February 2011

Union County Arts Council in Union, SC, Offers Photography Exhibition

The Union County Arts Council in Union, SC, is presenting the exhibit, 4 photographers, features the photography of John Byrum, Lisbeth Harvey Kelly, Billy Liner and Harold Senn, on view at the UCAC Gallery through Mar. 2, 2012. A reception will be held on Feb. 2, from 2-6pm.

Byrum works as a news photographer for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal; while Kelly, Liner and Senn are all residents of Union County. All of the photographers work in different styles of photography and the show will have photos that will appeal to most everyone.

John Byrum got lucky in life as his daily workweek happens to coincide with his ultimate passion of taking pictures. Now in his twelfth year as a news photographer with the Herald-Journal, he always has his camera at the ready whether he’s at work or on vacation. Anything that catches the Spartanburg native’s eye is fair game, but his most desired subjects tend to be landscapes. From the modest view of a backyard creek to the all-encompassing colors and light of the Carlsbad Caverns or Hawaiian countryside, he favors focusing his camera on the natural beauty of unfettered terrain.

“I always approach my craft with an open mind and try to be ready for those times that I witness a scene that just stops me in my tracks and I can totally feel it and picture exactly what it would look like in a two-dimensional photo,” said Byrum. “When that spirit moves me, I like to think that others will appreciate what I’m seeing.”

Lisbeth Harvey Kelly, a fourth-grade teacher at Monarch Elementary School, has always been fascinated with photography and enjoyed taking pictures growing up. The mostly self-taught photographer’s favorite subjects are babies and children.

“My focus on babies and children began by wanting to document my children’s lives through photos,” she said. “I want to capture the true essence of childhood by following children as they play. To capture the natural expressions and playfulness indicative of childhood, you just have to join them... laying in the grass, playing in fallen leaves, climbing a tree, wherever they may go... and photograph them at play!”

Billy Liner had dreamed of being an artist since childhood. Today, he expresses his creativity through a mix of fine art, commercial, landscape and artistic photography. Whether viewing his images of old buildings, landscapes or his surreal images used to illustrate everything from dreams to Bible verses; you’re always in for a surprise.

“My goal in photography is to create shots that tell a story or invoke an emotional response,” Liner explained. “I try to use natural and mixed lighting to achieve a mood of the moment that tells the untold stories of the memories.”

Harold Senn is a retired government photographer who; along with his wife, Jackie; settled in Santuc, SC, to live the “quiet life”. Now their days are spent working part-time as the UCAC coordinators... and having a ball! His favorite photographic subjects are landscapes... either urban or natural and he tries to capture visually stunning images of mundane subjects.

“I subscribe to the school of thought (which I didn’t realize until I took a workshop with San Francisco photographer, Vincent Versace, and heard him describe his work as such) that what I do isn’t art at all... until somebody else says that it is. I just try to make photographs of what I think will be a ‘pretty picture’. That’s it in a nutshell,” explained Senn.

For further information check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call the Arts Council at 864/429-2817 or e-mail to (ucac@bellsouth.net).

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