Dersham to lecture at Wallace State Community College
HANCEVILLE, Ala. — In this day and time, photographers who still shoot with film and who develop and print their own photographs are few and far between. John Dersham is one photographer who still shoots in film, and in large-format at that.
Dersham will present a lecture at 2 p.m., on Wednesday, April 9, in the Recital Hall in the Burrow Center for Fine and Performing Arts. He will discuss his long career as a large-format photographer, his travels and how he preserves his negatives and photographs. He will present a slide show of his work.
Dersham’s work in black and white photography began when his father gifted him in 1960 with a Kodak Brownie camera he received from an Eastman Kodak promotion 30 years earlier. That led to a long and distinguished career in photography. A collection of his works is in the exhibit “Changing Moods – 50 Years in Black and White” currently on display at the Burrow Center for Fine and Performing Arts.
He joined the Mid Missouri Camera Club, which included professors from the University of Missouri’s photography and photojournalism school. Photographers Roger Berg and Andy Tau mentored Dersham, and he studied photography at Truman University and the University of Missouri, where he maintained an on-campus studio.
Dersham spent 30 years working for Eastman Kodak and on his travels for the company he would always pack his cameras so that he could take photos of the interesting places he visited. Large-format photography uses film that is 4-by-5 inches or larger and produces a higher quality and more detailed print.
The lecture is free and open to the public, as is the exhibit on display in the Burrow Museum. The museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The list of events planned for Arts in April include:
– Community Concert Series with the New York Theater Ballet, 4 p.m., April 6, Betty Leeth Haynes Theatre, $20 adults, $10 Students, free with a Wallace State ID or Community Concert Association season pass
– Columnist John Archibald, 9:30 a.m., April 8, Burrow Recital Hall
– Photography Lecture by John Dersham, 2 p.m., April 9, Burrow Recital Hall
– “The Winding Stream: The Carters, The Cashes and the Course of Country Music” film, part of the South Arts Film Festival, 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., April 10, Burrow Recital Hall
– Art Exhibition, April 14-26 in the Burrow Center, 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday
– Piano performance by Katherine Vest, Piano 1st place winner at the 2014 Alabama Federated Music Clubs Auditions, 12:15 p.m., April 15, Burrow Recital Hall
– WSCC Jazz Band Dance, 7 p.m., April 18, Burrow Center, $15 donation
– WSCC Jazz Band at Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, April 19, Carver Theatre in Birmingham; time to be announced
– Musician and composer Kurt Heineke (VeggieTales), 9:30 a.m., April 21, Betty Leeth Haynes Theatre
– Mezzo Soprano Margaret Gill and Tenor Shane Bloemetji, with Mike Sparks accompanying, 12:15 p.m., April 22, Burrow Recital Hall
– Student Convocation, 12:15 p.m., April 24, Burrow Recital Hall
– Beatles Revolution, 9:30 a.m., April 24, Betty Leeth Haynes Theatre
– Beatles Revolution, 7 p.m., April 24-26, Betty Leeth Haynes Theatre, $7 adults, • $5 students, free ages 5 and under
– Art Exhibition Artists’ Reception, 10 a.m. to noon, April 26, Burrow Center
– WSCC Concert Band, 9:30 a.m. April 29, Burrow Recital Hall
– WSCC Concert Band, 7 p.m., May 1, Burrow Recital Hall
For updates and more information about Arts in April, visit www.wallacestate.edu/artsinapril, or call 256.352.8277 or 866.350.9722.