By Dave Warner
The Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts held its opening reception last Saturday for its regional photography show, open to photographers from within a 100-mile radius of Little Falls.
Gary Larsen was the juror for the show, and he’s been a photographer for more than 30 years, traveling the United States and Canada in pursuit of the perfect image. Larsen is typically interested in landscapes, structures, and flowers but is also drawn to infrared digital imagery.
He stated, “Bob Buck told me that we had room for about 50 or a little less, so I went through and picked 48, and it was painful to get down to that number. Then a week or so later, he added that we had the back room, so we could add another 15 or 20.”
“So, I added another 18 more and felt a whole lot better about it with about 66 images in the show. That’s how painful it was to just jury the entries,” he said.
Larsen said that it was just as difficult to pick the winners. “If I look this way, I know the three winners, then I turn around and then look this way and say, no, no, no, it’s got to be one of these. Then I go into the other room, and I go, man, it’s got to be one of those.”
When it came to his final picks, he said, “I’m pretty settled as long as I don’t turn around. This is just a fine collection of photography. It’s really impressive, and I’m just struck by how imaginative some of the stuff is.”
He said that he’d been jurying for years the Schenectady Photographic Society, and he stopped during Covid and thought he didn’t want to do it anymore. “I’d forgotten how tough it was to jury a show and particularly pick three awards out of sixty-six really impressive photographs.”
1st prize went to Alexandra Tamburro with “Thaw,” while 2nd prize was awarded to Jeanine Kawryga with “Anticipation,” and 3rd prize went to Margaret Brenner and “Movement.”
For more information about Larsen, visit www.lighteffectphoto.com. The Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts is located at 403 Canal Place, Little Falls, NY 13365. Their doors are open on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 12 PM to 4 PM. You can also call 315-823-0808 for more information.
