Gould's golden eye to be on display at Havelock art show

Many of Sarah Gould’s photographs ask a question: What happened here?

That is an excellent quality for a photograph to have.

Gould’s work suggests that the photographer is on a journey and in her pictures she is finding clues to understanding her surroundings.

Gould is the featured artist at the 30th annual A Touch of Class Art Show Friday through Sunday at the Havelock Tourist and Event Center.

"I grew up with a camera in my hand," Gould said.

Her subjects are always nature and rarely people.

In one shot, old boards broken and wedged in the rocks ask other questions: How do you get here? Are you from a house cast into the sea? Are you the gunwhale of a boat lost in a storm? All of these questions come from a few boards found by the photographer’s eye and captured by her camera on the shore.

In another photo, an old rusted car in Sicily sits next to an old fuel pump. It makes one wonder where that car had been back in the day and what color it might have been painted.

Another photo of docks without water shows the amazing height of the tidal changes there.

"The tide drops 28 feet in Nova Scotia," said Gould, who has traveled far and wide with her camera.

In one photo, an old skiff rots into the mud along a marsh off Merrimon Road in Carteret County. The picture makes the viewer wonder where and what that little boat did when it was floating proudly. Who made it and how long did it last?

"There’s very little of the boat left now," Gould said.

Gould’s straight forward picture of a barn fenced by junk trees says this old place’s time has come and gone. It makes one wonder what the old building once served as and who might have worked there.

Gould has obviously embraced the Down East locale as a place to experiment with her camera.

"I love the water. I love Cape Lookout. I take my camera when I kayak," Gould said.

Lighthouses, jellyfish, dolphins, fishing boats and docks all have a place in her portfolio along with glorious shoreline sunsets.

One picture of her dog eyeballing a tree frog shows that Gould has become quick to capture the moment and is able to see a comedic situation when it evolves. In another, the dripping tale of a whale and in another a dolphin’s face are captured by her skillful use of the camera. It’s not easy to do and takes years to master.

Some of Gould’s work is beautiful in its simplicity. In one, low tide on a tidal flat exposes a plateau of water-worn, rounded stones that make for an interesting landscape.

In another photo, tree

branches frame the path to a shoreline that makes the viewer want to walk right down to the water’s edge. Another photograph shot from below backlit dogwood blossoms in full bloom is just simply stunning.

Gould got serious about photography when her husband gave her a Pentax Spotmatic film camera and a bag full of lenses about 30 years ago.

"It was the whole works," she said.

She resisted at first, but now she has graduated to a Canon digital camera.

"I still see things the same way," Gould said. "Now I can take more pictures and delete them off the computer without it costing anything."

Nature serves as her favorite subject.

"It’s calming. I love listening to the birds," Gould said. "They say you are at peace in nature, I think is the saying. Living where I do, I’m a block from the Neuse River. I go walk and look for the ospreys. I love taking pictures of the ospreys. I just try to stand back as far as I can without interfering with what’s going on."

Several of Gould’s family members have at one time or another embraced photography, which makes one think it’s in her blood.

"We all have the eye for it," Gould said.

The Havelock Cultural Arts Committee sponsors the art show, which will feature works for sale from area students and professional artists. An opening reception is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, with hours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free for all three days.