Press release:
Local dentist John Highsmith presents marine and nature photography in his show, 26 BELOW. The title plays on the underwater and land-based subject matter. The exhibit is hosted by Green Sage Café in the Westgate Shopping Center, and runs through April 15, 2017.
Asheville native John Highsmith is a dentist, cloisonné enamellist, jewelry maker and photographer. He began taking photos at age sixteen, using an old Yashica rangefinder camera and a home basement darkroom. Pulling all-nighters in the college lab printing for the paper and yearbook, Highsmith continued photography throughout his professional career. Highsmith quipped, “Then digital turns everything upside down. Underwater photography is one field where digital is a huge advantage, as it is very difficult to change rolls of film underwater.”
Particularly drawn to patterns and light, Highsmith took the plunge and combined two passions, adding an underwater camera to SCUBA diving gear. “Adding a technical process to a potentially life-threatening sport just adds to the fun. And fish do not pose, so a large dose of patience is helpful.”
Highsmith images his photos on high-gloss aluminum sheets, a light-reflecting substrate particularly suited to marine and nature photography. Highsmith uses NC-based ImageWizards, who use 94% recycled aluminum and environmentally green photo printing substrates. Photo dye pigments are suspended at different levels of the photo coating, presenting a sense of depth to viewers. Archival and protected, metal prints are designed to outlast paper photos by 100 years.
The exhibit at Green Sage Westgate Plaza runs through mid-April. For more information, visit drhighsmith.com or call 828-627-9005.
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