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KULTURE
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2007
From our front porches
Photographer sees Lawrence's beauty through camera lens
BY ALISON CUMBOW
Ben Gerrard is a laid-back guy from Adelaide, Australia.
He sees everything a normal University of Kansas student sees. Lawrence streets named after states, the gigantic trees that line them, and the houses on every corner — but he sees it all through a camera lens.
He takes pictures of what most would consider ordinary; scenes from his front porch at Eighth and Arkansas streets.
Gerrard began taking an interest in photography while living in Athens, Georgia.
"I started photographing local bands, which is where I really began exploring the digital medium," he said.
In August of last year, upon moving to Lawrence, Gerrard began working for Lawrence.com as its "party pics" main man.
"The opportunity really forced me to capture any images I could with artistry because I didn't have time to set up or look at my shot," he said.
When Gerrard first arrived in Kansas, he said he wrongfully compared Lawrence to his previous college town in Georgia.
It wasn't until he decided to exhibit some of his work and began generating ideas for photographs that he saw the simplistic beauty Lawrence had to offer
"It took seeing things through a camera to make me stop and realize what I was really looking at," Gerrard said.
With the goal of an exhibition, Gerrard began to work from the front porch of his house.
"I was struck by how beautiful West Lawrence is with all its big trees, and I wanted to capture that aspect from one spot. I wanted to master the ability to take a compositionally beautiful photograph," he said.
"I feel I have an eye for it, because I come from somewhere very foreign to
here. I do not look at Lawrence with the familiar eye that those who have lived here their whole lives do," he said.
Now on display in Starbucks on Massachusetts Street, Gerrard's vision has given many people something not only to look at, but also to question.
"I think it is really cool that someone would aspire to take pictures like this, and I would definitely buy some of them if I had the extra money." Katie Crowley, Lawrence junior, said.
Gerrard's photography ranges in price from $65 for an unframed print to $85 for a framed print.
"The prices are low, because I want people to enjoy and appreciate what I do, and I want students to be able to afford my pictures." Gerrard said.
His pictures have been on display since April 1, and will be on the walls of Starbucks until the end of June.
Gerrard's photos seem to give the coffee shop an edge worth going in for. While most of his work isn't edited, some of the close-ups have been cropped, and others have been experimented with digitally.
The most commercially popular picture is one in which Gerrard changed the color of the sky.
"I took out a gray sky and replaced it with a chocolate one," he said. "It made it look richer than before, and it gave more warmth to the photo. It had a spooky effect, which I really liked. I wanted to show I was capturing nature at its finest."
Some people spend a lot of time in Starbucks, whether for studying or socializing with friends.
Gerrard works part time at Starbucks and loves the feedback he gets from both the customers and his co-workers.
"I think his pictures are very representative of Lawrence, and the fact that he isn't even from here but is able to capture our town in this way, is awesome," said Whitney Downum, a Sedelia, Mo., senior, and co-worker of Gerrard.
As for the future, Gerrard plans to work on a bachelor of social work degree while his fiancée does a doctoral internship at the University.
Edited by Stacey Couch
The photography of Ben Gerrard hangs on the walls of the Starbucks on Massachusetts Street. The exhibit, "From my Front Porch," was taken on his front porch at Eight and Arkansas streets.
All photos by Sarah Leonard/KANSAN
other photography exhibits on display in Lawrence
"Solucination"
Mirth
745 New Hampshire St.
"t-day"
Milton's
920 Massachusetts St.
"Between Earth and Sky"
Lawrence Bank
3500 Clinton Parkway
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