by Reneé Mizar
Communications Director, Museum & Arts Center in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley
From the snowcapped peaks of Mount Olympus and crashing waves at Rialto Beach to the mirror-like stillness of Lake Crescent, noted Sequim photographer Ross Hamilton spent 40 years capturing the Olympic Peninsula’s natural beauty with the click of his camera.
The remarkable breadth of Hamilton’s work is encapsulated in “Jewels of the Olympics,” a new solo art exhibition of his photographs now on display at the Museum & Arts Center in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley (MAC).
An artist reception is 5-8 p.m. Friday, March 7, at the MAC Exhibit Center, 175 W. Cedar St. in Sequim, during which admission is free. The reception is part of the green color-themed First Friday Art Walk Sequim.
Featuring 21 photographs printed on canvas, “Jewels of the Olympics” is a retrospective exhibit of Hamilton’s photographs of the region’s varied landscapes and seasonal nature scenes taken over the past four decades.
The exhibition marks his first solo art exhibit in a decade.
“There are very few places on earth where you can get a variety from coast to mountaintop and everything in between in a matter of 50 miles,” Hamilton said of the Olympic Peninsula.
“It’s a very diverse beauty. The landscapes are just so incredible.”
Having been drawn to photography since boyhood, Hamilton said he ventured into commercial photography and chronicling the natural beauty of the Olympic Peninsula upon moving to the area in 1969. Of the thousands of photographs he has taken in the years since, he said the 21 images he chose for exhibition reflect four aspects of the region – the valley, coast, forest and mountains.
“I wanted to give a fairly balanced exposure to all aspects of the peninsula. The design of the show was to give an overall perspective of the beauty,” Hamilton said.
“The delight and the beauty that’s to be found here, it’s just so incredible. There are taller mountains and other coastlines and forests, but this is an extraordinary place.”
All of the showcased images are available for purchase, as is Hamilton’s 2014 Olympic Peninsula photographic 12-month wall calendar, numerous postcards and posters of his photographs, and his book “The Olympics: A Wilderness Trilogy.”
“Jewels of the Olympics” remains on display through April 26 at the MAC Exhibit Center. For additional information about Hamilton’s photography, visit his website at www.rosshamiltonphotography.com.
The MAC Exhibit Center is open 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Call 683-8110 or visit www.macsequim.org for details.
