Photography by the Zoom Lens Group On Display (Jan.-Mar. 2022)

A new photography exhibit by the Zoom Lens Group opens Jan. 6 at the H. Allen and Sally Fernald Art Gallery at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center in Belfast. The show, on display through March, is free and open to the public from 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Monday–Friday.

The Zoom Lens Group began meeting in January 2021 via Zoom. Two founding members, Ed Lajoie and Penny Linn, had long tossed around the idea of starting a photography group. The pandemic offered them a unique opportunity to get the group off the ground and running.

In May 2021, the group met in-person for the first time (vaccinated, anxious and masked) to photograph in the appropriately named town of Liberty. It was here that they found they were both taller and better looking than they were on-line.

While the name of the group (Zoom Lens) references a piece of photo equipment, it’s more a tribute to Zoom, the now ubiquitous online platform that allowed the group to form and flourish during the Covid-19 pandemic. The group’s five members — two educators, a database manager, a graphic artist and an emergency room doctor — found reprieve from pandemic isolation by meeting to connect via their photography. Together, they shared and critiqued photographs and demonstrated and discussed theories and skills to further develop their craft.

The exhibition features work by Doug Chamberlin, John Gage, Ed Lajoie, Penny Linn and Vera Morrison who passed away in October following an automobile accident.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Doug Chamberlin
Since retirement in 2016 from a long career in software development, Doug has been focused on learning photography anew using the latest digital methods. He likes to explore the Maine coast and document its beauty but is not averse to looking closer to everyday objects.

Learn more about Doug Chamberlin on his website: greymont-images.pixels.com.

John Gage
John Gage is a retired Surgeon/Emergency Physician who has lived and practiced in Maine for the past 40 years. He began his love of Maine while a student at Bates College. His interest in photography began while serving with the United States Navy in the 1960’s. His interests are landscapes, winter weather and sunrises/sunsets.

Ed Lajoie
Ed Lajoie is a retired educator living in Morrill, ME. He has taught photography at the college level and, for over forty years, has specialized in large format black and white silver gelatin prints, and in digital, pigment inkjet prints. His work has been shown at the Worcester Craft Center and at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center as well as other venues. Some of his work is on permanent display at The Hoot in Northport, Maine.

As an immigrant to Maine, and one who stands in awe of its beauty, Ed has decided to give a portion of sales to Camp Capella in Dedham, ME. The camp offers people with disabilities the chance to attend camp and to experience the wonders of a Maine summer that many take for granted.

Penny Linn
Penny graduated from Colby College in 1973 and remained in Maine with her husband. Together they built two houses and raised two boys. She currently lives in Belfast, Maine. Upon retirement and a 40-year hiatus from photography Linn embarked on a journey to rekindle her passion for the art which entailed exiting the film world and entering the digital age of image making. Linn has studied photography at Maine Media Workshops and with Belfast photographer Neal Parent. Her work has been displayed in several Maine galleries.

Linn is drawn toward simple compositions that embrace the minimal while transforming the ordinary into an image apart from the obvious. In a sense, she extracts photographs from the expansive landscapes we encounter in our daily travels. These are interpretations of landscapes beyond a common image, to view in a new way.

Learn more about Penny Linn on her website: pennylinnphotography.com/

Vera Morrison
Vera Morrison was an aspiring photographer based in Northport who first laid eyes on Penobscot Bay thirty years ago and immediately knew she was “home.” Born and raised in PA, Morrison enjoyed a serendipitous professional life that included working as a photo stylist (Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA), costume seamstress and diva dresser (Opera Company of Boston), event planner (Old Ironsides Bicentennial in Boston), and freelance graphic designer in Boston and locally (Birch Brae Art & Design). Morrison took numerous photography courses in NYC, Boston and Maine Media Workshops through the years but only recently focused on showing her work thanks to the encouragement of the Zoom Lens Group.

For more information about the Hutchinson Center’s H. Allen and Sally Fernald Art Gallery, click here.