New Hampshire Art Association artist Sarah Cail will have her photographs on display in an exhibit titled, “Images made from Adventures Great and Small,” at the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center beginning June 22.
When Cail first came up with the title of her show almost a year ago, she said she could not have predicted that she would have a gallery showing of photographs created from very small adventures.
She was used to traveling the country and abroad to capture migrating water birds, and wild animals of various areas by frequenting wildlife refuges and the Everglades. She especially liked photographing wild horses and said her most rewarding experience was photographing the white Camargue horses of southern France.
“When the COVID pandemic hit, my plans for photography workshops and travel came to a halt,” she said.
“For quite a while I felt unfulfilled without this creative outlet. I tried various indoor techniques: macro, still image, and even used a light table to photograph arrangements on a flat surface. I organized books of favorite photos and worked on my website but if I’m true to my passion, then I have to be outdoors making images.”
This group of photos was created close to Cail’s home in Alton on Lake Winnipesaukee.
“I went to the nearby woods, especially during the fall and found natural arrangements just waiting for me to photograph them,” she said.
“When it rained, I donned my protective gear and made my way through the saturated tree trunks and glistening branches. I was soaked but so thrilled to be able to observe such beauty right in the wild places near my backyard.”
Cail spent early mornings scanning the waters of the little bay for the loons. On other days she would drive back roads in the hopes of finding interesting subjects.
“I came upon an ancient barn tucked into the end of a dirt road with a seemingly forgotten pond,” she said. “It was complete with a beaver dam where a great blue heron fished for his breakfast. At a modest home, a white picket fence provided the backdrop for some of the most beautiful irises I’ve ever seen.”
Another time, a curious young red-shouldered hawk flew overhead and then landed on a dead tree providing another subject for Cail to photograph.
“Out of a feeling of being stifled came these wonderful small adventures that made feel complete and creative yet again,” she said. “I just had to learn to open myself to all the different types of possibilities that existed.”
Cail’s exhibit will run at the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center, located at 49 S. Main St., Suite 104, in Concord, from June 22 through Sept. 16. The gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
All work is for sale by contacting the N.H. Art Association at 603-431-4230.
