Huntington Arts Council celebrates Earth, Air and Water

The Huntington Arts Council, 213 Main St., Huntington, held an artist reception for its latest exhibit, Earth, Air and Water: A Celebration of Tri-State Wildlife and Nature on Feb. 19. Executive Director Marc Coutrade thanked a packed house for coming and then introduced the judge, New Jersey-based photographer Andrew Darlow.

“It was really an honor to see everyone’s pictures and, like every judge says, it was extremely difficult to choose. There was so much great work and I felt like these were really pictures that were from the area around people’s homes — I could feel it. So often I’ve judged contests with pictures from Bali and all these other places and that’s great but I really felt that spirit and I’m so happy that we kept it in our little Tri-State region,” said Darlow.

Best in Show went to “Crab Meadow Sunset” by Irene Andreadis. Darlow stated, “[The photograph] stands out both as an ideal representation of the show’s theme and for its sheer beauty. The photographer captured the sunlit foreground in sharp focus, with its wonderful desert-like texture. The eye is then led toward two bodies of shimmering water captured perfectly with a bird in flight that appears to have been heaven sent.”

The judge also commented on Honorable Mention “Osprey in the Rain” by Tom Reichert, stating, “This image captures the power of nature via the movement of the rain in the air, plus the miracle of life in the form of a young bird of prey” and Honorable Mention “Cutchogue Barn” by George Gough —“The photographer skillfully combined just a hint of foreground brush to draw us into the image and framed the photograph to make us feel as though we were standing there together with him or her, feet (and possibly a tripod) firmly planted in the snow.”

The photography exhibit will run through Feb. 27. For further information, call 631-271-8423 or visit www.huntingtonarts.org.