Our Wondrous Watershed photo gallery
Friends of Lake Monroe is pleased to present Our Wondrous Watershed, a new photo exhibit featuring work by fourteen members of the Bloomington Photography Club. The exhibit opens Friday, November 3rd at the Brick Room Gallery, 107 N College Avenue, and will be open from 5 to 8 PM each Friday during the month of November.
Photos in the exhibit were captured in the Lake Monroe watershed, an area spanning more than 440 square miles, reaching into five counties. Most of the watershed is beautiful and rugged, including Yellowwood State Forest, Brown County State Park, and the Charles C. Deam Wilderness. Attendees will be treated to stunning imagery ranging from macro-photography to sweeping landscapes. Fourteen members of the Bloomington Photography Club had work selected for the exhibit including Craig Barton, Raouf Bishay, Becca Cambridge, Tom Duffy, Deanilee Deckard, Juliet Frey, Linda Harl, Kriste Lindberg, Tanya Kuzima, Bruce McLaren, Cheryl Molin, Erin Roberts, Dorothyann Strange, and Don Waters.
The exhibit also marks the 7th anniversary of Friends of Lake Monroe, which was established in 2016 to support water quality and sustainable recreation. For information on the exhibit, contact Jim Krause, development@FriendsOfLakeMonroe.org. To find out more about The Bloomington Photography Club, visit: BloomingtonPhotoClub.org.
Artist Bios/Statements
Craig Barton
My goal is to engage the conscious and the unconscious mind of the viewer. My images can evoke a memory of the moment so real that you are there: children have reached out to touch my work thinking they could actually put their hand into the image. I think of my artwork as quiet companions, compatriots, a helping hand stimulating perseverance and inspiration in this world. Although the work has immediate impact it also contains subtleties which take years of interaction to know and appreciate, every day with an image is like another conversation with an old friend where you find something new and interesting to enrich the relationship.
While I still produce normal color images, in 2018 I began recording scenes in both standard digital color and in infrared so I can combine color, black and white, black and white from infrared, false color from infrared and false color from color into amalgams which I call “Dream Series”. Working with digital high resolution camera equipment I make multiple exposures of each frame and combine them saving detail in the highlights, the midrange and the shadows (High Dynamic Range) and overlap multiple frames to produce very high-resolution panoramas. My panoramas start at 12” x 30” and some can go larger than10’ without loss of detail.
Raouf Bishay
Born 1957, Cairo, Egypt. After obtaining my BS in Accounting from Ain-Shames University, I went to London, England where I owned and operated both a restaurant and an Import export company.
Language: Arabic several spoken dialogs, and English.
Military: Honorable discharge US ARMY, National Defense Service Medal, and
Meritorious Service Medal. Last service date 01/1992. Served during desert storm was assigned to FORSCOM FC, also assigned to FBI NY, NY TO fulfill Counterterrorism needs, including the work requested by the state department to expel Iraqi diplomates.
1992 to 2005 several assignments with both FBI and CIA, domestic and international. All related to finding and investigation of foreigners and domestic persons of interest in direct or indirect relation to IT. Also investigate different ways to do business overseas. My area of expert is related to Arabic countries and Middle East.
Chief technology officer (CTO), leads Full-O-Pep Appliances Inc. long-term technology vision, and is responsible for the Full-O-Pep Appliances Inc. research and development program, industry thought leadership and advanced technology incubations. I also facilitate the technical community within Full-O-Pep Appliances Inc.
Written several articles for Automation in the RTO industry, as well as speaker and trainer in different RTO industry events.
812-361-4994
Becca Cambridge
To me, life is fun and full of adventure. Every day presents something beautiful, unique, or sensory that captures my eye. Call me hedonistic. Capturing that hedonism requires me to use knowledge of color, light, composition, as well as unique camera settings or in camera movement (ICM). Further playfulness includes using creative manipulations in various post-processing programs.
I use either my "real" mirrorless Panasonic Lumix GH4 camera or my "STM" (smarter than me) Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra cell phone. I focus on portraits, landscapes, macro but mostly on serendipity moments which make me smile. These moments can be found as close as my backyard or as far away as Singapore, Bali, Morocco, or South Africa.
My work has been juried into multiple venues, including Waldron Arts Center and The Indiana University Borish Center for Ophthalmic Research. My work has been displayed at The Convention Center. Several photos have won Grand Champions and Best of Class at the local county fair. I have been published in the My Indiana Home magazine on several occasions.
I belong to the Bloomington Photography Club (BPC). I participate in multiple focus groups: LAWN, Portrait, Creative, Critique, Macro, and Point and Shoot focus groups. I co-lead a monthly Serendipity focus group. Additionally, I am a 4-year member of the Photographic Society of America.
Whatsapp 812.322.7240
Instagram: rewbton
Tom Duffy
I began my fine art photographic career in 2002. In my work, I do not seek to “capture” scenes.; indeed, it is really not possible to “capture” what we see. Rather, I am a lens-based artist and, much like oil and water-color artists, I seek to share my perception and understanding of the environment in a way that will stimulate the imagination and emotions of the viewer.
I look for interesting compositions and interactions that tell a story and engage the emotions. My style emerges from that work. Consistent with this and with the diversity of my mentors, I have been on a journey exploring different photographic genres, e.g., nature, documentary/conservation, and still life where I find a synergy that makes conceptualization and execution of all my work better. One of my documentary efforts involved spending three seasons in the Indiana Limestone Quarry Inc’s quarry’s photographing the process of “harvesting” limestone.
Deanilee Deckard
Deanilee Deckard returned to her hometown of Bloomington Indiana after her retirement. She enjoys nature, wildlife, and portrait photography. Deanilee has special ties to the Lake Monroe watershed areas in Brown Country. Her grandfather, Ross Deckard, owned substantial property in Brown County prior to the land being utilized to establish Lake Monroe. Photographing in this area brings her special joy and memories of a great man and family.
Juliet Frey
I teach photography and Photoshop for Lifelong Learning at Ivy Tech and have been a member of the BPC for a lot of years.
Linda Harl
A native Hoosier, Linda has lived in the Bloomington area for many years. She took up photography as a hobby after retiring from IU. Most of her images are taken hiking or camping with her husband John.
Kriste Lindberg
Ever since I was a child, I have been enchanted by water and the many moods it can evoke, whether in its solid, liquid or vapor state. Living here in south-central Indiana among the varied topography and seasonal changes, there are countless opportunities to observe -- not only the weather-related phenomena within the watersheds, but the plant and animal species they support. As I spend more time 'in the field', my sense of wonder is constantly renewed, and I'm getting to know myself better along the way. In this display, I share one of these special moments with you.
Lindberg Design, LLC
Tanya Kuzima
I was born and lived most of my life in Minsk, Belarus. I studied at the university and my specialty was analytical chemistry, probably because of my analytical mind and curiosity. I also worked in microelectronics dealing with photolithography, which is still pretty far from the art of photography.
When I came here around ten years ago, I used to shoot thousands of pictures documenting new reality to share with my Belarusian friends and family. Here I met new people, joined Bloomington photography club. I traveled a lot with my husband, who is also a photographer and helps me a lot, in the United States and abroad. We are both retired.
While learning I asked myself questions about my photography, it’s ideas, goals and style. My interests are still very wide-ranged, and I’m still learning and looking for my style. I like vivid colors, but at the same time I think black and white photo gives more impact especially when reporting some event or taking a portrait. I like humor and try to find it everywhere. I like mood and emotions in the image. I like to give good titles to my photographs to help a viewer to follow my story in the picture.
Thousands of photographers take pictures nowadays, but I see things on the basis of my culture and background, thoughts and feelings, which are mine alone. I create my photography from the simple act of looking. The beauty and presence of the things and their importance, that I see and witness, inspire me: the way light affects ordinary objects, shadows, reflections, patterns, shapes and lines, emotions and expressions… I’m just documenting the wonder of the moment… and inviting you to see it, to get a taste of it, and to feel feelings it has brought to me.
(812) 272-5101
Bruce McLaren
Bruce McLaren is a professor emeritus at Indiana State University. His photography journey spans six decades, beginning with film photography in the 1960s. He makes his home in Terre Haute, Indiana and has a vacation home in Monroe County. His interests range from fine art photography, event photography, videography, and portrait work. He particularly enjoys taking pictures of his family. He uses Olympus mirrorless, Nikon DSLR and iPhone Pro cameras.
(812) 236-0113
Cheryl Molin
Cheryl Molin is a lifelong naturalist who has lived in the Southwest, Southeast, and Midwest, and has called Indiana home for a dozen years. Married with two children and (so far) two grandchildren, she is a freelance writer and editor who often builds her work schedule around chances to watch and photograph insects and birds, mammals when she can find them, and native wildflowers. She likes the way theologians of old talked about nature being the “second book of God” (the Bible, of course, being the first Book), and she often marvels at the beauty, orderliness, and even sense of humor in creation that reflects the hand of the Creator. For example, the nature year is built around the predictability of which plants and animals appear in which month, with flowers and their pollinators (and their predators) cycling together, for a different look each month. Cheryl’s nature photos can be found on Flickr at flickr.com/photos/cherylmolin/(sorted into albums at flickr.com/photos/cherylmolin/albums).
Erin Roberts
Erin Roberts has lived in Bloomington since 2015 and been a part of the Bloomington Photography Club since 2016. She uses both digital and film cameras for her photography and most often is photographing landscapes, nature, or her travels. Lake Monroe and the surrounding areas have been the source of many good memories & outdoor adventures with friends over the years and these are the subjects of her photos included in this exhibit.
Dorothyann Strange
Using photography for artistic expression, Dorothyann Strange is drawn to the emotions felt while being in a place, observing people, or discovering something out of the ordinary. She works to replicate that emotion by putting a creative spin to the image in camera and through post-production. Anything that is intriguing, powerful, comical, dissonant, beautiful, or strangely unsightly, she photographs.
Dorothyann has sold her photography for 15 years, both online, and in stores/galleries and exhibits. She has traveled around the world taking photographs, including such countries as Cambodia, Uzbekistan, Ireland, Dominican Republic and in Europe. In Bangkok, Thailand, she documented the devastation of a fire in the Klong Toey slums and the subsequent rebuilding efforts. Her photographs were part of a successful online fundraising effort for the Mercy Centre of Bangkok located in the slums.
One of Dorothyann’s proudest photographic achievements was designing a music CD cover and 12-page insert for the Irish musician Brenda Castles, Indeedin You Needn’t Bother.
Dorothyann currently sells matted, framed, metal, and canvas prints; and greeting cards, in the Arts Alliance Center at the Jackson Creek Mall off of S. College Mall Road. The Center is now open from 10 am to 8 pm on Thursdays; 10 am to 9 pm on Fridays and Saturdays; and noon to 6 pm on Sundays. The Center is closed Monday through Wednesdays. She is also a member of the Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington and the Bloomington Photography Club.
419-308-8247
Don Waters
I have had a camera of one sort or another since my childhood whether it be an early Brownie or a disposable 35mm. I got my first SLR in my 20's as a present from my parents (still have it!) and was immediately drawn into the settings and focusing manipulations that became available. I didn't become an avid photographer, however, until the digital era emerged in the late 1990's and early 2000's. Also discovering editing software such as Lightroom and Photoshop threw me into photography as a hobby and a passion. I was enamored with the ability to manipulate and make changes in a photo then share it on social media or just to family and friends.
In 2016 I became a member of the Bloomington Photography Club. Here I have found many friends, mentors and sources of learning and inspiration. Also, the many field trips and other club-sponsored events inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and learn new skills, many of which are still being developed.
I hope you enjoy my work as much as I have enjoyed making and presenting it!
