How to go
What: Dan Patterson’s “American Landscapes”
Where: Centerville Police Dept. Gallery, 155 W. Spring Valley Road, Centerville
When: Continues through Jan. 31
Hours: 24 hours, seven days a week
More info: 937-367-4639 or www.flyinghistory.com
Upon reading the title of one of Dan Patterson’s “American Landscapes” now showing at the Centerville Police Department Gallery, one might wonder how it could possibly be categorized as American. “Omaha Beach at Dawn, Normandy, France” was taken by the photographer in 2008.
“It is a uniquely American landscape because 2,500 Americans died on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944,” said Patterson, a Dayton resident. “I walked out on the beach at dawn, the same time the invasion happened.”
Patterson loves history, especially aviation history. He’s a pilot and has written more than 30 books, the great majority about aviation. Patterson was honored with the Harry B. Combs Award for Excellence in the Preservation of Aviation History by the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2003. But this particular exhibit is about his own history as a photographer.
When Patterson was 15 and a student at Colonel White High School, he had a job at the North News Tribune, published by Arthur Beerman. He was noticed for his camera prowess by instructors at the Living Arts Center in an after-school program. These same instructors were reporters for that newspaper.
“They called me ‘the kid.’ The ongoing joke was I didn’t have my driver’s license yet, so the reporters had to take me to shoots,” remembers Patterson. “But I had more money than most high school students. I was paid $50 a week, and in 70s dollars that was quite a bit.”
This series of about 2 dozen photographs span his career from college to the present. The oldest image being shown is “Pigs and Snow,” a black and white he shot back in 1972 while a fine arts major at Wright State. Even back then, he showed a tremendous aptitude for composition.
This grouping he calls “not necessarily traditional” includes “Laundry Along U.S. Rt. 36, Ohio” he captured west of Piqua in a German Baptist community about 10 years ago. He had been meeting with barn reconstructors for whom he was doing photography work.
“It was a very windy day. The laundry was on the line, and it was like it was dancing and waving at me,” said Patterson. “I loved the wonderful subtle colors; it just demanded a picture.”
Other images in the series include “Solitary Tree, Indiana, 2007” and “Take me out to the Ball Game, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2006,” and “Irises” taken in own his front yard in 2009.
Besides working on his own photography, Patterson lectures about photography and aviation history. He was fortunate to go on a two-week Smithsonian cruise this past November, gratis. He only had to give five lectures and a couple of photography workshops while onboard. The cruise left from Montreal, Canada bound for the east coast of Florida.
“It was a great gig,” said Patterson.
Next up, Patterson is the featured artist for Art at the Trace in Centerville on Feb. 6. To purchase advance tickets, go online to www.centervilleohio.gov.
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