Two quests meet in one photo show

Photography, food, and wine were the courses at the Mission Coffee Roasting café in Fremont as people gathered for a reception of two local photographers' joint exhibit on Sunday April 13.

The showing featured work by Laurel Jones and Jacline Deridder, both Fremont residents, and bridged the traditional and digital aspects of the photographic world. All works were for sale.

On one wall the works of Jones, a Chabot photography student, showed off the artist's ability in a variety of traditional prints, ranging from black and white photographs to selectively toned prints.

The other wall was reserved for Belgian-born Deridder, displaying several masterfully printed digital images of landscapes and urban art.

The reception began small but quickly grew as locals arrived to view the artwork. A spread of hors d'oeuvres and a selection of wines and juices were offered as appetizers for the attendees.

According to Jones, the preparation for the reception was a long process. "It seemed to take forever," Jones said before the reception on Saturday. "I spent two days cooking the food for the reception," she added. She also commented that it took five hours to hang the artwork on April 1.

The show was Jones' first major exhibition. "Jacline [Deridder] asked me to hang [artwork] with her," commented Jones. "It was really nice of her to ask me."

Deridder, who has been photographing since 1983, expressed similar feelings.

"I met Laurel while taking classes at the Niles Art Gallery, and I really liked what she did," Deridder said. "I thought we were complementary in our styles."

The theme of the exhibit was a combination of digital and traditional photography with Deridder's work being largely digital prints and Jones' work employing traditional darkroom techniques.

"We figured together, we would cover all of the history of photography," Jones enthusiastically explained. The exhibit will run through Wednesday, April 30 at the Mission Coffee Roasting café.