By Laurie O’Neill — Correspondent
Since he was seven, Gene Rork has been making images of the natural world and its wonders.
But it wasn’t until Rork perused a book of Ansel Adams’ “incredibly clear and superbly composed” black and white photographs in 1958 and then looked at the work of another renowned photographer, Eliot Porter, that he began to pursue photography more seriously.
“I immediately thought of scenes I saw in nature that I wanted to bring back to show others in the same way,” he says.
Rork has said he “tries to capture some of the drama, intricacies, and multifarious hues of the natural world in its changing seasons.” His images are of mainly local scenes, including Walden Pond, Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, and the Battle Road Trail in Minute Man National Historical Park.
Rork’s photographs are on display through July at the Harvey Wheeler Community Center in West Concord. He has also exhibited at other venues, including the Concord Art Association.
A Concord resident since 1979, Rork is a physicist who recently retired at age 83 from MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington after a career in electro-optic surveillance for artificial satellites, asteroids, and comets. He was a subcontractor consultant, working with sensor design, development, and testing.
Early on in his pursuit of photography, Rork used a 4×5 sheet film view camera because, he has said, “its adjustment capability and large negative capacity make it superior to smaller roll film cameras for my photographs, which are 16×20 inches in size and matted in 22×28 inch frames.”
He moved to a digital camera in 2016, which allows him to do the same thing, and he has digitized his earlier images. Sometimes, he uses his cell phone camera.
Rork considers photography his avocation. His purpose in making images of nature is to inspire “everyone who sees them to realize how wonderful our world is,” he says, “and to come away with a renewed desire to take care of it.”
Rork’s photographs are on display at the Harvey Wheeler Community Center in West Concord until August 1. Hours are Monday to Thursday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
