Boeing Employees' Photo Club
exhibit Opens Saturday, September 3

The Visitor Center art gallery is a great place to begin your day at BTA, this oasis of paintings or photography is just past the entry where a visitor pays admission to enter the Arboretum, and there is a new exhibit to savor each month. September's show opens Saturday, September 3, with a colorful range of works by the Boeing Employees' Photography Club. In October impressive botanical watercolors by Tucson artist and ethnobotanist Martha Ames Burgess will be featured. Boeing Employees' Association of Photographers is a group of Boeing-Mesa employees who share a common interest in photography. The club started just a year ago with a handful of members who wanted to attract other photographers of all interests, abilities and skill levels to share their knowledge and experience. Today the club has 37 members, according to club president Daryl Faust, and club members hold "monthly meetings where homework assignments are given out, the previous month's homework is critiqued and then we have a learning session. Our club also goes on regular photo outings to many of the beautiful areas of our state."
Visitors are invited to meet the artists, see the exhibit and discuss photography techniques Sept. 10 during the Boeing Employees' photography club exhibit reception opening from 9-11 am. Works in the current exhibit run the gamut from the sandstone landscapes of Northern Arizona to a feather-crisp closeup of a lovely female hummingbird at a flower in our Demonstration Garden. Among the memorable images you'll find "Cactus Blossom," by Andreina Panetta.
"Photography allows me to capture a moment as an image that I can return to whenever I gaze upon it. This is similar to a melody or fragrance evoking memories. At the same time, I discover something I had not noticed before. In "Cactus Blossom", I rediscover textures - prickly, smooth, bumpy, rough, and bristle top. A delicate blossom emerges strong and robust. In this case, the sun had already set and the stars were as bright and visible as the city lights would allow. This is when I stumbled upon this cactus blossom. I felt I had discovered a treasure. I knew the flower would eventually die. I had to capture the moment. The darkness surrounding my treasure emphasized the beauty I saw in the cactus blossom. I grabbed my camera and started to capture moments."
Dan Lind, photographer of "Navajo Arch," explains that Arches National Park in Utah is "a Disneyland for the landscape photographer. It is a place full of strangely eroded arches and fins made out of various shades of red rock. The opportunities for brilliant lighting effects are many. In this photo, the morning sunlight is hitting the backside of the 'rock wall', and reflecting onto the far wall visible through the arch. For all my photographs, I hope to create images that the viewer then wants to visit and experience for themselves."
Club President Daryl Faust says he captured one of his all-time favorite images ("V is for View") by pure luck. "I was driving to another location in Sedona to shoot when I saw this opportunity. I pulled over, quickly set up the tripod, took the shot and got back in the car, never even shutting the car off. It turned out to be my favorite photo I took that day! I took up photography when I started showing photos I took on hikes and people really liked them. Other's appreciation of my photos pushes me to want to learn more and improve. My philosophy on photography is to capture a unique moment in time in a way most people may not normally have seen. "V is for View" is a very good representation of my style of photography."
And frequent Arboretum visitor Leslie Starks explains that "Mean Beak" is a slice-of-life depiction of the daily trials and tribulations of the creatures who inhabit BTA.
"While trying to photograph a butterfly feeding, Mr. mean hummingbird chased the butterfly away! He didn't even feed, he just didn't want the butterfly there. I had been doing 35mm photography, and was waiting for digital to catch up and become affordable. Mine is hobby-level photography, and for the thrill of capturing that "slice of time". Annual memberships at the Arboretum begin at $35, and include a year's access, guest passes for your friends and family, and many other benefits. The Boeing photographers' exhibit remains on display in the visitor center gallery until September 25 and may be seen daily during business hours from 8-5 (from September-through-May admission is taken from 8-4, and BTA closes promptly at 5 pm).
To review other recent gallery shows from...
July/August CLICK HERE
June/July CLICK HERE
May CLICK HERE
April CLICK HERE
March CLICK HERE
February CLICK HERE
January CLICK HERE
December CLICK HERE