He has spent countless hours on the water, and this exhibit is many years in the making. The proof is presented in Peter Lang鈥檚 photography, now on display at the Foyer Gallery of the Squamish Public Library.聽
The exhibition is a powerful display of black and white images inspired by nature, the ocean and his father, who also loved boats and waves.
Lang鈥檚 artistic approach is unassuming and restrained. 鈥淚 take shots anyone can see, away from studios and sets, with a minimalist approach 鈥� the less manipulation of the image in post-production, the better.鈥�
This joyful exhibit represents a dynamic, contrasting and monochromatic series of images taken over decades.聽
Lang has been sailing and taking photos from an early age. The creative stimulation for this particular series was natural. 鈥淚鈥檓 around boats a lot,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 love all types of boats. Black and white photography takes me back to my roots 45 years ago, when I spent way too much time in the darkroom at Winston Churchill High School.鈥澛�
As with ever-changing technology, Lang鈥檚 photography has evolved from black and white film (Kodak Tri-X 400) to digital photography and making quality inkjet prints. His first camera was an 鈥渁ll manual鈥� Konica Auto Reflex, but he now sports a Nikon d300.
Lang is not only a passionate sailor, cyclist and photographer but he has also taken his craft to the next level by framing his own art. 鈥淐utting mats and building wood frames requires skill that I have yet to fully master, but I enjoy the physicality and attention to detail that framing requires,鈥� he explains.
Soon, Lang will be fully retired and he plans to turn his photography into a small business by continuing to sell prints. During the last local mayoral campaign, he provided photography for one of the candidates and enjoyed the experience.聽
Elena Whitman鈥檚 work is also on display at the Foyer Gallery this month 鈥� in the cases. With a diverging nautical theme, Whitman shows graphite drawings and paintings of tall ships and rowboats, where sails incorporate strength, power and the adventurous spirit to harness the wind, different from the demure images of rowboats that suggest peace and tranquility.
Whitman鈥檚 creative stimulation for this detailed, realistic series started a few years ago with an excursion to the Swedish Vasa warship museum. The Vasa vessel was built in the 17th century and during its first voyage, it sank not far from Stockholm. Vasa was lifted in the early 1960s to become an important historical wreck 鈥� and Sweden鈥檚 most popular tourist attraction.聽
聽鈥淚 was fascinated by the old decks and holds of the ship, as if I had travelled back in time,鈥� Whitman recalls. 鈥淚t was that moment when I understood that I wanted to learn more about tall ships. While reading about famous full-rigged ships, I started drawing them. Each drawing has a history behind it.鈥�
Whitman has always been enchanted by the great masters, but it wasn鈥檛 until she took part in an intuitive painting workshop in 2011 that she started to envision herself as an artist. Focusing primarily on the beauty of seasonal change, she started painting the landscapes that surrounded her family鈥檚 country house in the suburb of Moscow. Her art was also inspired by adventures in Europe and Asia. Art has now become an important, meditative part of Whitman鈥檚 life.聽
An active newcomer in Squamish, Whitman loves to travel and usually spends vacations 鈥渉ypnotized鈥� by boats and sails on the waters edged by white sandy beaches or the rocky shores of mountain lakes.聽
