Nyel, Sydney, Rich

In summation:  loved the book, loved the exhibit, loved meeting the author!  I’m talking here about last night’s reception for the opening of Rich Bergeman’s “Swan’s Land” exhibition at the Columbia Heritage Museum.  Even though I had read and pondered over his book by the same name, I found that seeing the photographs, enlarged and in person, was a glorious experience.  And, meeting the photographer/artist, himself, was the best part of all.

“Sydney!” he called out to me as I approached to introduce myself.  “You look taller in your blog!”  It was by-far-and-away the most unusual greeting from a heretofore unmet person I’d ever received.  Rich was standing with Betsy Millard and Cate Gabel and we all burst into laughter.  And that was stunning, too!

“Swan’s Land” – The Book

We talked for a bit about his book and about other projects that he’s done, now that he is retired.  A writer, editor and educator during his career, and a fine art photographer for over 25 years, Rich now devotes himself to chronicling the disappearing traces of bygone days in the Pacific Northwest.

The inspiration for Swan’s Land came from James Swan’s The Northwest Coast; or, Three Years’ Residence in Washington Territory.  During his 2015 residency at Willapa Bay AiR in Oysterville, Rich retraced Swan’s steps so that he might photograph what Swan saw back in the early 1850s.  The photographs, taken with infrared film, fairly shimmer with the past, inviting imagination to fill in the ghosts of the “oyster boys” and “Indians north of the Columbia” from Swan’s remarkable book.

I so enjoyed our visit that I forgot to ask Rich what he is working on now.  I expect that Cate found out all the pertinent information and hope it will appear in her column next week!  Meanwhile, I intend to go back and linger over each photograph, read the accompanying excerpts from both books – Swan’s and Bergeman’s – and feel tall from the experience.  As tall as I seem in my blog!