photography

Press release:

In celebration of its 200th anniversary next year, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 1 E. Main St., Le Roy, is sponsoring a Photo Contest open to all ages.

Considered the most photographed building in Genesee County, St. Mark’s has a beautiful natural setting above Oatka Creek with architecture in the English Gothic style.

The sanctuary of St. Mark’s Church will be open to photographers for interior photos from 9 to 10:30 a.m. and again from 3 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 16, during Le Roy’s Oatka Festival.

The sanctuary will again be open to photographers from 1 to 3 p.m. on on Saturday, Dec. 17, when the church will be decorated for Christmas.

Photographers may enter up to two photos of the interior or exterior of the church. Photos may be black and white or color, may be digitally enhanced and must be received in an 11 x 14” frame, ready to hang. The photographer’s name must only appear on the back of the frame.

Photo entries will be received at 58 on Main, Le Roy, from Jan. 2 through Jan. 7.

A wine and cheese reception will open the show of photographs at 58 on Main at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 31. Photographs will be on display at 58 on Main until Saturday, Feb. 4, and then will move to the Woodward Memorial Library in Le Roy from Feb. 6^th through March 31^st. At both locations, people will have a chance to vote on their favorite photograph.

The show of photographs will be on display in St. Mark’s during the month of April.

Prizes will be awarded in two categories. The Judges’ Prize will be selected by a panel of three judges, and a winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to Rowe Photo and a 16 x 20” custom print by 58 on Main. The Peoples’ Choice Award will be chosen by ballots available at 58 on Main and the Woodward Memorial Library, and the winning photo will be used on commemorative ornaments to be sold by St. Mark’s during the anniversary year. The winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to D&R Depot restaurant along with three ornaments.

Complete contest rules will be posted on St. Mark’s website at www.stmarks-leroy.org

Information and complete details about the contest will be available at www.stmarks-leroy.org, at the Oatka Festival, and in the church.

Press release:

Finding beauty in a Western New York winter is not always an easy thing to do. For Genesee Community College's JoNelle Toriseva, director of English, Communications and Media Arts and assistant professor of English, channeling the sometimes treacherous outside conditions into works of poetry and photography recently earned her recognition from the public charity Writers Rising Up.

It named her the Winter in Variations: Bill Holm Witness Poetry Contest Winner, Writers Rising Up to Defend Place, Natural Habitat, Wetlands for 2015.

The contest required a submission of six original, unpublished poems about witnessing some everyday occurrence in winter and additional photography, which is not Toriseva's strong suit.

"When I received the email that I had won, I was surprised," Toriseva said. "I was also very happy; however, they told me that I needed to take pictures of what I considered winter and I am more apt to be the person who gets a photograph of someone's feet or the back of their head, so I sought help."

Toriseva called on Joseph "Joe Z" Ziolkowski, GCC instructor of Photography, who guided her through taking shots outdoors with surroundings that included freshly fallen snow. The photographs, candid's of crab apple trees on the GCC Batavia Campus and a few of brush in the Bergen Swamp at dusk, were accepted by the organization as part of her winning submission.

Writers Rising Up is a public charity that focuses on nature education and writing through the literary arts at community events, contests, workshops, literary performances interpretive installations and publications. The organization hosts numerous poetry and literary contests, competitions and events for writers to submit and perform literary interpretations related to place, natural habitat and wetlands.

Toriseva's award-winning work included original poems titled "Perceive," "Dart," "Talking in Snow: A Short History of Sound," "The Benchmark of Winter," "Crossing" and "Winter, December #73," and can be viewed online at http://www.writersrisingup.org/all-contests/essay-winners/j-r-toriseva-bill-holm-winner.

A native of rural Minnesota, the home state of the award-honoree Bill Holm, Toriseva grew up an admirer of the author of nine books of both poetry and essays.

"I have known about Bill Holm for a long time. He is a staunch supporter of nature, which greatly interests me," Toriseva explained. "The fact that the Writer's Rising Up organization and the award raise awareness about wetlands and natural habitat makes this very special to me."

For further information about Writer's Rising Up and to view Toriseva's award-winning work, including her photography, visit the organization's Web site: http://www.writersrisingup.org/.

Batavia Photography Club member Don Fryling talking to Club President Scott Neumann about his photo display.

Photos by Steve Ognibene.

Don’t be afraid to show some photographs 'cause you never know, you might have some good ones, said Batavia Photography Club President Scott Neumann on the opening gala night for its month-long exhibit at the Richmond Memorial Library.

The club holds this annual event so local photographers can showcase various prints of people, landscapes, animals and more, for the public to view and enjoy.

This year, three studio nights were offered instead of two, Neumann said. Some club members show off their expertise by teaching things like fantastic photography, neutral density filters along with guests from various clubs in the vicinity, too.

The Batavia club meets the first and third Monday of each month -- September through May -- starting at 7 p.m. at the Northgate Free Methodist Church, located at 8160 Bank Street Road in Batavia. Come as a guest and to learn more go to http://batavia.photoclubservices.com/

Press release:

Join the Genesee County Master Gardeners from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 7, for a program on “Better Garden Photography."

Have you ever visited and photographed a gorgeous garden, but were later disappointed with your photos? In this presentation, Master Gardener Brenda Fox will cover many subjects including the impact of light, and elements of composition such as balance, contrast, perspective and color. Brenda will also discuss some useful techniques such as the rule of thirds, framing, and the effect of lines.

All topics will be beautifully illustrated with photos of garden scenes. These practical tips will improve your photos in (and out!) of the garden.

This class will be held at the Genesee County Cornell Cooperative Extension at 420 E. Main St., Batavia. Cost is $10 per person. Pre-registration has been extended to April 4.

Contact Brandie at 585-343-3040, ext. 101, or stop by our office to register. Visit our Web site at: http://genesee.cce.cornell.edu/events for more information. Like us on our Facebook page for program updates: https://www.facebook.com/CCEofGenesee

Rochester has had the nickname of “Image Capital of the World” due to its famous industries. It is also well known as a center for visual arts, particularly photography. The premier photography-only gallery in Rochester is Image City on 722 University Ave. Every month they rotate their exhibits featuring the best photographic art the city has to offer.

This month Batavia is more than well represented. Works from seven local photographers belonging to the Batavia Photography Club are hung on the walls. They are in a special exhibit in the East Gallery that will remain open until Sept. 6th. The first Friday art walk exhibit opening party is this week, Aug. 14th, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. All of the local photographers are expected to be in attendance; come on out and show them your support. Admission to the gallery is always free.

For more information, a preview of the show and normal gallery hours please click here.

Local photographer Jim Burns is featured for the next three months at Muller Quaker Dairy with some of his photos. 

The Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council (GO ART!) rotates photos at the dairy for people that come to visit to take tours and also for employees to view. 

The display will be up until Sept. 30^th. 

More of Jim Burns' work can be found here: Jim Burns Photography

Combining environmental awareness with a photography assignment, Genesee Community College instructor Joe Ziolkowski asked his students to create sustainable still life photographs. From plastic cups to light bulbs, images about carpooling and recycling shoes, students responded in interesting and thought-provoking ways.

The community is invited to view the works as the exhibit, Sustainable Still Life, moves to the Genesee County Park and Forest. An opening reception is planned May 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Park's Interpretive Nature Center, 11095 Bethany Center Road, East Bethany.

Since he came to GCC, Ziolkowski has developed an excellent relationship with the staff at the Genesee County Park and Forest. This is the third exhibit of GCC student work that will be shown at the Park's Interpretive Nature Center. Previous displays have included "Around the Bend: The Shared Landscape" and "Environmental Portraits of Western New York."

"The exhibits have been very well received by the community and are an excellent opportunity for our students to show their work beyond the campus," Ziolkowski said. "This particular show is especially fitting for the Park setting as we think about preserving the Earth and reducing our carbon footprint."

The works have been on view in the Lobby Art Gallery of GCC's Stuart Steiner Theatre and were a part of the College's annual ECO-Fest celebrating Earth Day. The pieces represent work by students in Ziolkowski's COM 118 (Introduction to Digital Photography) and COM 103 (Introduction to Black & White Photography) classes.

They will be on view in the Gallery at GCC through April 29. Ziolkowski will install them at the Interpretive Nature Center on Saturday, May 2. They will remain there through the summer. The exhibit will close on Friday, Sept. 11.

"We're excited to once again show student work at the Nature Center," Parks Supervisor Paul Osborn said. "We hope many people will join us for the Opening Reception on May 8th. It's a great way to celebrate a long-awaited Spring!"

Megan Ange / "Saving Water"
On a day-to-day basis, we use water for many things. We use water to wash our hands after using the bathroom, to wash dishes, brush our teeth and take a shower. We all forget to turn the water off from time to time when we are not using it, myself included. There could be a faucet leaking, and if that is the case then maybe you should check to see if you turned the knob of the faucet all the way so it is turned off instead of wasting the water. Everyone takes water for granted, but if you do the little things to save it, then you will be less likely to have a high water bill and not have to worry about problems that might happen if you leave it on. "Water is the driving force of all nature." - Leonardo da Vinci

Ellen Fridman / "Pin It"
REDUCE. Line-drying is back! Dryers are not going to go away any time soon but it seems like more people are returning to the use of the sun and wind to dry their clothing and linens. There are several benefits to clothesline drying. Hanging laundry out to dry instead of turning on the dryer lowers carbon emissions, reduces gas or electric bills, helps clothing and linens last longer, and establishes an excuse to get outside. Experts say that if all Americans line-dried for half a year, 3.3 percent of the country's total residential output of carbon dioxide would be saved. For those in colder climates, try using drying racks inside. Go Green!

Miguel Ortiz-Teed / "The Legend of Books"
As time progresses -- technology advances. This progression has lead from hand-held books where you can flip a page with your hands to tablets where you swipe to turn the page and have a massive library in the palm of your hands. This causes bookbinders to lose their jobs and technology takes their place. Eventually books will revert into a legend where only the wealthy will be able to afford them. This also produces a risk for all the knowledge that is stored within technology to be lost if an Electrical Magnetic Pulse were to hit either by a solar flare or warfare.

Paul Thater / "Light at the End of the Tunnel"
The photo was based off of the joke: "The government had to turn off the light at the end of the tunnel due to budget cuts." The light bulb has a black background to symbolize darkness in a tunnel with the light bulb off. This photo shows saving money by not using and saving electricity, which makes your bill smaller and gives you more money to spend on necessities.

The Batavia Photography Club is holding its annual exhibit at the Richmond Memorial Library. All photos in the exhibit are from local photographers. Many of the photos on display feature local scenery and wildlife. All are invited to come see the photographs and find out more about the Batavia Photography Club. The exhibit is open through the end of the month.

 

New York-based artist Jim Hodges is known for his singular ability to infuse emotion and narrative into the objects of daily life. He once said, “When I make art, I think about its ability to connect with others, to bring them into the process." This precept is the driving force behind a new art gallery in Le Roy.

The conception of local artist and photographer Jim DeLooze, 58 On Main will come to fruition on June 16 when it officially opens.

“I own the building and am a professional photographer,” said the 30-year Le Royan. “I wanted to do something with photography and teaching, so opening the gallery came together as a culmination of ideas.”

There will be an art gallery, coffee shop, green screen photography studio, and a photography computer lab. There is also plenty of room to accommodate the classes DeLooze would like to offer.

“To be successful, we need to give the community what it wants,” DeLooze said.

His photography career began at Kodak in Rochester directly after high school. Later, he opened his own photography studio on Main Street, Le Roy, which catered to weddings and portrait work. He says he enjoys shooting anything to do with people.

After closing that business, his interest in art remained and led to a position at Le Roy's Jell-O Gallery Museum. It's there he began “kicking around the idea of opening a studio.” 

The art gallery is open to local artists and artisans to showcase their work. It offers a permanent home for as long as the artist would like to rent the space. And with the artist’s permission, 58 On Main will produce photographic reproductions for sale. Since there are no exclusive rights, the artist is welcome to display their work in other venues.

“The fees to display and sell an artist’s work (in 58 On Main) is very inexpensive by way of comparison of larger galleries. Each wire will hold up to 30 pounds of multiple pieces, while heavier work, a piece that can weigh up to 60 pounds, will use two wires for the charge of one.”

Artists can also access 58 On Main's Web site and electronic advertising.

The coffee shop, Barista’s, is natural accompaniment for an art gallery. D&R Depot restaurant co-owner Sean Valdes will run it and the menu will include gourmet coffee, espresso, tea, pastry, scones, and light lunches -- soups, salad and sandwiches.

Friday nights will be special at Barista's. Planned are "Wine and Dessert"; "Social Painting" -- where participants are given two-hour instruction in painting; "Music Night" featuring musicians;  "Travelogue" - for people to share their travels near or far; poetry readings, game night and more.

“We are a family friendly atmosphere," DeLooze said. "We want to give the community an option for their Friday nights.”

While the coffee shop has its individual name included with the business, the nomenclature for all the businesses at 58 Main Street, Le Roy, is 58 On Main.

“There are a number of businesses under one roof, so we decided utilizing the physical address (58 Main Street) as the main name for the gallery," DeLooze said. "We wanted to keep it simple and catchy.”

Saturday morning photography classes are also planned.

“We will be offering anything from photography basics to using Photoshop and HDR (high-density resolution) photography. It’s here for the community. Input is both welcomed and encouraged. We’d like to know what the community is interested in learning.”

58 On Main would also like the community to become actively involved and offer courses on their interests and expertise. DeLooze says drawing a diversified crowd and truly opening the gallery up to the community's interests is paramount for success.

“There will be a little bit of everything for people to enjoy. It’s a great place for parents to stop in while waiting for their child to get out of practice.”

58 On Main is seeking artists and artisans interested in displaying their work in the gallery. It is also working with the Jell-O Gallery Museum to put day-tour packages together to promote local businesses on Main Street.

For more information on 58 on Main visit their Web site at www.58onmain.com or contact DeLooze at jim@delooze.com or 585-768-2402.

 

Susan Meier, owner of Photography by Susan Meier, received four awards at the annual awards ceremony of the Batavia Photography Club. The event, held at Bohn’s Restaurant on May 6, annually recognizes the efforts of their members.

An active member of the Batavia Photography Club for 17 years, Meier received awards for: Best Color Digital; Best Color Print; Image of the Year; Most Advanced Photographer of the Year. 

Meier says “My involvement with the Batavia Photography Club has helped me grow as an artist and encouraged me to expand my craft.” Her print, “Feathered,” was accepted at Todmorden Papermill Gallery in Toronto Canada and is on view now through June 7. Additionally she has submitted several prints to 6x6x2014 -- Rochester Contemporary Art Center’s International Small Art Show to be held in June. 

For more information about photography by Susan Meier visit here or call 585.861.0415.

A new exhibit featuring the work of local photographer Susan Meier is on view at the Gallery at Blue Pearl Yoga through the month of January. The show is free and open to the public during gallery hours.

Meier, a lifelong resident of Genesee County, currently resides in East Pembroke. A self-taught artist, she began taking photographs as a preteen.

“I won a camera in a coloring contest and that sparked my interest,” she says.

After graduating from Genesee Wyoming BOCES with a degree in Cosmetology, Susan operated a hair salon out of her home for several years but continued her interest in photography, joining the Batavia Photography Club in 1995. She began photographing weddings in the late '90s and by 2001 she graduated from Genesee Community College with an AAS in Commercial Art. In 2010 she moved her business to the Harvester Artisan Center. She is a member of the Professional Photographers Association, past president of the Batavia Photography Club, and is active in 4H and the Genesee County Fair.

She continues her professional development by attending workshops throughout the country where she’s learned techniques like off-camera flash and studio and portrait lighting. Her work has been shown at the Richmond Memorial Library where she’s won multiple People’s Choice Awards, Moon Java Café, Genesee Community College, GoArt!, and Muller Quaker. Aside from her work as a wedding photographer, Susan’s professional work includes high school senior portraits, professional head shots, as well as newborn, family, and maternity photos.  

“The 11 images in the Blue Pearl exhibit feature a mix of fashion/glamour, boudoir, concept shoots and some photo digital art,” Meier says. "Concept shoots are ideas or unique concepts brought to life.

The concept images on display include Feather, 1940s Glam, Steampunk, Snow Princess and Flower. Her training as a cosmetologist allows her to construct elaborate styles for her models.

She is available for private photography lessons. You may contact her at 585-861-0415 or visit her studio at the Harvester Artisan Center, 56 Harvester Ave., on the first floor. Her social media presence includes Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, 500px, Google Plus, Shop Batavia.

The exhibit can be seen during gallery hours on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m.; Monday through Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m.

For more information, call Blue Pearl Yoga at 585.230.5430.

GO ART! presented its annual Community Arts Awards Saturday at Terry Hills.

Above, The Humans, presented with a Community Arts Award for "making an indelible mark on music history in Orleans County and Western New York."

Here's a video of their song "Warning." 

[videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-4qHr-9MXI]

Barb Toal receives a Community Arts Award from Diana Kasten on behalf of the Friends of the Batavia Peace Garden. The award was for "dedication, drive and leadership in developing a unique cultural asset in the community."

Laura Gardner, owner of A lily & A Sparrow in Medina, with her award for "opening up new avenues of personal expression and creating a unique cultural experience in Medina."

Carol "Kay" McMahon, with Bill McDonald, who presented her award for "sharing musical and performing arts talent and encouraging the love of music in others." McMahon and McDonald then performed a song with their band The Old Hippies, which was also the house band for the night.

Mary Pat Hancock, chair of the County Legislature, was presented with a Special Recognition Award for her patronage and recognition of art and culture in Genesee County.

New this year is the Linda L. Blanchet Award, which consists of an award and a $500 scholarship for an artist from Orleans or Genesee county to assist the artist in the ongoing pursuit in art as a profession. The first winner was Joe Waszak, a fine art photographer from Orleans County. Examples of Waszak's work can be found on the Oak Orchard Review.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley was the emcee for the evening.

Not pictured, Howard Owens, publisher of The Batavian, who was presented with a Community Arts Award for "promoting the arts and cultural life in Batavia and integrating artistic visual imagery in reporting."