Upper Lake >> If you’re ever in the car with Bonnie Sears, you better be prepared for an impromptu stop along the side of the road. As a photographer, she just can’t resist a good photo op. And living in an area as beautiful as this, she’s certainly not wanting for any of those.
“When I’m driving to work and I see the sunrise over Clearlake, I just have to stop and capture that,” Sears said. “I have too many shots of Clearlake.”
The Lake County Wine Studio artist of the month has been taking photographs since receiving her first camera in the 1980s — a gift from her mother. But in the past 30-odd years, it’s never become anything more than a hobby. She’s taken a class here and there through local instructors, but otherwise Sears has learned the tricks of the trade through trial and error.
And she knows she still has plenty to learn. While Sears captures a specific moment in time, she hopes to one day understand how to have better control over the camera, how to set the lighting and recreate a scene. That way, she wont have to impulsively pull over and tug out her camera before everything changes.
For the month of February, Sears’ work will hang on the walls of the wine studio in Upper Lake. The show features a wide variety of work — everything from cars to landscapes, sunrises and flowers.
But her favorite subjects by far are animals. For a time Sears even aspired to work as a wildlife photographer, and she spent a great deal of time traveling from zoos to sanctuaries to nature preserves. When photographing animals, you don’t have to worry about them noticing you, becoming self conscious and staring awkwardly at the camera.
“They are who they are. They don’t care who you are,” Sears said.
In any given year Sears takes several thousand photographs. But since she isn’t a professional photographer, most of these are for her personal enjoyment, so she can look back on a scene and remember being there. Each Christmas, however, she makes calendars comprised of her favorite 12 photos from that year. The calendars are gifted to only her family members, with one exception — Susan Fieler, proprietor of the Lake County Wine Studio, also receives one.
So it’s fitting that Sears’s first show in five years is taking place at the Upper Lake establishment. And since Sears has so much material to work with, she had a difficult time choosing what to include in the show. It ultimately came down to feedback she’d received. She picked those photos others seemed to gravitate toward.
Sears also lost her mother in the last year, so she paid homage to her, including many of the images her mother had loved.
Sears doesn’t over think the art form. She has no messages behind her work, nothing urgent she’s attempting to convey. When she pulls out the camera, the only thing on her mind is the sound of the shutter and the scene before her. “The moment moves me and I know if I capture it with my camera I can go back and look at it again,” she said.
There will be a reception for Sears at the wine studio tonight from 4-7 p.m. Wines from Jelly Jar Wines and appetizers by Chic Le Chef will be served for $15 a person or $12.50 for wine club members.
The Lake County Wine Studio is located at 9505 Main St., Upper Lake. For more information call the studio at 275-8030 or 293-8752.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
