Alan Brown's "First 75 Years" photo exhibit

On February 16, Gallery One's Alan Brown will celebrate his 75th birthday with the opening of a retrospective exhibit representing his halfcentury love affair with photography. Brown's fascination with photography began in high school when he photographed events, historic buildings and even used his telescope to obtain "Life Magazine" worthy images of the moon. He first journeyed to Kenya and Tanzania in 1990, recording images of exotic animal life and fascinating African tribesmen. In 1994, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History launched a three-month one-man exhibit featuring his images of the mountain gorillas of Rwanda. Now, 25 years later, Brown's original photographs are available as vibrant giclées on canvas, and his works are prominent at Gallery One, the company he founded with wife Norah Lynne in 1974. The opening of Brown's "First 75 Years" will feature a 2 p.m. lecture, followed by a celebration complete with giant birthday cake for all attendees. His photographic images will hang through February and will include wildlife, landscapes, florals and landmarks, both local and exotic, from 8" x 10" to 40" x 60." Many are based on his extensive travels to the Galapagos, the Amazon jungle, Machu Picchu, China, Alaska, Morocco, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Brown's lecture will center on his unusual approach to photography. His choice camera is Contax. "I'm sold on Zeiss lenses, and while Contax is an unorthodox choice for outdoor photography, it works for me." He scoffs at auto-camera features, shoots prints instead of slides - and handles his own color processing. The results are powerhouse images that have appeared in national magazines and won numerous awards including honors from USArt Magazine, Popular Photography, Wildlife Art Magazine, American Photo, Photographer's Forum and Lake Metroparks. Gallery One is located at 7003 Center...more