About 'Destinations' and artist Conrad  Matiuk:

Conrad has been taking photographs for over 50 years. He considers his first thirty years were “practice” years, and it was only after he relocated from Northern Virginia to Rockbridge County in 2005 that his photography became more serious. He recalls, “I remember one of the first works I sold was a moody, misty vista of the Blue Ridge Mountains taken from our backyard. I had printed, matted and framed the photo myself. The photo was being displayed at a holiday market in a local store and a man, about my age, bought the picture. A few days later I called him to thank him for his patronage and what he said next to me just blew me away: “I bought your photo because it reminded me of my daughter-who just recently passed away.” He understood then the power that art can have on people.

An avid traveler, Conrad exclaims, “Landscape photography can be challenging but often you’re just in the right place at the right time. Sometimes you travel with your camera in your hand waiting for “it” to happen and you have to be ready—and patient. There are times that I need to remind myself to pull my eye away from the camera viewfinder and just let the views soak into my mind’s eye where indelible images will be stored for a long time. I hope you enjoy viewing Destinations as much as I enjoyed reviewing eight years of memories to pull it together for the exhibit.”

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