Local photographer featured at show

The Community Fine Arts Center is featuring local photographer David Halter from Dec. 10 through Jan. 29. The public is invited to the opening reception Tuesday, Dec. 10 from 5-7 p.m.

Halter is a third generation native of Rock Springs. Most of his hobbies growing up involved computers and technology.

"What once was a hobby turned into my profession, and eventually became a little less fun," Halter said. "Oh, I still enjoy technology, and working on computer systems, but I started to dabble in more creative directions, especially photography."

Starting in 2006, prior to going on a trip to Easter Island, Halter purchased his first DSLR camera, the Canon EOS 20D.

At 8.4 megapixels, "it was the best camera $1500 could buy." The biggest reason for this purchase was that the camera was compatible with lenses his father had from his Canon EOS 35mm film camera.

In the years following his trip to Easter Island, Halter studied photography at Western Wyoming Community College under Paul Ng. He completed all of the photography courses the college had to offer. Learning on film made Halter appreciate the art form more, and even experimented with it later on. He also taught some digital photography courses of his own at WWCC.

Halter and Ng have since became great friends and went on many photography excursions in Wyoming, Utah and Arizona. Many of Halter's photos in his early exhibits were taken from these journeys with Ng.

"My photography's style is all over the place," Halter's said in his artist statement. "I have experimented with many techniques over the years, and my images seem to evolve each year. I try to stay true to the colors and exposure of my landscapes, while still maintaining the feeling I had when I released the shutter."

"My subjects are almost never centered in the frame, and I always try to tighten the depth of field to focus on what matters. For landscapes, it's all about the detail of everything, so those images tend to have very small apertures," Halter said. "For portraits, wild life, and macro shots, I open it up as wide as I can without completely drowning out the background. I also like to experiment with alternative processes by solarizing, compositing multiple images, using exotic filters on my lenses, and leaving the shutter open for a few hours at night.

"I've hiked to locations, turned my kitchen and living room into a makeshift studio, and even borrowed the services of the Rock Springs Fire Department's ladder truck to capture a few pictures," he said. "If I had to pick a style, I guess it would be, everything."

The public is invited to see this exhibit as well as the permanent collection owned by Sweetwater County School District No. 1 at the Community Fine Arts Center.

The center's hours are Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays noon to 5 p.m.