When Durango photographer MaryAnne Nelson was planning a bike tour in northern Argentina this spring with her husband, Bill Palmer, she procured a special camera bag that she could latch to the front of her bike. That way, her Nikon would always be within reach.
It came in handy. She snapped hundreds of photos of people, places and landscapes as she and Palmer traveled by bike and plane from the streets of Buenos Aires to the wine country of the Salta Province to the famed Iguazu waterfalls that straddle the border of Brazil.
Nelson will share 15 of her best images from the trip in a solo show that opens Friday in the Open Shutter Gallery's Red Room. The exhibit, “Northern Argentina,” will be up through Aug. 6.
The show is a visual tour of the northwest quadrant of the South American country. It includes images of a wizened street merchant setting out her wares, a tango dancer in fishnets and a coat on a cobbled street and the massive, semicircular Iguazu waterfalls, which drop nearly 300 feet in a series of dramatic cataracts.
This is the first solo show for Nelson, who has been pursuing photography since she retired from school teaching in 2002, and it signifies a big step for her as she gets more serious about her newly found passion.
“I guess I had it in the back of my mind, during the trip, that I would like to show my photos if I had enough good ones,” she said. “Part of being creative is sharing your creativity.”
Nelson has lived in the area since 1975 and was a school teacher for many years in local schools, most recently at Needham Elementary. During her teaching career, she always had an interest in arts, she said, but teaching took up so much of her energy that she never had time to pursue them.
It wasn't until retiring in 2002 that she started to explore her artistic side. She dabbled in oil painting and drawing but really found her passion after taking a class with local photographer Paul Boyer.
Taking photos, she said, has taught her a new appreciation of perspectives and forces her to slow down and really look at things.
“The ordinary can be truly extraordinary,” Nelson said. “If you keep your eyes open, you just see so much beauty.”
Photography has taken the place of teaching as her celebration of creativity and helped her continue to be an autonomous learner – something that's important to the education-minded woman.
“Everyone should follow the passion that they have,” she said.
It's also her way of sharing her explorations of the world, be it in the Four Corners or in farther-flung locations.
In this case, her show takes a journey through northern Argentina, where the landscapes range from vast salt flats to mountains striated with shades of red, chile-growing agricultural regions and the urbane, European-influenced streets of Buenos Aires.
Pedaling through the countrysides, vineyards and valleys of the country, Nelson said, gave her plentiful opportunities to take photos. Luckily, her camera was always within reach.
kklingsporn@durangoherald.com
If you go
MaryAnne Nelson's photography exhibit will open with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at Open Shutter Gallery, 735 Main Ave., 382-8355.
