Russ will do a brief presentation about himself and his art at 6 pm at the gallery. Admission is free. Light refreshments served.

In his own words:

Art is the evoking of emotion through craft.

A photograph has no duration – no past, no future, just a moment. Our perception of the world is based on time. We don’t perceive or experience our environment in ‘fraction of a second’ snapshots. This is countered by taking longer or multiple exposures – using the camera to translate my experience over time into a visual form. Shooting for emotion doesn’t come easy. It’s a learned process that goes beyond the shutter release. Understanding the concept of time in an image is crucial.

Mendocino resident and award winning photographer and videographer Russ Christoff has captured images on nearly every continent and include his Public Television Series, Traveling California State Parks®.

There’s a reason or story behind each of the photographs I exhibit. I see what my camera captures as a point of departure, modified only enough to convey my experience and what motivated me to select that image to begin with. The Mendocino Coast has a magical appeal and ‘the artist’ seeks to convey that ‘magic’ through his eye.

My interpretations of the North Coast are meant to evoke dreamlike images and, perhaps, take the viewer to another place.