Nature on display

The+featured+art+of+Antone+G.+Holmquist+displayed+in+the+Moscow+Co-op%2C+Sunday%2C+Jan.+12.

The featured art of Antone G. Holmquist displayed in the Moscow Co-op, Sunday, Jan. 12.

Catherine Kruse Evergreen Reporter

Local artwork returns as the Moscow Food Co-op showcases photographs from Moscow resident Antone G. Holmquist, also known as Rufus T. Firefly.

The Moscow Food Co-op’s mission statement, as stated on its webpage, is “building a strong, dynamic, consumer-owned natural foods cooperative through the use of ethical and sustainable business practices.” The business focuses on supporting local endeavors, farmers and craftspeople.

“We support locally as much as we can,” said Annie Hubble, front end manager for the Co-op.

The Co-op puts on 11 or 12 art shows a year, scheduled monthly, to showcase local artists in the Moscow community. The event starts with an art walk on the first day and the artwork remains on display for up to a month. Holmquist is the featured artist this month.

Holmquist’s work focuses on nature and the outdoors. His artwork at the Co-op includes close-ups of flowers, a variety of wild animals and an action shot of white water rafting. The pictures range in location from Costa Rica to Asia.

“I’ve had an opportunity to photograph a lot of different things in my travels,” Holmquist said. “Lately I’ve been doing Moscow Mountain.”

Holmquist describes the pictures as hobbies and things he’s seen, tending to be more in the outdoors and nature oriented. He’s taken pictures of Cambodian girls digging for crabs, jazz festivals and more.

Two of his landscape works, currently on display at the show, were put on stretched canvas to achieve what he describes as an oil painting look. While he enjoys sharing his photos, Holmquist said one of the more difficult parts of photography is the physical effort it takes to get the perfect shot.

“I take the time to compose the pictures. It can get frustrating when people are hiking with me,” Holmquist said.

Inspiration for Holmquist’s photos came from his interest in foreign cultures and different landscapes. Dick Walker, a fellow photographer and pilot since the 1960s, described Holmquist’s photos as powerful and professional.

“I would encourage anybody to go look at Rufus’s display. I was very impressed,” Walker said.

Walker’s photographs focus largely on nature and mosaics. He has done aerial photography for the Nez Perce tribe and photographed spring Chinook salmon near fish hatcheries.

Walker also had artwork showcased at the Co-op some years before. He suggested to anyone studying photography to experiment working with different lighting sources and test different techniques with photographs, like looking to Photoshop for options in layers and elements.

“There’ll be teenagers and they’re shooting amazing stuff,” Walker said. “I just say, especially with digital, you can bracket a series of exposures. I was very impressed with Rufus’s imagery.”

Holmquist’s work will be available for viewing at the Co-op until Feb. 12.