Through the Lens: Heart and Soul marks its official opening

I wasn't sure I'd have the time to do justice with pictures at Saturday's reception for photographers that marked the opening of the sixth annual "Through the Lens" exhibit -- this year's theme is "Heart and Soul" -- at the Garfield Park Arts Center in Indianapolis. These images probably support that notion. They are not my best work, and hopefully, not even close. However, they do include my first dabble -- and an unplanned one at that -- using the fish-eye feature on my PowerShot G12.

But, I did want to have something to remember the occasion, the first public display of my work in an exhibit hall. With luck, other members of the Indiana Photographic Society, who also brought along cameras, might have captured some better pictures.

Almost all of my shots were taken early on at the reception; thanks to a nice stream of visitors, I had no opportunity to break away later in the going to do any photography. And perhaps, that's how it should be. The society's images will remain in the main gallery of the GPAC through May 29; anyone is welcome to drop in and view them during the center's normal business hours, which are 2 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays; and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays.

Members of the Indiana Photographic Society also will hang our work later this year in the Fountain Square Branch of Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library and the Indiana Chamber of Commerce building in downtown Indianapolis (which is along Meridian Street, adjacent to University Park). I'll post dates for those exhibits as they become available.

Before transitioning into the pictures, I want to extend a warm and sincere thanks to those of you who took time out of your day to drop in at Saturday's reception and extend well wishes; it meant a lot to me, and I'll always remember it.

Top, above and below: Visitors and club members alike, mulling around and going through the munchies line.

Above and below: Creativity struck me when I noticed, at one moment, the interesting pattern the sun splashed onto the floor through the Arts Center's west windows (above) and the shoes of some people sitting next to me (below).

Above: Visitors peruse the offerings along the east wall of the GPAC gallery hall. 

Above: Using the PowerShot G12's high-dynamic range feature, resting the camera on my leg as I sat in a chair. 

Above: The G12's fish-eye feature was accidentally engaged, unknown to me, when I captured this shot, but I did like what it delivered, so ... I'm likely to explore it some more in the future.
 

Above: The GPAC kept these draw stations in the hall for toddlers to use if they felt the urge to create. My kindergarten-age grandson Jakob crafted this drawing for me. My grandkids refer to me as Poppy Joe. Jakob came pretty close to the correct spelling with his POPGOe.