THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 6, 1995 TAG: 9501040131
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02B EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARLENE FORD, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
By day (and often by night, too) they are healers and life-savers.
Take away their beepers, give them a little good light and snap, they're photographers, too.
The current exhibit by a group called the Medical Outdoor Photographers is being presented at the Cape Henry Collegiate School Everett Hall Gallery. The public show, a nature-lover's treat, contains approximately 40 works by seven of the 18 members. It runs the gamut of subjects to include a mountain range in Alaska to splotches of waterway just off Hampton Boulevard, wild and glorious elk from the Canadian Rockies to a backyard robin.
``Practicing medicine and the love of nature,'' shrugged Dr. Joseph A. Robbins, one of the award-winning photographers in the group. ``Physicians are impressed with the beauty and complexity of the human organism, and those same patterns exist in all animals and all nature.''
The Medical Outdoor Photographers came together for the first time four years ago. Devoted to both the stethoscope and shutter, individual members fill their precious spare hours reading books on nature and the art. They attend photo workshops and some negotiate family vacations with an eye toward new locales and nature subjects. Many are also active environmentalists.
The club itself is loosely organized - no dues, not a lot of rules and just once-a-year meetings.
``But it became apparent over time that there were some of us who had this common interest,'' Robbins said. ``So we thought we would meet over dinner and drinks and each of us show 25 of our best slides. We talk about what we've done and compare notes; it's all very positive and right for us.''
Robbins also touches quickly on the shared experience of those dealing with stress and/or life-or-death emergencies on a daily basis. For physicians, the escape into the calmer, gentler side of nature is a welcome balance.
In an office space decorated with photos of mountains, whitewater rivers and a fair sampling of the local bird population, the cardiologist said, ``People tell me these have certain tranquilizing properties to them. Although I don't know if it's the pictures or my memories around the pictures, they do for me, too.''
Members exhibiting in this show include Dr. Reginald ``Bucky'' Henry, a dermatologist, who is featuring works from Utah, Montana and British Columbia, Canada; and Dr. David McDaniel, a dermatologist, with photographs from Alaska and the Southwest. Dr. Irving Pike, a gastroenterologist, is showcasing his creative use of light and natural reflections.
Dr. Carl Hartman, a cardiologist, is exhibiting pictures from an African safari. His son Jeff Hartman, a hospital administrator is also exhibiting. Emergency room physician Gil Schmidt is showing photos of his climb of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Photographs for this exhibit by Robbins are primarily from the Cotswalds of England. His awards include ``The Best in Photography Annual,'' by Photographer's Forum Magazine and publications in Canon In-Focus magazine.
`` . . . for those who have just a little spare time (to develop the skills of a hobby), it's a lot safer than all of us becoming pilots,'' Robbins said with a laugh. MEMO: The public may view nature through the eyes of physicians at Cape Henry
throughout the month. For information, call 481-2446.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARLENE FORD
Dr. Joseph A. Robbins and his photograph of a baby robin and egg
that won an award from Photographer's Forum magazine.
WHEN AND WHERE
Medical Outdoor Photographers, Cape Henry Collegiate School, 1320
Mill Dam Road, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays through January. Free
and open to the public. Call 481-2446.
by CNB