Emery Roth II

Skeletal trees and reed textures that flicker in early sunlight are often what grab my camera lens. Near my home in rural New England are meadows tangled in berry-filled vines where rugged stalks scatter seed from swollen pods; and slimy bogs whose soup is home to richly
colored insects, frogs and grasses; and hilltops with vistas and valleys with rivers that gush in spring and languidly puddle in midsummer. So these are my most frequent subjects. However, as a born New York City boy, my lens is hardly immune to other quirky sites. I just choose to photograph most often in my own back yard.

Retirement after more than thirty years of teaching and digital cameras have revived my early love of photography. The computer is now my darkroom. My lens is tutored by my early training in the arts (my degree from CMU is in architecture), a life-long love of music
from Bach to Coltrane, and years of asking my students to try to see the world through the eyes of artists from ancient times to now. As I focus in on a spot of weeds, I often find myself thinking of abstract expressionist works I have grown to love, and I have no doubt that Charles Rennie Macintosh may have walked woods similar to those near my home. And so, when my photos rise above calendar art, they are more likely to be about the musical rhythms of line, texture, and color than about ideas that can easily be turned to words.

Although my regimen includes daily hiking, I'm at my blissful happiest when something grabs my lens and convinces me to dally in a new-found field scouting angles on a forgotten row of old corn stalks or an oddly poised catalpa. So much for exercise!

Brad Smith

Brad was born in Kent, Connecticut and grew up in his father’s studio. After graduating from Yale University School of Fine Art he was awarded a teaching fellowship and worked in classes with Neil Welliver.

While at Yale, he had the privilege of studying photography under Herbert Matter, Museum of Fine Art NYC, spanning two years.

Shows and exhibits include: Yale student group show at Cornell University; New Haven Green Art Festival; Stony Brook Library one man show; group exhibit at the Company Store in Kent, CT with David Armstrong and Eric Sloane; Tieglietto Gallery; Nutmeg Gallery; Washington Art Association group show; Kent Art Association art auction; fine art festivals and benefit shows.

Brad and his wife Karin, together with the support of fellow photographers Lazlo Gyorsok, Martha Loutfi, Kathy Mathew, Bernard T. Matus, Robin Raderman, Abby Ripley, Jim Stasiak, and Brian Wilcox have opened NORTHERN EXPOSURE PHOTOGRAPHIC GALLERY, located at the Town Center, 27 Main Street, in Kent, Connecticut.

BFA 1959 – Yale University School of Art
Member – The Camera’s Eye
Member – Housatonic Camera Club
Member – Washington Art Associationwww.monochromes.com
Managing Partner of Northern Exposure Gallery

Karin Smith

“Painting with a Camera”

Karin grew up in Europe under the influence of her mother, a photographer and watercolor artist who taught her to see and capture the splendors of nature in photographic images.

“Through my photographs I hope to convey the serenity of a wooded area, the solitude of a New England barn, the steady run of a river; the ebb and flow of tides; calm seas and turbulence; rustling of autumn leaves; first snow on the meadow. But, I’m merely an interpreter of these splendors, Nature is the real artist.”

When not journeying through her beloved New England or to the spectacular American southwest to photograph the beauty and grace of the natural world, Karin teaches and exhibits. Her work can be viewed in area galleries, at art shows and fine art festivals and in private collections.

Her award winning photograph “Housatonic Autumn” was featured in an exhibition at the Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Massachussets, August 13 – September 19, 2004.

Karin is married to Brad Smith, fine artist and photographer, who continues to guide and encourage her.

Member: The Camera’s Eye
Washington Art Association
Housatonic Camera Club
Managing Partner of Northern Exposure Gallery
www.paintingwithacamera.com

Martha Winkel

Martha has been looking through lenses since age eight when she received her first pair of glasses and her first camera(a Brownie) to take photos at camp, where she would achieve "shutterbug" status. She grew up taking pictures of family, friends and the wonders of the woods and flowers in Killingworth, Connecticut, where she grew up.

Spending several years in Europe, attending school and to life, her vision was enlightened by the art, history, architecture, people and customs of the countries where she lived and visited.

Her photographic inspiration is encouraged by Family, Friends, theatre, books, travel and whatever light, color, shape or image can be composed through the lenses of her camera

Martha resides in Warren, Connecticut where she lives with her husband Doug, a teacher at Shepaug High School, and serves as staff for three cats.

Peary Stafford

Peary Stafford grew up in Binghamton, New York in a family of devoted nature lovers. As a child he became interested in birds and it wasn't too long before that growing passion included wildlife photography.

Thirty years as an investment banker in New York did little to stymie this enthusiasm as he travelled around the world watching and photographing birds. Six years ago he began to spend most of his time at his home in Warren and his love of winged animals grew to include butterflies and moths.

He now splits his time between Warren and New York with his wife B. K. who also enjoys photography and contributed two of the photos to the exhibit.

Melissa Cherniske

Melissa, daughter of Emery Roth II (also a photographer in this exhibit), grew up in Washington, Connecticut where she was surrounded by natural beauty and in a household that valued the arts. She has been published locally several times and has been photographing for many years.

As a new mom, she has become passionate about photographing her son and other family members. People watching has always been a favorite pastime, and it has helped developed her eye for pictures. She likes to compose in the camera, not on the computer, and each image in this exhibition was essentially created in the camera. The challenges of capturing Macricostas has brought her back to the meadow repeatedly, and she has learned much about how light changes everything from these repeat visits. The Macracostas farmhouse provides a special glimpse into the rich past of this farmland. It's an honor to be able to use this house to display our photography.

Melissa is married to Darrell Cherniske, a landscape architect and a true outdoorsman. He continues to guide and encourage her.

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