Throughout childhood and up until college, future photographer Bill Morson was never dead set on a specific career.
“I would tell my friends that, if possible, I’d like to just become a professional observer of life one day,” Morson told the Sun.
He chose to major in geography as a potential outlet for his love of observation, fascinated by the physical world surrounding us. Later, Morson joined the military and underwent training as a photo processing specialist. He soon discovered that photography quenched his curiosity about the world more than studying geography ever had.
“I found myself inevitably on a path to a career in documentary and news photography,” Morson said, “where I could remain a curious observer of people and places and have the chance to photograph my discoveries.”
Morson’s photos were published by various outlets throughout Santa Barbara County during his long career as a professional photojournalist. But guests of the retiree’s new exhibit at Cypress Gallery in Lompoc, which runs through Sunday, June 23, get the chance to see his works in a new light as dye-infused metal prints. The medium has allowed his photos to appear more vibrant than ever, Morson said.
“It’s a high-quality printing process that really makes the images pop,” he said. “It’s an exciting difference in quality from years of having my images printed on newsprint.”
The exhibit, titled Captured Moments, encompasses a wide range of both subject matter and genres, from nature to sports photography. Morson’s photos weren’t curated at random however, as each piece was taken with the same goal in mind: to capture a fleeting moment, preserving it forever.
“A scenic view, a man at work, a group of flowers, a sporting event all have the potential to be a special moment in time, only waiting to be discovered, recorded, and created into a lasting work of art,” Morson said. “Nature, people, or anything of human interest that happens to strike my fancy can be my subject matter.”
Out at Second, for example, was taken during a high school baseball game in Santa Ynez. It’s one of Morson’s favorite moments he’s ever photographed.
“The image of a shortstop placing a tag on a base runner as he attempts to steal second base captures a very fleeting moment in time,” Morson said. “Anyone that has ever played baseball can appreciate the skill and timing that goes into making that play.”
Harvest Time, another of Morson’s favorites on display at the exhibit, is an image of a worker in a Lompoc flower field.
“The image of a man obviously hard at work while immersed in a colorful field of flowers really seems to get the interest of people,” Morson said. “I receive a lot of comments on that shot, perhaps because it’s such an iconic image of our agricultural region.”
For Morson, the trick to capturing these split-second moments most of the time is what brought him to love photography in the first place: the act of observation.
“Sometimes the moment to capture an image comes upon you quickly. Other times, you just have to exercise patience and wait,” Morson said. “You quickly learn how to anticipate how people will or should react under certain circumstances or surroundings. It’s something anybody can learn to do with some time and effort.”
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood loves life’s little moments. Contact him at cwiseblood@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Jun 13-20, 2019.
