Marc Silber has been a black and white, fine art photographer since the mid 60s and has captured a variety of images from such widespread backdrops as Paris, Big Sur, Mexico, Vermont…as can be seen from his impressive portfolio at http://www.silberstudios.com/portfolio. What is unusual, in these times of excessive commercialism, is his willingness to give away his work. Silber explained, "I want to show others what I've seen, that's my passion." However, he was quick to add, "I'm a working artist--I still retain all rights to my photos and of course would love for viewers to purchase my actual prints…but I decided to make it easy to get the feeling of my work by offering some of it as an ebook."

He also said the idea of having the ebook released just ahead of his exhibition is a parallel to a musical artist releasing a CD and then going on tour. He added, "seeing small prints on the computer is nothing like seeing them in person, printed with care and framed ingeniously by the gallery. I'd love to have people see my images 'live' and tell the stories behind them."

The artist reception for Focus on Beauty at Richard Sumner Gallery is Saturday, February 2nd from 3:00-5:30; the exhibition will remain up until March.

Silber also commented on the story behind Focus on Beauty ebook and exhibition:
"The ebook is made up of two photo-essays I did for Gentry Magazine of Silicon Valley and surrounding area. It actually covers bits of my black and white photography and color photography from 1964 to the present. Briefly, the story is: After showing my portfolio to the magazine's publisher, she asked me if I could go out and capture shots of 'the valley.' My immediate answer was 'of course.'

"However, it's sometimes easier to spot photo-worthy shots elsewhere than right under your nose, but I approached it with the idea of finding shots as though I had arrived in a foreign land. The results were, I believe, interesting, and for me fun. For example, I thought it would be intriguing to get a shot of the polo ponies in action in the middle of a residential area and so went to the Menlo Circus Club during a practice; but on the same shoot I also found the most disarming shot of a horse 'posing' for me in her stall. I also added in some of my classics like the shot from 1964 of my 7th grade class room."

He paused and concluded with, "There's real satisfaction in being able to summarize my view of the remarkable area I grew up in and present it to be viewed."

For details on the exhibition, please visit www.silberstudios.com/focus_on_beauty.

Marc Silber is professional photographer, living on the San Francisco Peninsula with his wife, children and dog "Whitney" (named for the mountain, which they have climbed.) He has a large catalog of photographs taken around the world on his many adventures. He is passionate about photography, loves to show his work and to teach photography. "Photography has given me a way to continuously see life newly. I love the joy an image, captured and shared with others."