Photographer Lee-Volker Cox brings Imagine to the Santa Maria Public Library

A dog stands on a dimly lit pier, his gaze caught by something behind him. In the milky glow of the lamplight, a tennis ball is barely visible beside him. The moment is filled with a rich bounty of expression and sentiment.

"The dog is about 12 or 13 years old and he can't walk very fast," Lee-Volker Cox said. "He brings the ball over to me and drops it at my feet. I rolled it because I can't throw it too far for him." 

click to enlarge Photographer Lee-Volker Cox brings Imagine to the Santa Maria Public Library
PHOTOS COURTESY OF LEE-VOLKER COX
LOOK CLOSER: Lee-Volker Cox finds deeper stories in simple images, such as this photograph of a dog on pier. Cox said the aging dog was waiting on the pier while his owner worked on the boat below because “he had lost his sea legs.”

The pier is San Francisco's Pier 47; the dog belongs to a commercial fisherman working on his boat, just out of frame.

Cox said the dog, a devoted and loving companion, spent years on the fishing boat with his owner. Now, too old for his body to withstand the unforgiving waves of the Pacific, the dog stands on the pier, watching his owner prepare for a journey he won't be able to join.

"I took that picture," Cox said, "because every time I [rolled] it he would look back at me as if to say, 'Are you still there, is it worth coming back with this ball?'"

Photographer Lee-Volker Cox brings Imagine to the Santa Maria Public Library
PHOTO FEST: Lee-Volker Cox’s photography exhibit Imagine runs through Dec. 27 at the Santa Maria Public Library. Ten percent of the proceeds from the sale of the artwork will go to the library. A reception with Cox is planned for Dec. 13 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Cox’s images will be displayed in the library’s Shepard Hall, located at 421 S. McClelland St., Santa Maria. For more information, call (805) 925-0994, Ext. 2832.

It's one of the many stories the photographer hopes to share with his new collection, Imagine, on display now through Dec. 27 at the Santa Maria Public Library. Cox described his latest exhibit (which includes more than 50 images) as an invitation, asking participants to "transport themselves beyond the window," according to a statement from the artist.

The images featured in the exhibition were taken in places such as Hawaii, Greenland, North America, and Europe, and highlight the kind of exotic setting fans of Cox's work are familiar with. But this time, the retired Air Force colonel switched things up a bit. 

"I decided to do something that was more interactive," Cox said. "I tried to make it so it's not just a picture you come and look at. ... I tried to draw people more into it."

Cox said he wanted viewers to be encouraged to think about what's happening behind the images he is presenting. The work should inspire people to ask questions and to learn more about each image and why he chose to feature each particular photograph.

click to enlarge Photographer Lee-Volker Cox brings Imagine to the Santa Maria Public Library
PHOTOS COURTESY OF LEE-VOLKER COX
FOOTPRINTS: The Santa Maria Public Library hosts retired Air Force colonel and photographer Lee-Volker Cox’s new exhibit. Imagine features photographs shot all over the world and runs through Dec. 27.

"The desire is that people won't just look at it and move on to the next one," Cox said. "They're actually trying to think about the context of the photograph."

The collection does inspire a lot of curiosities. Each image is sparse yet filled with decadent speculation. It's in images such as Pier where Cox really shines as a photographer. Beyond being contented with capturing the simple beauty of the lush landscapes he so frequently visits on his photographic expeditions, Cox wants to impart empathy and mystery with his images.

There is a longing, a sadness evident within the dog, conveyed in the heaviness of its shoulders–almost as if he knows his own body has become cumbersome. His eyes and his spirit remain active, like the puppy he once was, but his body can no longer keep up. It's heartbreaking and beautiful all at once. 

Cox's skill and talent is in recognizing these moments in the split second it takes to capture a truly memorable photograph. He also knows when something that looks mundane can turn into something breathtaking, such as his image of footprints along a beach shore, a nod to the popular allegorical text, "Footprints in the Sand." 

"It's one of those that makes you look," he said. "It's a marker of who you want to be and where you want to go. It's just you and nature and God." 

Arts and Lifestyle Writer Rebecca Rose gets drawn in by good arts. Contact her at [email protected].

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