Sayville’s BAFFA Gallery to Showcase “Chasing the Light” Photography Exhibit » Hearth Island News & Great South Bay News

“Chasing the Light” stays on show by means of January 25. BAFFA Gallery is open on weekends from midday to 2 p.m. at Sayville’s Gillette House, 47 Gillette Ave. For additional info, go to baffa.org.

Photo by Rob Verbeck.

The Bay Area Friends of the Fine Arts Gallery (BAFFA) in Sayville opened a brand new pictures exhibit in January, that includes the work of three native artists: Rob Verbeck, Pat DeLuca, and Carol Rosenthal.

The exhibit, titled Chasing the Light, will probably be on show on weekends by means of January 25, from midday to 2 p.m. An artist reception was held on opening day. Located within the historic Gillette House at 47 Gillette Ave., BAFFA gives an inviting venue for this assortment, which explores the photographers’ assorted interpretations of sunshine, a vital aspect of their craft.

Verbeck, a contributing photographer for Great South Bay News, has lived in Sayville for about 30 years and balances his profession as an elementary faculty trainer in Shoreham along with his ardour for pictures, which started in childhood.

“I started taking pictures probably about 10 years old with a Kodak Instamatic camera that my parents had gotten me,” Verbeck mentioned. “I always just enjoyed capturing whatever was around me and capturing people and scenery.”

While it remained a pastime for a lot of his life, he has lately taken a extra inventive strategy to his work. Verbeck’s pictures spans a number of genres, together with social occasions, summary pictures, and landscapes, with a deal with capturing delicate emotional pressure and concepts past mere aesthetics. He describes his work as striving towards one thing extra, reflecting the exhibit’s theme of “chasing the light” as a metaphor for searching for enchancment and expression. Largely self-taught, Verbeck dietary supplements his studying by means of workshops and involvement with native arts teams, together with the Patchogue Arts Council Photographers Group and BAFFA.

Pat DeLuca of Blue Point has been pursuing pictures for about 20 years. Originally a musician and drummer, DeLuca briefly studied filmmaking earlier than transitioning to nonetheless pictures by means of self-directed experimentation.

“For me, it kind of happened by accident,” DeLuca mentioned. “I just went with the flow of what I was doing and the emotion into the art that I create.”

His focus is on panorama and nature pictures, emphasizing seasonal settings over wildlife. DeLuca additionally owns and manages a carpet-cleaning enterprise he’s been working for over 20 years. His photographic work has gained regional recognition and has been extensively bought. For the Chasing the Light exhibit, DeLuca selected pictures from throughout his profession that showcase the usage of pure mild in outside scenes.

Carol Rosenthal, a resident of East Patchogue, combines her lifelong ardour for pictures with in depth journey. Retired from a profession as a scientist, she has visited all seven continents, together with current journeys to Antarctica, and has upcoming plans to go to the Arctic. Rosenthal’s pictures focuses on landscapes and journey scenes, typically captured through the golden hours of dawn and sundown, when pure mild is at its most dramatic. Though self-taught, she has improved her expertise by means of mentorships and expertise. Rosenthal goals to encourage curiosity and a need to discover the locations she images.

“Some of it [the pieces on display] is going to be from Japan, Antarctica, Iceland, Holland,” Rosenthal mentioned. “So, hopefully, people give them a look at different places around the world and bring that thought that they would like to be there. ‘Where is this?’ I think what I want to hear them say is, ‘I want to go there.’”

Exhibiting at BAFFA offers her the chance to showcase her work past digital archives and into bodily areas the place it may be appreciated and critiqued by a neighborhood viewers.

All three artists emphasised the vital function that native artwork galleries like BAFFA serve in supporting the inventive neighborhood. Verbeck famous that such galleries present important publicity for artists whose work would possibly in any other case go unseen.

“There’s tremendous talent and imagination out there,” Verbeck mentioned. “Without local galleries, people wouldn’t see, or be exposed to it, and people are always pleasantly surprised walking into a local gallery.”

Rosenthal famous that native galleries enrich neighborhood life by offering accessible areas to show and talk about artwork, which is particularly vital for artists searching for connection and validation past digital platforms.

DeLuca famous that native venues present artists with possibilities to achieve publicity and join with audiences in a extra private and significant approach than larger business galleries.

Collectively, they agree that galleries like BAFFA are important in nurturing native expertise and cultivating a vibrant arts tradition inside Long Island.

“I’m just amazed by the talent that people have, and it’s very nice that we have places where we can display, talk, and share it,” Rosenthal mentioned. “Community is really important, and being a part of something and art serves that purpose.”

Chasing the Light invitations guests to expertise these interpretations firsthand, offering a window into the inventive and technical pursuit of capturing mild’s fleeting magnificence.