Publication Date: Friday, May 20, 2005
Capturing a sense of place
Capturing a sense of place
(May 20, 2005) Palo Alto Camera Club showcases work in special exhibit
by Daniel Grujic
Located on a hill overlooking the Stanford campus, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences provides top-level scholars with an environment conducive to interdisciplinary study.
This year, the center's 40 fellows can get inspired by a new photography exhibit created by members of the Palo Alto Camera Club. Designed to honor the center's 50th anniversary, the photographs all honor "A Sense of Place."
"I began knowing nothing at all about the center...so the 'assignment' was initially baffling to me," Palo Alto Camera Club co-coordinator Anne Talbott said.
But over eight months the project gradually took shape. Talbott was "happily surprised to find that I gradually came to my own understanding of what makes the center unique, simply through the process of taking many photographs over many months."
The changing face of nature also helped inspire her.
"Over the seasons...plants go to seed, then bloom again; fields change color -- golden, parched brown, bright green; light and shadow fall at different angles [and] highlight different subjects."
Co-coordinator Laurie Naiman said that the initial lack of guidelines made the experience "an adventure for both parties." Without restrictions, the 15 volunteering photographers were free to pursue their own artistic and technical styles. The resulting images reflect the individual artists' vision of the center, while the core theme -- a sense of place -- binds all the images into a unique, cohesive whole.
The razor-sharp focus of Rafael Riquelme's modern, black-and-white "Wing Facing Lagunita" draws attention to the center's buildings: the geometric, pale precision of a man-made study and living quarters. Ron Olive's photographs, on the other hand, tend to evoke warmth and the beauty of randomness. In his photograph, "Oak Tree at Sunset," complex, unpredictable shapes are highlighted in the vibrantly colored clouds and the grand, silhouetted oak.
Dick Johnson's "Autumn Leaves" zoom in toward the red leaves of a liquidambar tree, while Naiman's "View from the Hill" zooms out to encompass the entire Stanford campus.
Dan Quinn also enjoyed focusing on the same geographical space in order "to see again and again the possibilities of one piece," adding that "I only worked on the project when I wanted to. This made it fun and rewarding."
The exhibit has been a great success with the center's administration and 40 fellows, and some have offered to purchase prints for permanent display at the center. It is a prestigious place, as dozens of center fellows have been recognized with Nobel Prizes, Guggenheims, Pulitzers and the like.
Linda Jack, assistant director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, wanted something to "capture the center at age 50, and capture a body of work to use in publications; to celebrate the center as a physical place."
After toying with the idea of hiring painters, Jack spoke with a friend about the Palo Alto Camera Club. After visiting the club's Web site and seeing what they could do, she decided to give photography a try.
Naiman said he is unaware of any amateur camera club that has taken on a project commensurate with this scope and complexity. At the conclusion of the eight-month project, the camera club had produced an exhibit, an 18-month calendar, note cards and a DVD that includes many photographs that did not make it to the final exhibit.
Founded in 1935, the Palo Alto Cameral Club (PACC) has grown over the years and currently has more than 50 serious amateur photographers. The group has three monthly meetings, and two contests per month that celebrate the best of digital and film photography.
"Although competition is an aspect of the camera club, I believe most members join in order to learn form one another, not win awards," Talbott said.
To view the photographs taken by members of the Palo Alto Camera Club please visit www.pacamera.com. To schedule a private viewing at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, please call Jane Stahl at (650) 321-2052.
E-mail a friend a link to this story. | 
