All images copyright by the individual photographers

	Patterns #2 by  Dick Beery This is one of the photos from Dick’s exhibition of photographs from the Oregon Coast, Rochester and northern California in the Neuberger Gallery.The photograph reads like a study in rhythm and restraint. Tight cropping removes distracting context and forces the eye to move along the ridges and grooves, turning the surface into an almost-musical score of lines and highlights. The diagonal and curved directions create dynamic tension while repeating motifs provide visual stability, so the photograph feels both energetic and composed. Titled Patterns # 2 was shot on the Oregon coast; the image transforms a natural fragment into an abstract landscape. The mineral-like textures and layered striations suggest geological time and coastal processes without signaling a literal shoreline, which invites viewers to reconsider familiar place-based imagery as pattern, surface, and material. Light is the picture’s hero. Subtle specular highlights and soft sheens across the peaks emphasize surface relief and give the work a tactile presence. The interplay of matte and reflective areas makes the texture legible at multiple viewing distances: intimate and granular close up, architectural and topographic from afar. The restrained palette of warm golds, cool silvers, and deep charcoals reads as both elegant and elemental. Color modulation is economical but sophisticated.  Tonal contrast is balanced so that no single area dominates; instead, the eye is encouraged to discover the image slowly. There’s a quiet awe to the photograph: it asks the viewer to slow down and appreciate the accidental artistry of natural processes. The abstracted surface becomes a metaphor for time, erosion, and resilience, evoking both the intimate labor of rock and the vastness of coastal systems. This photograph succeeds because it elevates a fragment of the coast into a formally rigorous, sensorial experience that rewards both quick glances and sustained looking. By Steve Levinson
	Snow and Fog by Lisa Cook Image City Photography Gallery is pleased to recognize Snow and Fog, by Lisa Cook, with a Gallery Pick Award. This striking black and white photograph captures the poignant serenity of a winter forest wrapped in silence, where fog weaves gently among the trees, softening edges and uniting the scene in stillness. The delicate tones and graceful arrangement of the trees invite viewers to linger, discovering new layers of depth and beauty with each glance.  The photograph reveals the quiet dialogue between light and form, where fog softens every edge into gentle gradations, dissolving distance and depth into quiet mystery. Lisa’s mastery of tonal range---from the deep blacks of the foreground branches, through the silvery grays of the drifting fog, to the translucent whites beyond---gives the photograph its quiet strength and emotional depth. Snow and Fog reminds us of how beauty can emerge from the simplest elements: air, light, and patience. Lisa’s ability to balance strength and subtlety results in an image that feels timeless and meditative.  A deserving recipient of the Gallery Pick Award, Lisa’s image exemplifies the contemplative allure that fine black and white photography can achieve.  Beautifully done, Lisa! By Marie Costanza
	The Echoes of Her Soul by Elena Dilai In the Gallery Pick, The Echoes of Her Soul, Elena Dilai merges exquisite beauty with haunting symbolism. A young woman sits serenely, her closed eyes and calm composure suggesting peace---but above her, an ornate headdress blooms into a garden of decay and remembrance. Within the tangled mass of dried flowers and leaves, ghostly faces emerge--each one a silent echo of grief, endurance, and memory. Inspired by the resilience of Ukrainian refugees, Elena’s work captures the paradox of trauma held with grace: calm on the surface, yet carrying the immense, unspoken sorrow of displacement and loss. The muted tones, intricate textures and classical styling lend the portrait an ageless quality, while the embedded visages whisper of the countless souls carried within. This is a deeply moving image, both intimate and monumental, a portrait not of one woman, but of many. Technically, the image is masterfully executed, its controlled lighting and meticulous composition draw attention to every layer of the elaborate headpiece and the soft stillness of the subject’s expression. The rich tonal range and painterly precision evoke the depth and mood of the Old Master portrait, seamlessly blending photographic realism with symbolic artistry.  Well done, Elena! By Marie Costanza
	Inverted Heaven by Olena Kondrashova Olena has created a visually and emotionally powerful photograph—one that merges fine art, portraiture, and conceptual expression with careful control of composition and tone. The human body is treated almost like a living sculpture—tense, vulnerable, and graceful. The mirror introduces a narrative layer: it fragments the space and introduces another figure, adding depth, mystery, and psychological tension. The draped fabric beneath the figure creates a strong visual grounding and a subtle allusion to classical drapery in Renaissance art. The muted, earthy palette contributes to the photograph’s emotional warmth and timeless feel. The pose—defensive, fetal, inward-looking—suggests vulnerability, introspection, or even confinement. The cracked and peeling wall deepens the sense of time and fragility—an environment that mirrors psychological wear or human impermanence. There’s an interplay between exposure and concealment, both physical and emotional. It’s intimate but not erotic; expressive but not explicit. The image provokes reflection—it feels like a study of identity and the human condition. This photograph succeeds on both aesthetic and conceptual levels. It’s visually arresting, emotionally resonant, and technically refined. It blurs the line between photography and painting. This is an exceptional piece of fine art photography—intimate, psychological, and beautifully composed. By Don Menges
	Landing – LGA by Devin Mack This is a striking aerial photograph of New York City, showing a sweeping view of Manhattan with the East River and several bridges in the foreground. Devin has chosen a dynamic composition that layers bridges, islands, and skyscrapers beautifully. The eye naturally travels from the foreground bridge (the Hell Gate Bridge) to the Queensboro Bridge, then up into the vertical forms of Manhattan’s skyline. The receding tones and depth cues lead the viewer deep into the image — it has a cinematic scale. Including both water and skyline it creates a powerful sense of place. The monochrome palette gives the image a timeless, documentary quality. Good contrast between the river’s highlights and the darker bridges emphasizes structure and form. There are fine details in the bridges and the midtown buildings are well-defined. The consistent focus across the frame supports the vast cityscape feel. The photograph conveys both grandeur and density — a sense of human achievement and urban complexity. The muted tones and hazy atmosphere give it a contemplative or nostalgic feeling, suggesting perhaps a reflection on the power and permanence of the city. This is an expertly composed and technically solid cityscape with impressive scale and perspective. By Don Menges
	Mosaic of Fire and Ice by Larry Mandelker Larry Mandelker has contributed a handful of photos from his recent trip to Iceland. This photograph, titled Mosaic of Fire and Ice depicts Landmannalaugar, a stunning highland region of Iceland renowned for its rhyolite mountains, lava fields, and geothermal contrasts is exceptional. His elevated exposure whether from a drone or high ground creates a panoramic view of the reflective water and moss islands in the foreground to the lava fields and multicolored mountains beyond. Larry’s balanced horizontal planes with diagonal slopes creates a rhythm that guides the eye deeper into the frame. Larry also chose to maintain clarity and sharp focus from the water’s surface in the foreground to the distant peaks under a cloud-streaked sky. This consistency clarity amplifies the sense of vastness and geological continuity. The use of this focusing and careful editing ensures that no area feels flat or neglected.  Iceland’s nickname of “Fire and Ice” illustrates the land’s geological contrasts where volcanic activity (the “Fire”) and glaciers (the “Ice”) coexist. Larry uses this interplay of color — olive mosses, rust-colored rhyolite or black volcanic rock, and the soft aquamarine water — to capture the geological duality suggested by his title. Each hue feels natural yet vivid, contributing to an impression of both desolation and vitality. The textures of the lava field are crisply rendered, giving tactile depth to the midground. Thank you, Larry, for this magnificent mosaic of a unique area of the world. By Dick Bennett