The Griffing Gallery of the Kallet Civic Center will be hosting an exhibit of Oneida resident, Howard Astrachan’s nature photography beginning Jan. 10, 2017. The public is invited to view his work between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
According to Astrachan, he has always had an interest in photography, beginning when he was just a boy. His earliest recollection is having a Kodak Brownie box camera taken away from him by his father.
Apparently, Howard didn’t clearly understand the meaning of, “Do not open the camera with film in it.”
His facility with cameras and photo developing continued through high school where he was the yearbook spots photographer during his senior year, and into college, where he was able to fit in a black-and-white photography course along with his math and education courses. Later when he had a growing family, Howard filled many family photo albums with his various 35 mm film cameras.
His avid interest in nature photography began in 1992 during a seven-week family road trip across the country to the Oregon coast. Seeing and photographing the natural beauty of our national parks was a life-changing experience; he was so enamored of the vistas before him that he had to be reminded more than once to take photos of his three children in addition to the waterfalls and rock formations.
Retirement from his math classroom after 33 years at Canastota High School allowed Howard to devote more time to his passion for photography. The advent and continued improvement of digital cameras and ink jet printers helped him to become more technically proficient. Howard’s subjects include water in motion, landscapes, wildlife, and flowers.
The photographs on exhibit at the Kallet are samples of his work from Alaska, Maine, Oregon, Florida and New York, including images captured right outside his back door in Oneida.
Information about purchasing any of the photos may be found at the exhibit or by contacting Howard directly at 315-264-1543 or hastrach@gmail.com. His exhibit will run through the end of February. Artists interested in displaying work at the Kallet may contact the office at 315-363-8525.