposure, with the organic material, derives subtle and faint colors. With the limited enhancements, these colors can be made more saturated and with more contrast. I’ve made the commitment to avoid enhancements other than these. As I said, the scanned images, especially after processing, have a brilliance and level of detail unexpected in what seems to be a kind of magical, totally unexpected source – simply black and white photo paper, organic materials, and the sun.

Jane Craig Walker | Houston, TX Duck Path Framed Archival digital print 2017 Jane Craig Walker is an award-winning photographer who has grown up, lived and worked in many different countries around the world. A multicultural, global nomad currently living in Houston, Texas, Jane was brought up in Montreal by British parents and calls the UK home. Moving frequently for education, work and family has given her an understanding of the importance of culture, tradition and the multifaceted world that we live in. Through photography Jane captures the commonplace and the unusual while at the same time recording the traditions, history and spirit of wherever she is living.

Jane has exhibited throughout the US as well as in Spain and the UK, most recently in the 15th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards Exhibition at FotoNostrum Gallery in Barcelona, Spain. Other exhibitions include selected group shows at The Glasgow Gallery of Photography and The London Photo Show in the UK as well as juried group shows at DABArt Los Angeles CA, Site:Brooklyn Gallery NY, Houston Center for Photography TX and The Griffin Museum of Photography MA. Jane has recently been selected as the International Photographer for July 2021 at the Viewpoint Gallery, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Her work is held in private collections throughout the world.

Karey Walter | Marietta, GA Casper Archival pigment print 2019 Unique locations, animals, people, and a variety of situations that are often overlooked inspire my photography. Beauty usually goes unnoticed and unappreciated, yet it reflects aspects of our humanity that are memorable to capture with a camera. I strive to capture moments of beauty and magic.

Whether photographing people or landscapes, the same approach applies. I am placing myself at the moment, being patient, and having faith that something magical will unfold. A sense of reverence has fueled my photography for the natural world and its remarkable beauty. I resonate toward images that depict a peaceful coexistence between humans and nature. These quiet moments with my camera bring me back to my childhood: exploring, be curious, dreaming, seeing, and breathing in the beauty that surrounds me. In the evolution of my photography, trying new techniques in analog and digital photography humbles me. I’ve learned that creativity requires a perennial sense of playfulness, finding that childlike fascination for the magic contained within each opportunity in life

Al Wildey | Mt. Pleasant, MI HSM Lights-Hagia Sophia Interior Composite digital photography, thermal dye transfer on aluminum 2020 I create photographic-based images of architecture and artificial light that examine time, space and collective memory. These images are produced by recording a series of documentary photos while physically circling a subject; once acquired, I process and merge the image files in a digital environment. The completed digital file is printed on aluminum, a surface that reflects light and, by extension, the passage and accumulation of time.

Doug Winter | Elk Grove, CA North East, Day 3 Dye infused aluminum panel 2020 The inflections of color and light inform our lives, giving us meaning, distraction, joy and pain. Collectively our visual boundaries build over time to allocate language, love and kindness. These are the questions that inform my work, inspired by my father’s loss of eyesight two years before his death.

While caring for my father, I’d ask him to describe in detail what he saw, measuring if his sight was better or worse, depending on the day.

He would describe shapes and colors of objects and landscapes. Our discussions informed my imagination, and I began recreating these visual memories.

This body of work speaks to the separate, shared and unique connection degraded eyesight has to memory, color contours and light and how collectively they comprise a nomenclature of personal reality and history. The resilience of nature and the human condition is a constant source of inspiration.

I use colors that reference light and energy, creating a visual expression of distorted reality.

Mitsu Yoshikawa | San Francisco, CA Face-6869 Pigment print 2019 About 3 years ago, I started self-portraits, in order to express in a different way. I used many different techniques including this photograph, using the sandwich technique.

Igor Zeiger | Jaffa, Israel Project 100. 70 Meters Photography on paper 2020 During the last quarantine we were forbidden to go more than 100 meters from our homes.

Being an artist, this limited me about what I could photograph. For this project, I choose a single distance every day - 10, 20, 30 ... 100 meters every day and photograph what I see, and write my thoughts about it.

The project is the mixed media - photographs and text I wrote on it.

Paola De Giovanni | Allestree, Derbyshire, England The Florentine Caretaker photography 2016 Paola De Giovanni uses her camera to preserve dramatic light, timeless beauty and fleeting moments of perfection, both in an urban environment and in nature. Paola specializes in architectural details, flower photography with a twist and environmental portraiture.

During the global epidemic, Paola has discovered the ancient ink painting technique called marbling and put together an impressive body of prints thanks to this medium that is similar to a form of active meditation, liberating and empowering. Her marbling prints are often digitally put into repeats to create seamless, symmetrical patterns to suggest balance, reciprocity and elegance. Her photos/artwork are available as limited editions of matt prints, in various formats and they all have a Certificate of Authenticity, each artwork is printed on matt Hahnemuhle paper, and archival inks to guarantee color fastness.

Regional Salon

Yeiser Art Center is delighted to be hosting the annual international juried photography arts competition, now in it’s 45th year, Art Through The Lens. Originating in 1975 as the Paducah Summer Festival Photo Competition, Paducah Photo has grown from a fledgling contest into an international juried exhibition. Over the past 45 years, this exhibition has become one of the Mid-South’s most prestigious photographic events. In 2013 Paducah was bestowed the honor of being designated a member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Creative Cities Network in the area of Crafts & Folk Art. To embrace both this international honor and reflect the international growth of the exhibition, Paducah Photo took on the new name of Art Through The Lens.

To honor its history, the exhibition now exists in two parts; the International Show which features juror’s selections and the Regional Salon chosen by a second regional juror or panel. rom the 643 entries, 58 were selected from 23 U.S. states along with work from four other countries; Taiwan, Iran, Israel, and the UK. Entries that were not selected for the International Show and came from Kentucky or a 200 mile radius of Paducah were automatically included in the jury process for the Regional Salon. A total of 43 pieces were chosen by Yeiser Art Center staff for this representation of photography in the region.

James Barton |Gilbertsville, KY 11:20 PM, Savannah, GA Digital Photography 2020 In these early years of my photographic experience my intention was to push both my techniques and the discipline’s available tools just enough to draw out some of my subject's innate artistic value.

Alice Becker | Evanston, IL Lake Michigan Photography 2020 I use photography to identify and define the environment in ways viewers might not otherwise see or imagine. I am attracted to shapes, angles, patterns, textures and color contrasts. I am attracted to sites and locations that may have a daily reality but which I turn into an aesthetic reality as well. I focus naturally on these details for my work as I am drawn to them and their juxtaposition. I do not focus on any particular subject matter. I follow my instinct and interest or image at the moment and pursue my goal to take the reality of an image and highlight the image for the viewer to see in a different way.

Rose Bowman | Loretto, KY ‘Till Death Do We Part Photography 2020 Through multi-media I retell stories and ideas based in the occult while unapologetically situating them within the queer and female communities to which they have historically belonged. Letting subjects and themes take their own forms and characters within the coven that is in my work is an important aspect. As more members joined the coven there was an exploration of power and where it lies. Does it belong to me as the artist? Or do I merely capture the conscious insecurities that have been placed away from society as my muses take on the roles given to them? Willingness to give in to something and someone is what makes up my photography, from both sides of the camera. These works of art are almost a love letter to myself, and to those who partake in the madness.

Todd Birdsong |Paducah, KY Losing Light Digital Photography 2020 Lightwaves Digital Photography 2020 My work is divided into several approaches and disciplines: analog and digital photographic processes, sound and transmission art and object making using found items and electronics. Execution of my work takes the form of conceptual installations and performances. Concepts of family, memory, journey, indeterminacy and randomness are used to examine the ideas of mindfulness and being present in the moment of witnessing, understanding and decoding our daily lives which seem to be interrupted and thrown into a seemingly constant state of distraction. Artists who inspire me are Eliot Erwitt, Brian Eno, and John Cage. I reflect ordinary life and its ups and downs. I am attracted to the simple ebb and flow of daily life, whether it be curious, carefree or even boring. I look for the unusual and in-between moments in the everyday and attempt to capture simple moments, or “gifts�, as Erwitt calls them. I endeavor to create images that are natural and mysterious, old and new, shared and unique.

Nolan Cain |Smithland, KY Schizure Digital Photography 2020 The feeling of depression is one felt by many people in the world, especially during an unforeseen pandemic where the feeling is greatly heightened. The model in particular along with myself suffer from depression on a daily basis and with quarantine and regulations being put in place, our emotions became more wild and unstable. This is only the visible sight of depression. Many people try to hide the symptoms and most likely end up like the visual of Schizure, only in a private setting where nobody can see it. What you see is what we, as depression sufferers, see, a one-dimensional, monochrome world with no vibrancy of life in the near future or beyond.

Kathy Callahan |Murray, KY Lost Digital Photography 2019 Lindisfarne Digital Photography 2019 Travel provides the greatest inspiration for my work, be it domestic or international travel. However, recent events have kept me closer to home.

The photography I create is most often informed by both natural scenes and human-made objects. Color inspires me but black and white photography enables us to see things as they do not exist.

James Davis |Pembroke, KY Steps in Sand Photography 2017 I'm a hobbyist nature photographer who enjoys sharing my work with others.

Basil Drossos | Paducah, KY Suellen in The Wind Digital Photo 2020 Ocean Drive Art Deco 2020 Digital Photo Candid photography of folks in their own element has become a favorite photographic pastime for me. Both of my photographs included in the exhibition this year are of vibrant octogenarians. Ocean Drive Art Deco, shot in Miami Beach, is of a grizzled, sunbaked, fit fellow with a robust appetite enjoying a scrumptious breakfast, seated at a sidewalk table along Ocean Drive. Suellen in the Wind is of our hometown girl enjoying being buffeted by the wind, seated on the stern of a cruise ship leaving the port of Malta. It is a thrill to be able to bring these two wonderful people into our show this year.

Malcolm Glass | Clarksville, TN Sybil of the Hart Toned black and white photograph 2017 I hope that my photographs will engage viewers and draw them in, so they might enter visual and emotional depths beyond the casual glance. I offer in my work an invitation to take a journey into layers of response that will stay with them after they leave the gallery.

Hazel Grant | Carbondale, IL Escher at Union Station Digital photography 2017 I enjoy taking pictures. Then, there is that aha moment when of the many I scan on my computer, one seems to say, "Listen to me. I have something to say." These few make the capture of the many (and later probable disposal of most) worthwhile. My nature photography has opened my eyes to personalities of the animals and birds I've captured in digital format. The eye, I've found, is the key--where they are looking, what they seem to be saying.

Scenes of buildings and other structures can tell of memories or the beauty of design. When I find those few, I try to make them speak through the photographic word to others who will see those prints.

Paul Grumley | Paducah, KY The Conversation Digital Photograph 2018 Evening in a Piazza Digital Photograph 2018 While trying to master the art of digital photography, I am always looking for the unusual presentation, the different perspective, or the surprise photographic opportunity. I am not satisfied with a photograph that only represents the scene that is before me and so, with my picture, I attempt to interpret the mood, emotion, and feeling at that point in time. The composition of the image, the juxtaposition of shapes, lines, patterns, and forms, and the play of light are very important components of my work. By learning different photographic techniques, I am able to achieve these goals with camera in hand but I employ the digital darkroom to complete the project.

I have always had an interest in photography but never had time to seriously dedicate myself to that pursuit. After retiring from the practice of medicine, I began taking classes in digital photography at the Paducah School of Art and Design. I have learned much and continue to focus on my art and to find my voice in photography.

Sarah Haig | Martin, TN Mother and Child Photography 2020 Sarah Haig is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design at the University of Tennessee at Martin.

David Hammond | Goreville, IL Rhapsody in Blue Photography 2017 Working with both digital and film cameras, I concentrate on landscape and nature, and sometimes the intermingling of the two. I enjoy finding a simplistic, sometimes abstract, composition highlighting the "everyday miracles" that are our gift from our creator.

Barbara Harris | Louisville, KY The Quilter photography 2020 Photography is a way for me to document the world around me. I consider myself somewhat eclectic in the subjects and the genre of photos that I shoot. My subjects often depict the beauty of the world around us but at times also is meant to stir an emotional response which may inspire us to action.

Richena Holbert | New Haven, KY The Sledge Photography 2020 Veni. Vidi. Vera.

Cindy Jones | Paducah, KY Swirls Digital Photograph 2020 This ancient Lincoln Continental, tires flat, and spewing parts, was abandoned on an empty lot in Paducah’s South Side.

Although the paint was pitted and peeling, the chrome trim was still bright and shiny. Reflected in the bumper were swirls of colors and patterns, giving beauty and energy to an otherwise lifeless “car”cass.

Joseph Kelly| Paducah, KY Wheelbase Photography/35 mm 2019 Roughly fifty years after its creation, this late '60s Cadillac Coupe DeVille sits curbside on a quiet side street in Savannah Georgia. How many family road trips has it seen, and across how many states? How many times has it traded hands? Why was this car destined to be a prized possession while thousands like it waste away forgotten in scrapyards? Thoughts like these are what influenced me to shoot "Wheelbase", part of an ongoing series investigating the stories of automobiles.

Sara King | Murray, KY Untitled Digital Photography 2020 Currently I am working on a series of photographs taken to illustrate an individual’s life through their hands. Every person’s hands have the ability to tell a story. As Helen Keller said, “we may compose our faces, but our hands speak open and unconscious truths.”

Ken Konchel | Murray, KY Serration Silver gelatin photography 2000 As a photographer, I am drawn to the expressive power of buildings. Provocatively capturing architecture in an abstract, graphic way keenly interests me. My intention is to make compelling photographs that remove the context and distill architecture to nothing but relationships of shape, line, form, pattern, detail, tone and/or texture. Architecture forms the physical environment of our lives. It connects us to the past, it helps define our relationships to one another, and it gives us a sense of place and identity.

Architecture also embodies our values and expresses our individual and collective aspirations.

And most importantly, architecture enhances and advances our creative legacy. Yet something so integral to the sense of who we are - something that contributes immeasurably to our quality of life – is often dismissed as mundane, taken for granted, or at worst ignored. My ambition is to raise awareness of and appreciation for architecture by presenting it as engaging and dynamic geometric arrangements and interactions. More concisely expressed, I use photography to substantiate the connection between art and architecture.

My aim is to photograph buildings in arresting ways, creating compositions that do not immediately reveal themselves as architecture. Buildings present rich opportunities for me to imaginatively explore the angle, the cube, the curve, the triangle, and the rectangle. By examining these forms individually or by grouping them into unconventional configurations, I aspire to challenge and captivate people by introducing them to architecture’s intriguing visual possibilities. I strive to take photographs that disclose their content in layers of meaning that more richly reward with repeated viewings. I also hope to convey the value of patience and observation, and the power of making careful choices.

The celebrated photographer Minor White once said, “I photograph not for what a thing was, but for what else it might be.” These words perfectly and eloquently express my own motivation in photographing architecture.

Justin Martin | Martin, TN Bar With No Name Digital Photograph 2020 I enjoy combing the small towns of the region and take a special interest in towns western Tennessee and Kentucky. I like to venture into the back alleyways to photograph the spaces we either enter only rarely or those we’ve abandoned. I am particularly interested in businesses, shuttered or open, that seem insignificant against the backdrop of big box stores and multi-national corporations, but that are the manifestation of someone’s hopes and dreams.

April McCormack | Fulton, KY Showing Feathers Digital Photography 2020 I am a photographer from Mayfield Ky. I have been a hobby photographer for over 25 years. In October of this year I opened April McCormack Photography. I specialize in natural light photography and do outdoor portraits and sports photography. Nature photography has always been one of my favorite passions. I love to be outdoors in nature. I love to show all the beauty God created in my nature photography. Hummingbirds are one of my favorite subjects to shoot in nature. I love to photograph them as they visit my backyard every year. I feel blessed to be able to show stories through the eyes of my lens. You can view more of my work at https://www.aprilmccormackphotography.com/

Connor Murt | Paducah, KY Shredder Digital Photography 2020 Photographs assist the viewer in travelling to a place outside of his or her own imagination. A photograph can depict only portions of a destination, without giving away all of the specifics of that said place.

Photography captures raw moments of people’s lives, without artistic fabrication, communicating a sense of candor and ingenuity in each photograph. With no room for misinterpretation, snapshots of everyday life allow the eye of the beholder to fill in the blanks and allow his or her mind to wander and allow the photo to play out in a variety of ways that are dependent upon mood, life experience, personal interests, and more. Photographs act as a prompt, providing a conclusion in a still frame, while allowing the onlooker to imagine the story that may have led up to that point.

Barry Noland | Nashville, TN After The Fall Photography/metallic paper 2020 My style and genre have varied greatly in the course of my artistic career. But generally, my visual aesthetic of calm, peaceful presentations with an emphasis on composition has stayed reasonably constant throughout. I typically shoot subjects, human and non-human, from reaction rather than vision. While, depending on purpose, creating without a specific vision can be detrimental to sharing your experience, I enjoy the sense of working off-the-cuff, in mid-air. I try my best to trust that sharable, universal context will spontaneously create from my individual, personal interactions.

Olivia Pike | Vine Grove, KY Dixie Highway Kallitype print, medium format film 2019 Echo: “A sound heard again near its source after being reflected.”

This image is a selection from a body of work built around capturing the inherently recurring aspects of profundity and familiarity encountered throughout the landscape of the mundane. Black and white references nostalgia and the dreamy, removed quality of memories: stark, yet still the mere ghost of a past moment, a remnant of what once was, a fragment of an experience. This image and its accompanying photographs

Jonathan Rodgers | Nashville, TN Roman Walls Photography 2019 Artist Statement: "I’ve been making Ostinato style photos for about two years now. They consist of multiple photographs, all made by me, shot in about a twenty minute window and typically within the same view. The images are then post-processed with a current production lead of roughly four months. You can find more at www.ostinato.kim."

Phyllis Russell | Paducah, KY Queen Anne’s Lace Photography 2020 Photography is an art, an expression and a picture of our experiences. Flowers are one of my favorite subjects to photograph. I like to capture the texture, detail, swirls and curls of the flower. I want the viewer to see the beauty of the flower and see something that they may have overlooked

Sandy Sasso | Almo, KY Table. Woods Photography 2019 In March of 2018 I began experimenting with photography by documenting the still life set-ups I stage for painting and drawing. This process enabled me to go through many ideas very quickly and as I continued with this medium I began combining images of plants, skies, trees and structures mostly from our home garden. The ability to document plants in their various stages of life during a growing season is most welcome and intriguing.

In this age of environmental uncertainty and crisis – I strive to depict a reverence for plants, gardens and natural places, for the sustenance of life, and for the role of the gardener/caretaker who is healed and nurtured by tending these places.

Kiefer Shuler | Lexington, KY Darkness Photography 2019 Focusing on the details in nature that are passed by us each day is my goal. Taking the viewers inside a flower or into a field of trees with the light hitting the bark is what makes art interesting to me. Showing the viewer something they have never noticed or experienced is the inspiration behind my photographs.

Eli Sicken & Austin Scarbrough | Paducah, KY Smoking Sectional Photography 2020 "Sometimes you gotta follow a whim and rebuild your living room in nature. Grab a lamp in case it gets dark, invite some friends and enjoy inside, outside. (No cigarettes were harmed in the taking of this photo)"

Robert Shapiro | Paducah, KY Land Of The Norse #1 Digital photography 2018 The Lutheran Church 0f Skeggjastadir on the far northeastern coast of Iceland was built from donated driftwood (the island is mostly treeless) in 1845. The pastor Rev. Hoseas Arnason paid for all the work out of his own pocket since both the bishop and the local people refused to help. Christianity came late to Iceland and this church is the oldest in the eastern half of the island. It sits atop a gentle rise with a sweeping view of Bakkafloi Bay. It was late on a day in June and the twilight casted its magic spell for hours on end as I worked to discover this photograph.

Shane Smith | Lexington, KY Basement Digital print on canvas 2018 "Preachin' to the choir, just a liar vyin' for retention."

Nancy Stalls | Hopkinsville, KY The Gate Photography 2018 Nancy McCuiston Stalls is a native of Murray, KY, now residing in Hopkinsville. She studied the art of black and white photography in college, developing and printing her works in her private lab. She has exhibited her works at the Yeiser Art Gallery, Paducah, KY: the Murray Art Guild Gallery, Murray, KY; the Janice Mason Art Museum, Cadiz, KY; the Glema Mahr Center for the Arts, Madisonville, KY; the Knoxville Center for Arts, Knoxville, TN.

Karen Taylor | Mayfield, KY Soaring Juvenile Eagle Photography 2020 I bought my first DSLR camera 6 years ago but did not really get started in photography until after moving to western Kentucky 3 years ago. As a hobby photographer, I love the natural beauty of this area. I am constantly exploring new places and love photographing whatever wildlife or beautiful landscapes I may find. The juvenile eagle in my Soaring Juvenile Eagle photo put on quite a show for me as he flew over trees and ponds in western Callaway County, Kentucky.

Being retired gives me time to enjoy learning my new hobby and to appreciate all this region has to offer. Living with my husband near Mayfield Kentucky, it is only a short drive in any direction to find new and exciting photo opportunities.

Ronald Toth | Murray, KY Ginkgo Leaves Digital photograph, inkjet print 2020 Most of my images are of plants, either whole or fragments. Many are made with a macro lens or a microscope. I am interested in the shape, color or pattern, not the plant itself.

My former profession was teaching and doing research in plant science. Over the years I have photographed many parts of plants, some of which had strange and beautiful shapes, but my interest was in their scientific message, or usefulness in teaching.

Now that I am retired, I have been making images of many whole plants or parts of plants, which are of interest to me, just for their visual impact, without regard to any scientific usefulness. The images have no meaning, social content, or message. Whatever feeling the viewer might carry away from the image must of course be personal.

Haley Wilkerson | Beaver Dam, KY Under Water Photography 2020

Stephanie Young | Paducah, KY A Walk In The Woods Photography 2018 Fall in the Smokies in 2018 hadn’t arrived yet when my photography group traveled there to enjoy all the colors of the season. I turned what originally looked like a Summer Walk in the Woods into this Autumn Walk in the Woods with the help of Photoshop. After all, that’s what I ventured to the Smokies to see.

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