By Ilhan Raage
Staff Writer
Ilhan.Raage2231@mb.rctc.edu
Some students go their whole life having little idea of what their career will be. Often they turn to hobbies and other activities close to their hearts. What’s amazing is when those hobbies become an inspiration for something greater.
Haley Bice noticed a need for more opportunities for artists, photographers in particular, to exhibit their works in Rochester while completing her master’s degree.
An eLearning grad student at Savannah College of Art and Design, Bice hit on the idea to host an exhibition as an extension of her final project. She realized that she couldn’t show works from all of the artists in Rochester, so she decided to hone in the exhibition on works from emerging photographers rather than established professionals.
Among the 20 photographers chosen for Bice’s Rochester Emerging Photographers exhibition are RCTC students Gregory Wood, Shelby Bailey, and Alith Grace.
Gregory Wood started taking photos in 2009 but only truly discovered his passion in 2014. A Nursing and Photography major, he is married, has two sons and is currently working at Mayo as a PCA.
At the exhibition, Wood will be presenting a series of photos inspired by the glass art of Dale Chihuly, an American glass sculptor. Wood was inspired by Chihuly’s work in Rochester and took a trip to his museum in Seattle.
Shelby Bailey is a sophomore at RCTC who will be graduating in Fall 2018. She became interested in photography during middle school, and in high school, she started her own business called Shelby Photography.
Bailey’s favorite things to photograph are maternity pictures, senior pictures and couples. What she loves most about photography is that it “tells someone’s story.” At the exhibition, she will be presenting three works, mainly exploring how she can take an everyday image and transform it from behind the lens of her camera.
Alith Grace is a photo graduate from RCTC who loves fashion, music and photography. Her interest in photography began when she was in high school, but she didn’t really pursue it fully until 2016.
Grace started by photographing people and their eyes, but in school she took her sills to a new level and started fashion photography. There she developed a new love for colors and unique environments. Her works in the exhibition will focus on night fashion photography.
Each of these works will be shown at the Rochester Emerging Photographers Exhibition at the Kahler Hotel on February 24th from 1 to 8pm. More information can be found at www.facebook.com/roch.emerging.photographers.