Studies in contrasts: 'Shades of Gray' photography exhibit features 187 images by 90 New Mexico artists

The annual “Shades of Gray” photography exhibition presents studies in contrast through landscapes, portraits and still lifes.

Open in the Fine Arts Building at Expo New Mexico beginning Sunday, Dec. 3, the show features 187 images by 90 New Mexico artists.

This marks the Annual New Mexico Photographic Art Show’s juried black and white exhibition’s eighth year. It bills itself as the “premier” black and white photography show in the Southwest.

“We’ve got a good number of New Mexico landscapes,” said John Gilbert, ANMPAS director. “I’ve been trying to get some more contemporary works. We have some abstracts and some architectural pieces. We’ve got one guy that’s bringing in a triptych.”

Professional videographer and Corrales resident Jay Lee photographed “Stratos” in Los Angeles.

“It’s a Frank Gehry building,” he said. “It’s the Disney Concert Hall.”

The building’s elongated shapes jut skyward in abstraction.

“Frank Gehry makes excellent architecture for photographers,” Lee continued, “with all the sweeps and the swoops.”

Lee shot the print during a workshop about a year ago. His passion is for abstract architecture.

“I think it’s because it changes your perspective,” he said. “This was part of a series I call ‘Hidden in Plain Sight.’ ”

Studies in contrasts: 'Shades of Gray' photography exhibit features 187 images by 90 New Mexico artists

He breaks the buildings into forms, light and texture.

“You go, ‘What’s there? What is that light doing? What is that form doing?’ To get a Frank Gehry building is like a playground.”

Albuquerque’s Mark Werner captured the neglected underside of some flowers in “Look on the Fuzzy Side of Life.”

“I was walking in the bosque and the sunflowers were out and I just saw the backs of them,” he said. “It’s a little experimental, but I try to see things my way.”

A retired engineer who moved to Albuquerque 10 years ago from Connecticut, Werner bought his first camera in 1972.

“I sold my first photograph in 1973,” he said. “The next one I sold was here in Albuquerque in 2015; it was a dragonfly.”

Werner credits the Enchanted Lens Club with helping him improve his work. Today he shows his work through both the New Mexico Art League and the Corrales Old Church Fine Arts Show.

“There’s just something about looking through the viewfinder and seeing something and looking back and seeing if I actually captured something interesting.”

He recently returned from photographing the Day of the Dead festivities in Albuquerque’s South Valley.

“I came back with 600 images.”

Placitas resident Rozanne Hakala usually has to wait for her area’s wild horses to interact beyond grazing.

“It was the day after Christmas last year in Placitas,” she said of her print “Shake It Off.” “The wild horses on the east end are a real treasure. I happened to catch this small herd on the BLM land. They were frisky and running.

“You want to capture the motion,” she continued. “This stallion was rolling around in the dirt. I was waiting for him to shake off the dirt.”

Hakala initially created a color print, only to reject it.

“It didn’t work,” she said. “The dust was just too bright.”

Hakala moved to New Mexico 10 year ago from the Washington, D.C., area, where she worked for an international media company. Photography was always an interest; her brother had a basement darkroom when she was growing up.

“I used to see these prints come to life,” she said.

“Living here has changed my focus,” she continued. “I shoot wildlife; I do rodeos, but I’m really taken by the wild horses.

“I love their wild spirit and it’s the iconic Western lore of these wild horses who are just free to roam. There’s just something about the freedom they have.”