A Celebration of'Local Color'

Emil RnodelFs photographic exhibit, “Local Color”, opens Saturday, Sept.

21 from 3-6 p.m. at the Red & White Gallery on Fayetteville’s Historic Square. And what better location to show Emil’s work than this Square that he has been photographing over and over again, in different light, and from all angles.

A lifelong photographer who shoots in both color and black and white, Emil has spent several years photographing Fayetteville and the surrounding area. This is a natural creative extension of his dual passions for Fayetteville and photography.

“My central theme is town as protagonist,” states Emil.

“Time, weather, seasonal changes, human activity and other factors represent antagonists. My photographs explore this dynamic while also capturing the simple beauty of a small town caught in the act of being itself.” He also noted that the entire town of Fayetteville (pop. 246) is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and treasures its historic legacy while facing an evolving future.

Living in Fayetteville has afforded Emil the firsthand opportunity to capture images of a small Texas town. For him, the act of taking a photograph is a situational interaction between camera, subject and surrounding environment.

Central to this is natural lighting and point of view. His photographs sometimes feel like intentional snapshots.

Many are taken quickly like street photography, his lefteye dominance shaping the composition.

His photojoumalistic approach often finds him returning to familiar subjects to document progressive changes over time (such as Fayetteville’s courthouse). There’s also a preservationist aspect to his work as he captures photographs of original structures sometimes lost to time and progress.

Emil’s unique perspective comes from his years in marketing, advertising, journalism and magazine publishing where he worked closely with artists, photographers and graphic designers. Today, after serving as a Fayetteville City Councilman, he operates several local businesses and walks the streets and pathways of our area looking for images that excite him. He consistently shares his images on his Instagram account cityoffayettevilletexas, an ongoing photography project dedicated to informally documenting Fayetteville and surrounding areas.

You’re invited to come and meet Emil and see this colorful collection of his work at the gallery opening. Also, you may view his work now online at: www.redandwhitegalleryonline. com.