Three photographers show work at Carver Hill Gallery

Carver Hill Gallery is showing the work of three photographers with Maine connections through Nov. 21.

Jon Kolkin began photographing Buddhist monks in Bhutan, the only Buddhist kingdom in the world, over 10 years ago. A couple of years later in China, he discovered a 3-acre cloistered community of over 100 Buddhist nuns.

Kolkin’s idea was not so much to document what he saw but to try to share what he sensed existed inside the minds of these dedicated practitioners of Buddhism. Kolkin chose to create this series in black and white because he felt it would more effectively translate the mood and environment. He decided on Palladium printing, one of the oldest, most prized and archival techniques in photographic printing. The images have incomparable tonal range and softness achieved with fine detail and depth.

The photographs in this exhibition are part of an ongoing project, Inner Harmony, which has received 20 international photography awards and was featured twice in the prestigious LensWork Magazine. His book, “Inner Harmony: Living in Balance,” will be available. This groundbreaking project includes forewords by the Dalai Lama and Queen Mother of Bhutan. Kolkin has taught workshops at Maine Media Workshops in Rockport and elsewhere.

Veteran photographer and educator Elizabeth Opalenik feels a constant pull to the beauty in reflections. For the work in this exhibition, she has ventured into using mylar and mirrors to find new ways of seeing and appreciating the reflected landscape.

They are wondrous and imaginative works where details often disappear and give way to sweeping fields of color and suggestions of horizon.

Opalenik’s 40-year career has included teaching and making images on six continents, seeking the beauty and grace that exists within all things. Opalenik conducts photographic portrait, figure and mordançage workshops at Maine Media in Rockport, National Geographic Expeditions, and internationally, creating a sense of wonder and possibility in her students. She has recently released her second book, “Workshop Stories,” about the many accomplished photographers who have come through the doors of MMW in Rockport and other workshops worldwide. The book is available at the gallery.

Opalenik is passionate about the medical ministry, where she has assisted and documented for years. Her preference is working with water in any form or illusion.

Craig Stevens will be showing his black and white panoramic images in this exhibition. Stevens is a well-known and skilled printer, and these quiet, contemplative works are masterfully created and printed.

In his words, “In nature I find peace, comfort, and solitude. For me, these images act as memories and relics through highlighting moments and pieces of the scene that spoke to me. Here, they continue to speak of the mysteries of the landscape through their elegance and beauty, which are juxtaposed with their initial environment. By doing so, relationships form through the moment in time, form and texture of the objects. Through these relationships, which are discovered after the initial documentation and discovery of the landscape, something larger is felt, something on the lines of fate and Nature. It is an embrace of air. An embrace of the space between our existence and the ephemeral nature of the contemplative sublime.”

Stevens is a photographer, printmaker and educator. He has taught, written and lectured extensively on the subjects of art, photography and education. Craig is in his 35th year at the Savannah College of Art and Design where he holds the rank of professor emeritus. He has been the associate director of the Maine Photographic Workshops, is periodically on the faculty of the Maine Media Workshops, the Santa Fe Workshops and the Anderson Ranch Art Center in Snowmass, Colorado. Craig served as director of workshops for the 25th Anniversary of Les Rencontres Internationale de la Photographie in Arles France and was the first recipient of the Susan Carr Educator Prize awarded by the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP).

Carver Hill Gallery is at 28 Bayview St., Camden. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Private viewings are available by appointment. Email carverhillgallerymaine@gmail.com or call 207-542-9895 for more information.