Wagner:
Library exhibit reflects on Wayland
By Susan L. Wagner / Wayland by the
Way
Sunday, March 5, 2006
Last August, Wayland resident John Grabill
mounted a small exhibit of his photographs in the first-floor foyer of
the town library. At the time, we thought he deserved a more spacious
venue, and now he has it as he and daughter Aurora, 22, take over the
Raytheon Room for the month of March.
The show
-- featuring John’s color work and Aurora’s in black and white -- is
entitled "Visions in Wayland Plus." This is because, while most of the
scenes were shot here in town, a few were not.
This
time, John is contributing about 20 photos. Some of them are reflections
in the literal sense of the word -- photos taken in lakes, ponds,
puddles and rivers. Others are what he calls "just straight-on,
directional shots." He finds most of his subjects during his daily walks
around town, with his dog.
"
His idea
is to capture images that can be seen every day with the naked eye: no
filters, no zooms, no digital manipulation, no enhancing.
Aurora --
who will have about 13 pieces in the show -- also likes reflections, but
reflections on hard surfaces, like the polished granite of the
gravestones in the Old North Cemetery. She began doing black-and-white
work seriously for a course she took at Wayland High School and found
herself intrigued by the medium.
"We don’t
see in black and white," she said, "so when we take photos in black and
white we get a completely different ure and a completely different view
of things. I also like the fact that black-and-white images bring out
edges and shadows that might be less noticeable in color and that
they’re such an unnatural occurrence that they make commonplace objects
and scenes appear dreamlike."
"What we
hope that people will take away from this show," John added, "is to stop
and smell the roses. Or stop and look at the world around you. If you
just turn your head or look up a bit, you can see beauty right here in
your daily life."
He also
wants to emphasize that "you don’t need fancy equipment to enjoy being
creative or an exotic locale to experience life at its fullest. An
acoustic guitar, a point-and-shoot camera, a three-gear bicycle, a
pencil and paper, a path in the woods...oftimes one can do more with
less."
The
Grabills are hosting an opening reception for the show this afternoon
from 2:30 to 4:30. It is free and open to public, as is the exhibit
itself during regular library hours. For further information about the
show, call the library at 508-358-2311. To find out more about the
Grabills and their work, call 508-877-0690 or log on to
http://www.NewEnglandPhotosPlus.com
Reprinted with kind permission of the Town Crier, by and copyright Susan Wagner ©2006
Click here to read the article from 2007.
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