Two separate photo exhibits are currently gracing the walls of the Harvey Milk Photo Center in Duboce Park.
The 75-year-old gallery and photo studio space is putting on its first annual Staff and Volunteer Exhibition, showcasing the art of the hardworking people who make the classes, darkroom space, and facility function day-to-day.
The Photo Center has between 15 and 20 teachers on staff, who instruct the general public on photo skills from film development basics to studio portrait lighting to iPhone photography. The Center contains a modern digital lab with flatbed scanners and a large printer, a darkroom with 28 enlargers, and a film processing room with stacks of supplies, all available for members to use.
But since the Center reopened after a lengthy $12 million renovation in 2010, membership has been surprisingly low considering what the space offers to budding (or experienced) photographers. An unlimited 6-month membership runs at $155, and includes use of all facilities and chemicals. Right now, the Center has approximately 100 members, with plenty of capacity for more.
"When I first started coming here, you had to arrive early to just get an enlarger before they were all taken," reminisced teacher Chris Gould. As he showed us around early on a Wednesday evening, only two darkroom stations out of 28 were taken.
But even 100 members require extensive staff and volunteers to set up studios and darkrooms, register new students, and press and store member's prints. As the Center is a non-profit, volunteers help keep the wheels turning—and in exchange gain access to the facilities and the opportunity to exhibit photos. (If you're interested in volunteer opportunities you can find out more here.)
Today, those hardworking individuals will get a chance to share their own work, in the lobby and along hallways of the Photo Center.
Along with the staff and volunteer exhibit, a show titled In Motion is currently on display in the main gallery, put on by the Bay Area Photographers Collective.
Curator Hal Fischer (who we interviewed recently) will give a talk during today's reception on the theme and selection of the work. "The ability to perceive motion is fundamental to our human capacity to interpret, adapt to, and shape our environment," Fischer writes in the show's description. "Some of the most iconic photography in history capture objects and people in motion, and does so in ways that stir the mind and heart."
Additional staff and volunteer photos are on exhibition at McLaren Lodge at 501 Stanyan St. (near the entrance to Golden Gate Park). Open hours for visitors are 9-5pm, Monday through Friday.
The opening reception for both shows will take place today, Jan. 23rd, from 1-4pm at the Harvey Milk Photo Center (50 Scott St.). Regular gallery hours are Tuesdays/Wednesdays 4-8pm, Thursdays 1-9pm, and Saturdays/Sundays 12-5pm. Both shows will be up through March 3rd.
