A Thousand Cranes Open Edition Photograph

Betty Dabney is a retired professor of public health who has been a serious photographer for over twenty years. She has won awards in juried shows, had one-person shows, and exhibited in prestigious galleries. She says, “I strive to capture the essence of a subject, to make it seem more real than reality itself.” There is no formula for her work. Each image is what the subject calls for, whether it be color or black & white, contemporary or antique, figurative or abstract. Originally a painter, her work has a luminous, painterly quality that can make the viewer wonder if the image was real or not. She cites the Impressionists, Paul Cézanne, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Eliot Porter, and Ansel Adams as major influencers of her work. She does not work in a studio. Rather, she captures colours and compositions in the real world with her artistic vision that beauty is everywhere; we only need look for it. The common thread running through all of her work is to evoke a reaction of pleasant surprise, for the viewer to think, “WOW – That is so beautiful!” Her work engages the viewers at a deep level and shows them how to see the world in new ways. After all, that is the nature and purpose of art. Come, let us make this beautiful journey together.