Don Urquhart, Times-Chronicle
For many residents of the South Okanagan, Greg Reely is recognizable if not by name then certainly through his exquisite images.
Stunning star scenes, local landscapes, weather events, birds and animals, you name it. The Osoyoos photographer opened his first solo show, Photoscapes, at The Art Gallery Osoyoos on Saturday, Feb. 12. It continues through Mar. 5.
Reely, who is president of the Osoyoos Photography Club, is clearly thrilled to have his first solo exhibition after exhibiting in various venues as part of a group.
“This is my first solo show, I’ve done shows at JoJo’s Cafe but that’s not a gallery,” he says. He’s also participated in many group shows over the years, particularly with the photo club “which is nice, we get between a dozen, 15, 16 photographers.” This includes shows at the Peachland and Penticton art galleries.
He hadn’t actually planned it as a solo show, but when the other photographer dropped out he considered finding someone to partner with but then figured he had enough work to exhibit on his own. “I’ve got enough work I thought to myself. More than enough,” he laughs.
Passionate about his craft, it’s actually just a hobby for him. His day job centres around music production of which his specialty is mixing and mastering out of his home studio.
He works with artists all over the world who just send him their digital files. Reely has become somewhat of a household name thanks to his sharing of images on FaceBook. “I started sharing my photos online during the pandemic. For people that may have been out but didn’t see what I saw or for those that couldn’t get out, I thought why not.”
Most of his work is digital, in fact, 95 per cent of it, with the remainder film-based. Because he shoots in ‘raw’ format, meaning the images are completely untouched by the camera’s processor, he spends substantial time on post-production using software such as Photoshop and other specialist apps.
He also participated in the Market on Main last year for the first time. “I enjoyed talking to people and sharing my work and selling a few prints which started to help pay for my hobby. I’m not going to get rich but it helps pay for my equipment,” he says. “It’s definitely a hobby that turned into a small business,” he adds with a laugh.
Composite images are his latest focus. “I’m getting a little more into this composite thing because I enjoy following some artists that go to great extremes editing. I enjoy this but it’s very time consuming.” Composite images can involve anything from a couple of images all the way up to dozens or more all overlaid on each other. This produces some of the stunning effects that he achieves. But having said that, a great many of his photos are based only on one single image or single images stitched together giving a wider perspective.
He prints these images on a variety of media, including canvas, metal, acrylic and regular framed prints. And just so you know, while he prints at Opus Arts in Vancouver – a well-known premium photo printer – he also prints some at London Drugs where he says the quality is not bad and the price is equally amenable.
And as much as a high degree of photographic skill and creative artistry play into his stunning photos, sometimes it’s just a matter of “being at the right place at the right time,” he says.
The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. COVID safety precautions are in place.
