By Jasmine Willis
DANSVILLE — The local art center has grown in the last five years with multiple opportunities for artists, performers, and musicians.
The Fifth Annual Juried Photography Show held on March 6 at Dansville ArtWorks was extra special. It had two jurors; John Adamski, local wildlife photographer, and Rick Godin. There were also two honorable mentions this year; Dick Thomas and Nicole Walker.
The Juried Photography Awards; Stephanie Warchol, People’s Choice; Dick Thomas, third place; Sierra White, second place; and Tom Kredo, first place.
Walker was awarded for ‘Silos in the Sunset’ and has always admired her fellow honorable mention recipient Thomas.
“I pass by this silo every single day on my way to work. One time I noticed this amazing sky, and I realized I had to stop and take the photo. I thought it might look good in Black and White. I played around with some filters and got it to pop out like this. I got a lot of attention for this photo on Facebook,” she said. “I came to this show three years ago as a way to get out of my comfort zone, and I have looked forward to it ever since. It is great to be around photographers you admire like Dick Thomas as well. The best part is seeing all the other talented people, and seeing your work through their eyes.”
Sierra and Trevor White are highschool sweethearts born and raised in Dansville. They lived for a year in Seattle, Washington. Now they have reclaimed their hometown. The White’s have bounded with their love of photography, and were both featured in the Juried Photography Show. Sierra was awarded for ‘Measureless Mountain Days’ at the show.
“I have always loved taking the landscape photos more, but I do enjoy taking wildlife photos. I took the photo of the grey fox in Seattle. I had never seen a grey fox before, and he was looking right into the camera,” she said. “I had a summer abroad program in Florence, Italy where I was able to see original art. I had taken a lot of photos over there with a camera Trevor had given me.”
Trevor White said he has only gotten into photography in the last three years, but he enjoys taking photos of wildlife. He took photos of birds and a grey wolf.
“I normally wouldn’t go out for walks on a freezing day, but with my camera I wanted to go get some photos. I captured some photos of cardinals and blue jays,” he said. “At the Seneca Park Zoo I got the photo of the grey wolf. I got more into art after taking an art history class in college.”
Thomas was awarded for ‘Heaven Can Wait’ and ‘Now Just A Memory’ at the show.
“I have always been fascinated by the Bristol Barn. I would drive by it thinking it will be gone someday. It is sadly gone now. It is another agricultural icon someone had to capture before it became a part of our past. I capture things before they are taken away,” he said.
“These barns and trees become a part of our landscape and our identity. When they disappear our entire identity changes.”
Warchol was awarded for “Sodus Point Lighthouse” at the show.
“This is the first time I have ever been in the show. I find the People’s Choice award to be the highest honor since you are being judged by everyone. This is a great space to have your work shown, and it is such an amazing feeling to have it on the walls,” she said. “I have built a great network of other photographers on social media. There is a great community of photographers you can talk to on that platform. When you go on adventures you see a great community of photographers who are all trying to capture the same thing. I am an Art Teacher who has been doing photography since high school.”
Warchol said this art center brings all the creative people together to one place. It also brings people like her from out of town to Dansville. They can discover things along the way about this small town.
Caleb Miller has been doing photography most of his life. He comes from a family of artists and photographers. His work comes from Yellowstone National Park and his home.
“This started out as a hobby of mine that has gotten really good. I had to learn to make photos count when I was little. I was only given those throw away cameras with 30 pictures. I have kept up with that idea to make every photo count, so I don’t take as many as I would like. I take them all a special way,” he said. “I like how people think I am telling a story with my photos. I am never trying to tell a story. I really like when people can give my photos a story. I hope to be part of many more photography exhibits in the future.”
Leanne Brewer has taken photos of her Ossian hometown for many years. She enjoys showing them off at the local art center.
“I am sharing photos of Beaver Pond and Letchworth State Park this time. I have never seen any beavers at the pond, but there is the legend of it. I am going to get back into photography again when winter is over. It is harder for me to get out there in bad weather. I am very pleased that they took all three of my photos this year,” she said.
Dansville ArtWorks Board Member Samantha Davis is showing her work in the solo exhibit room the month of March.
Dansville ArtWorks Board President Nicole Alioto read off what Adamski and Godin had said about the winning photos at the show.
“I like to thank the jurors we had this year. We did something a little bit different. We had two jurors this year, and we themed this exhibit around nature, wildlife, landscape, heritage, and culture. We really gave it kind of an outdoor theme. John Adamski represents the Finger Lakes Museum. Rick Godin is from the Wild Center in Tupper Lake. They both worked very hard on making these decisions,” she said.
Adamski wrote what an honor and privilege it was to serve as a juror.
“Judging photography submissions is not an easy task for me. There are so many things to consider. Like composition, subject matter, focal sharpness, color saturation and depth of field. I am a stickler for level horizons, especially with water in the image. I found myself evaluating and reevaluating since there were so many great pieces,” he wrote.
The Fifth Annual Juried Photography Exhibit runs March 5 to April 25. The photographers are; Nicole Alioto, Leanne Brewer, Danielle Gridley, Douglas Gridley, Jeanne Girdley, Tom Kredo, Caleb Miller, John Retallack, Dick Thomas, Nicole Walker, Stephanie Warchol, Sierra and Trevor White.