October is a photographer's paradise, with colorful scenes inspiring everyone from casual cell phone users to seasoned professionals. Eugene offers several opportunities to explore the art of photography this month.
The New Zone Gallery hosts two shows. The PhotoZone features work by Lane County's premier fine arts camera club, showcasing silver prints, platinum/palladium, infrared, and digital production.
A second show is Doremus Scudder's "Tableaux from the American West," featuring hand-crafted silver-gelatin photographs of the American frontier. One striking piece is a field of white snow with a diagonal line of fence posts leading to a barn in the distance, a simple and powerful composition in white and black. I happened to read some comments left on Facebook about it—one man from Montpellier, France, said, “I was overwhelmed with grief.” Another man from New York said, “Seeing this beauty makes me so happy, so at peace.”
On down Willamette Street at the O’Brien Gallery—it’s kind of next to True Value Hardware, another PhotoZone member is having a one-person show. Ron Dobrowski’s show is called “Silver Gelatin Retro.” Scudder’s photographic vision is of wide open landscapes and the telling details of the old frontier; Dobrowski’s vision is cool, contained and ultra modern. He shows portraits of early model film cameras alongside delicate, minimalist traceries of seed pods.
The Dot Dotson Gallery features work by the executive board of Photography at Oregon. If you're traveling, check out the MindPower Gallery in Reedsport, where PhotoZone members Linda Devenow and Don Myers are exhibiting.
Are you a fine arts photographer looking for community? PhotoZone might be right for you. Reach out to me at KLCC for more information. Meanwhile, take advantage of this amazing weather to see some amazing art!
