Negatives give photographer positive outlook

By SARA POKORNY
A shed with an air conditioner is usually a strange thing to see in someone’s yard, but for Bill Stritzinger, 49, of Dallas it’s a second home
Ricketts Glen State Park provides the inspiration in ’The Silver Landscape,’ an exhibit of photos by Bill Stritzinger


What: “The Silver Landscape,” an exhibition of black-and-white photography
When: Now through June 30
Where: Mainstreet Galleries, 370 Pierce St., Kingston
Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday
The shed also has heat so Stritzinger can use it year-round as a fully functioning dark room. In an age of most everything digital, the photographer has decided to go the traditional route and develops all his own film.
Photography is a hobby for Stritzinger, and the first-ever showing of his work is at Mainstreet Galleries in Kingston until June 30. The collection, “The Silver Landscape,” consists of 44 pieces that focus on coastal Maine, Ricketts Glen State Park in Benton and some abstract pieces.
Stritzinger favors Ricketts Glen, saying there are hidden beauties there, as proven in his favorite photo, “Swirling Rock.” The photo focuses on a single, large piece of rock with shadows that seem to fall in all the right places, making it look as though it’s caught in a swirling pattern with its surroundings.
“Many people tell me they think the picture was taken somewhere in the Southwest,” Stritzinger said, “but I tell them no, this beautiful creation is right here in our backyard.”
He prefers the traditional method of film development because of the incandescence it brings to a black-and-white photo.