Topton photographer Dorothy Siravo invited family and friends to a reception for her very first gallery show of her photography at The Corner Gallery on the Kutztown University campus Feb. 2.
“The exhibit is entitled The Beauty of Berks County and includes images of our area in all its seasonal splendor,” writes Siravo to The Patriot.
The images were on display from Jan. 30 to Feb. 6. The Corner Gallery is located on the second floor of the McFarland Student Union building on the campus of Kutztown University. If you park in front of the building and enter the doors, go up the stairs, make a hard right and proceed down the hallway to the end, make a right into the Corner Gallery.
Siravo is a secretary in the Geography Department at Kutztown University.
She been a photographer for 30 years. “I began photographing when my daughter was born, about 30 years ago.”
Describing her photography, she writes, “I have always enjoyed documenting family and friends’ events of any kind. In fact THEY usually will ask me to put the camera down!”
Since moving to Pennsylvania, her focus has turned to capturing the ever-changing landscape and the myriad festivals happening at all different times of the year, she writes.
“I attempt to capture the beauty in the mundane. Photography is a subjective art form and others may not see what I see or enjoy my interpretation of a subject. But those that do connect with my images, motivate and inspire me to continue to learn and develop,” she writes.
Originally from New Jersey, Berks County became her home in the spring of 2007.
“No doubt about it, there was definite culture shock upon taking up residence in Topton, PA. Coming from a seriously suburban lifestyle to being surrounded by farms, cows and chickens can shake one up!” writes Siravo in her artist’s statement. “Initially, I had the impression of life here as quaint and whimsical. It was the landscape, the beauty of the surrounding landscape that continually captured my attention. There is so much to see, all around us here in Berks County, if only we take the time to look. There are countless vistas and so many distinctive perspectives that I never tire of the images that present themselves to me on a daily basis.”
Her initial images were captured with her first point and shoot, digital camera which served her well until she graduated to a Canon Rebel DSLR in 2009.
“This was a whole new ballgame! So many new possibilities, but I needed to learn how to master this new tool. Nothing short of serendipity allowed the stars to align in fall of 2011, clearing the way for me to register for a Digital Photography class for non-Arts majors here at KU, taught by Professor Dan Talley. One of the best classes I have ever taken!”
The class gave her the motivation and confidence to go out and shoot.
“The only way to learn and improve is to shoot and shoot some more. I love roaming the back roads of Berks County, constantly on the look-out for that image, the one that will make you say “Ah!”.”
What she likes about photography is being able “to freeze a moment in time, that one moment which will never happen again. It may look the same to another observer, but I look for the subtleties, perhaps infinitesimal, that make each moment different from the next.”
Her current direction and purpose of her photography is the Pennsylvania landscape.
“My very patient and supportive husband observed some time ago that my strongest images are my landscapes. Turns out he is correct. I would like to widen my locale and go further afield to capture more of this very large and diverse state.”
Siravo would like “to continually improve, get better, learn more!”
