The Cooperative Gallery 213 and the Two Rivers Photography Club are sponsoring the 8th Bob Johnston Photography Show and Competition January 4-26th, 2019. “Now in its eighth year, this Photo Competition attracts the best photography in the Southern Tier in both black and white and color,” according to Geof Gould of the Cooperative Gallery. “We are very excited to welcome back JW Johnston, a fine art photographer and photography instructor, as our judge.” Johnston (no relation to Bob Johnston) is a professional photographer and teacher with an active website and workshop schedule at www.JWJohnston.com. He evaluates the entries without knowing the identities of the photographers.
The reception for the photographers, friends, and the public will take place January 4th at the First Friday Art Walk from 6-9, with gallery hours starting at 3 pm that day. The Exhibit will be open Fridays 3-6 pm, Saturdays 12-4 pm and by appointment until January 26th. Prizes and cash awards for the winners will be announced at First Friday, January 4th at 7:00 pm at the reception. This year there will also be a People’s Choice Award with voting throughout the show and announced on Jan. 26th at 3 pm.
Best of Show was captured this year by Mary Lou Shapinas for her color photo, “Earth’s Energy.” Judge J.W. Johnston chose two Black and White Judge’s Choice, and two Color Judge’s Choice prizes. In Black & White: G.Thomas Holdredge won for his photo “Zen” and Sandra Kirker who also won in last year’s Competition, for “Departing Light.” In Color the winners are Rod Sutton for “Red Shouldered Hawk” and Kirk Van Zandbergen, another former prize winner, for “Road to Harford.”
There were ten Honorable Mention awards as follows: Julie Davenport for “Blue Morpho Butterfly;” Jessica Fridrich for “Surrealistic Dialogue;” Joshua Lasky for “At the VanZandbergen’s” and “Serenity Now;” Andrew Pavlik for “Aurora Dancitora (Flour Dancer);” Mike Ricciardi for three photos, “Audrey’s Ride,” “Assassin,” and “Steve Lashley & Jeffrey Reeves, KC & the Sunshine Band;” Bill Schumacher for “Garage Lamp;” and Andrea Wood for “Soft Collision.”
The Competition is named for Bob Johnston, a lifelong photographer and a gallery member who died in 2010. “Bob Johnston was an ‘Ansel Adams’ kind of photographer who worked mostly in black and white film and favored both urban and natural landscapes,” said Bill Gorman, also a photographer. Bob Johnston defined a good photo this way: “For me, the successful photograph is one in which both the abstract elements and the subject matter of the image reinforce each other to provide an emotional experience for the viewer.”
The Two Rivers Photography Club has monthly meetings, skill building sessions, and competitions throughout the year. The Cooperative Gallery, a popular stop on the First Friday Art Walk, located at 213 State Street in Binghamton, is open on First Friday 3- 9 pm and regularly Fridays from 3-6 and Saturdays from 12- 4 pm. Find us on Facebook at Cooperative Gallery 213 and sign up for a weekly e-newsletter on our website at www.cooperativegallery.com or on Facebook.