It’s not hard to find inspiration when you’re a photographer living on the Central Coast. There are places where the light dances on still water, where the ocean churns up twisted pieces of driftwood, where hills seem to move with the wave of hundreds of tiny flowers. It doesn’t take much to find quaint farm scenes, and, a few short miles away, see Spanish architecture and a thriving, diverse culture.
So when the Santa Maria Public Library approached a group of photographers about showing their work at the Shepard Hall Gallery, it didn’t take much thinking to plan what they would focus on.
Mel Felix, one of the Central Coast photographers in the latest Shepard Hall Gallery exhibition, Photographers Gone Wild, said the decision was an easy one.
“We, for a while, talked about doing a specific theme but decided to keep it Central Coast related,” Felix said. “I’m kind of excited about it.”
From Clydesdales at the beach and twin lightning bolts captured on film to scenes of local culture, four Central Coast photographers capture the essence of what it means to live here.
Photographers Felix, Jeanne Sparks, Cathy Gregg, and Lynda Schiff present their work in the show, but are also members of the Town Center Gallery, showing their work elsewhere. Felix said that each showing is important to growing art awareness on the Central Coast.
“Every time we get something out there to look at, it’s a little more exposure,” he said.
Through her work, Gregg usually exposes viewers to the more serene side of the Central Coast with landscape shots punctuated by an occasional fork of lightning. For this show, however, she stepped away from her norm.
“I went on the wilder side of myself,” she explained. “I have some shots of cattle roping, severe storms, wild winds at Morro Bay, and there’s one person shot I took at the Santa Barbara Fiestas where the woman seems to be looking right through you. That’s pretty wild.”
Sparks has gained popularity with her work, which primarily features her dog Sparkie. She enjoys exploring places she can visit with her dog, and some of the resulting images—like Sparkie at the Dunes—are included in the Photographers Gone Wild show. She uses a technique she calls “Photo-Graphic Art,” which involves enhancing the image with digital photography and graphic arts.
“I think there’s so much here that we don’t think about it. I grew up in Santa Maria, and, as a kid, I didn’t appreciate it. Now I see it all,” Sparks said. “We live in such a special place.”
Schiff said she also finds inspiration living on the Central Coast. Her images include a child jumping into the water at Red Rock, a child and her mother at a Christmas tree burning in Solvang, and a snowy day at Figueroa Mountain.
“It’s just a beautiful place,” Schiff said. “We have a little bit of everything. If it’s too hot at home, I know where to go where it’s cooler. If it’s cool at home, I know where it’s warmer. We have wild places here—you can get out in the middle of town, or get away from it all.”
Her love of the Central Coast matches her love of the outdoors, and fortunately for Schiff, she can get her fill of both.
“I really just love to get outside,” she said. “I love to bring as much of it home with me as I can, then share it with people.”
Arts Editor Shelly Cone is wild at heart. Contact her at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 3-10, 2009.