March 2007 - Friends of Blackwater Canyon

March 2007 March 2007
Imagesof
Blackwater
Have you ever looked at some of the photographs of the
Blackwater Canyon and Blackwater Falls and wondered just who it
was that captured such amazing beauty?
As one of the most photographed places in West Virginia, you can
find images of Blackwater Falls, Lindy Point and just about every
step along the Blackwater Canyon Trail from Thomas to Hendricks
in places as diverse as Tamarack and your local convenience store.
Friends of Blackwater has been blessed over the years by these
gifted artists, who seemingly possess the ability to find beauty
in things both consistent and evolutionary. Each of these artists,
among countless others, generously donated their works to our
Annual Reception and Charity Auction that was so graciously
hosted by Rafe and Lenore Pomerance at their Washington, D.C.
home on December 7, 2006.
We humbly present six of the talented persons who have captured
the Images of Blackwater!
Steve Shaluta
304-722-0276 steve@steveshaluta.com
http://www.steveshaluta.com
Andy Altman
1-304-541-7982 AltmanAM@suddenlink.net
http://www.andyaltmanphotography.com
Steve Shaluta became interested in photography in 1978 after borrowing a friend’s 35mm camera to take nature
photographs. Soon after he was bitten by the photography bug and in 1985 after nearly 15 years working as a locomotive
engineer in his hometown of Grafton, WV, he resigned to become a full time photographer. He says it is a decision he has
never regretted.
Steve’s primary photography job is as a staff photographer for
the West Virginia Division of Tourism. This has allowed him the unique
position of traveling and photographing the beauty and recreational
aspects of West Virginia for advertising and promotional purposes. Steve
also has a freelance career and has gained a reputation as a “West
Virginia Specialist”.
Since 1978 he has accumulated an impressive list of publication
credits, through both his WV Tourism position and freelance career. These
credits include numerous magazine covers, calendars and book covers in
addition to countless photographs published in newspapers, magazines,
brochures, billboards and books used for editorial and advertising
purposes. In recent years the exposure from his website has created an
interest for framed and unframed enlarged prints of his photography, for
office and home wall art.
As far back as he can remember, Andy Altman has enjoyed photography. From elementary school days on
family vacations across the US and Canada, he has worked to capture the beauty and majesty of nature on
film. An avid hiker, whitewater paddler and mountain biker, his joy in exploring nature continues. Now that
family vacations include his wife and two boys, he also enjoys the challenge of squeezing quality photography
time into quality family time.
With experience, the encouragement of friends and
evolving equipment, Andy reached the decision to start offering
his photography for sale in 2004. His work can be found at arts and
craft shows in the Charleston area, at Showcase West Virginia,
Tamarack, Bears and Hares and other shops.
“On my first visits, I
marveled at the falls from
an overlook. Then I come
across Elakala Falls.
Next it was the three other
Elakala Falls. After that
came the
perspective of the falls
from the river.
Somewhere in there were
kayakers and a carpet of
shamrock-like wood sorrel.
Now I marvel at the
beauty and variety of the
Blackwater area and look
forward to what I will discover
on my next visit.”
-- Andy Altman
Betty Rivard
Bruce K. Haley
bettyrivard@yahoo.com
http://bettyrivard.smugmug.com/
1-304-346-9360 b.k.haley@verizon.net
http://www.bkhaleyphotography.com “I present nature not as the lens
Bruce K. Haley, Jr., a Charleston, WV native and Vietnam
veteran has always had a need to create. He experimented with writing,
music, painting and crafts. While finding all these expressions somewhat
satisfying, it wasn’t until he found photography that he knew he had
found what he had been searching for all his life.
Bruce uses the camera lens as his paint brush. His bold and colorful
presentation of nature has made his work much sought after throughout
the United States. Since November of 2002, Bruce’s award winning art
has appeared in over seventy shows in West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky,
Colorado. North Carolina and California. His work is included in many
corporate and private collections including six pieces recently purchased
by the state of West Virginia for their permanent collection.
In Bruce’s words, “Photography isn’t about f/stops, shutter speeds or
equipment. It’s about living, feeling, seeing. It’s about opening my mind
to learning, not only about the people, places and things around me,
but also, about myself. Photography, for me, is life living, life giving.”
captures it, but as I see, feel and
experience it - an endless array of
exciting colors, shapes and designs.
I’ve traveled all over the world
but it wasn’t until I began started
photography that I discovered the
natural beauty that is West
Virginia. The time I spend
exploring that beauty are precious
and magical moments where time
stands still and I become one with
the treasures here. It saddens me to
see the beauty of our state slowly
being destroyed in the name of
commerce. We must do all that we
can to make sure that history isn’t
repeated.” -- Bruce K. Haley
Betty Rivard uses photographs to share her vision with
others. In West Virginia she photographs to show the beauty
and individuality of the landscape. Outside of the state she
likes to show the diversity of people and places. She uses film
cameras with a combination of chemical and digital darkroom
processing.
She has received support through the 2004 Fellowship in
Photography and several grants from the West Virginia
Commission on the Arts and the Division of Culture and History.
Her work has been exhibited and won awards in shows across the
state and has been utilized in state and national publications.
Betty coordinates group exhibits with other fine art
landscape photographers in the state. She is also researching and
developing exhibits of photographs of everyday life that were
taken in West Virginia by U.S. Farm Security Administration
photographers in the 1930s and 40s and that are
available through the Library of Congress and its website.
G.P. Cooper
Cooper Art Gallery
1-304-645-6439 1-888-868-5129
http://www.coopergallery.com
G.P. Cooper and his wife, Marilyn (a WV
Native) moved to Lewisburg, WV in the
summer of 1991 after his retirement as
Professor of Environmental Health at the
University of Cincinnati. It was at this
time that he began to pursue his second
career as a nature photographer in earnest.
He feels that if his photographs give
pleasure to the viewer than he has fullfilled
at least one of his main purposes. However,
he also feels that a higher purpose will be
served if these photographs are a reminder
that the natural beauty around us is fragile
and must be protected in order to endure.
“Overpopulation, industrialization and
mismanagement are destroying ecosystems
worldwide at a pace that should alarm everyone.
Although West Virginia has been relatively
isolated and underpopulated, so that a large
part of its natural beauty remains intact, complacency will be costly. If decisive action to reverse
current trends is not taken soon, much of this beauty probably will not survive until the middle
of the twenty-first century.” - G.P. Cooper
Paul Corbit Brown
202-841-0222 pcbphotos@yahoo.com
http://www.paulcorbitbrown.com
Paul Corbit Brown has been photographing since he was twelve years old. His work has
carried him throughout the United States and to Mexico, Kenya, Jamaica, Russia, Israel, Laos,
Thailand and Rwanda. He has a gift for simultaneously accepting the humanity of each
person he depicts and unsentimentally sizing them up. His photographs are clear-eyed looks
at the difficult situations these individuals live in, but their directness and compassion make
them hauntingly beautiful. His aesthetic sureness has a seductive force that propels you into
c o n f r o n t i n g
t r o u b l e s o m e
spiritual and
moral issues.
These
photographs
are not the
scenes we see
on CNN or the
newsweeklies,
nor in the tourist brochures. They are part of Brown’s way of seeing, of honest observation
and trying to make sense of the passing hum of daily life on this troubled yet beautiful
planet.
“Nature photography for me is more of a feeling and is something
I find very hard to put into words. It is just something I really
“Places like Blackwater Canyon are vital to the ecosystem at large and a sanctuary for weary
love to do. Everyone has something in their lives that gives them a
humans who need to remember the really important things about life: such as the fact that all
peace and joy that cannot be explained...taking nature photographs,
life is special and a bank full of money can’t replace even a single cell of Life. The future of
especially in the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia, does that for
our planet is far more valuable than a fist full of dollars. I believe it is not only possible, but
me. It refreshes my soul, clears my mind and prepares me to face
necessary, to learn to live at peace with the very ecosystem that gives us life- The Earth. Each
the daily issues which crowd our busy lives these days. Blackwater “I believe that by connecting with good memories of the beauty of the land we can value it more and work harder to respect and preserve it. In
part of nature is special and extremely vital to the well-being of all else. As human beings,
Canyon, Canaan Valley and Dolly Sods are at the very top of my the past I have focused only on places of integrity and turned my camera away from scenes of environmental degradation. In the future I
we are the only species on the planet that can choose to preserve or destroy this fragile system.
list of the places that renew my spirit and make each and every visit plan to search out and embrace these scenes. I’m not sure where this is going, but I feel that there is something to learn from the combination
Let us choose wisely- together." -- Paul C. Brown
a rejuvenating experience”. -- Steve Shaluta
of, on the one hand, beauty, like the light and the seasons, and, on the other hand, threat, destruction, and loss.” -- Betty Rivard
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