Woodward, Okla. — For Judith Henthorn, life is sweeter when you not only stop to smell the roses, but stop to take a photo of them.

You can see some of Henthorn’s favorite roses at her photography exhibit “Through My Lens,” which is currently on display at the Plains Indians and Pioneers Museum.

Henthorn’s exhibit includes a wide variety of nature photography from an image of a bright cardinal resting on a green lawn chair to plenty of scenic landscapes.

The photos were taken all over, from those of an old barn “just a couple miles down the road” from her house to an image of a sailboat on a foggy lake that was taken near Boston.

Henthorn said the sailboat photograph, which is appropriately titled “Sailboat at Boston,” was taken a few years ago while visiting her son when he used to live in that area.

Knowing her love for photography, she said, as her son was driving her back from the airport, “He told me ‘if there’s a picture you want to take just let me know and we’ll go back and take it.’  Then we went over this rickety bridge and I looked out and saw this.  I said, ‘I saw a photo back there’ and so he stopped and I went walking back over the rickety bridge to get the photo.”

Henthorn said many of the photos in her exhibit were taken in a similar way.

“It’s just like the title says, ‘Through My Lens,’ because if I see a picture I want to take then I will stop and go back to take it,” she said.

However, photography means more to Henthorn than just an image or scene that might catch her eye.

“If you take a picture for someone or of someone, you’ve given them a memory,” she said.

That is why Henthorn also operates a portrait business, Photos by Judith, in which she does everything from general portraits to senior pictures to wedding photography.

But whether it’s portraits for her business or those scenes that just seem to grab her, Henthorn said, “photography is just fun; ... it’s fun to use different filters or take photos in a different way than others might take them.”

For example, she pointed to a portrait titled “Kay’s Bride with Roses,” which features a woman in a white wedding dress, but instead of focusing on the bride’s radiant smile, focuses instead on the bride’s bouquet of deep red flowers.

“A lot of people wouldn’t take that kind of photo, but to her (the bride) it means a lot,” Henthorn said.

Other than maybe taking one of her prints home, Henthorn said she hopes visitors to her show will take away a happy moment or memory.

“I want them to see something that makes them smile, like if it’s a scene, to say, ‘oh, isn’t that pretty?’  I hope my photos will help them remember a time or place that was special to them, because that’s what photos are, memories on paper,” she said.

Henthorn’s show will be open throughout the month of August.  An artist’s reception will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 7 for those wanting to meet or visit with Henthorn about her work.



2010 PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST

Also throughout the month of August, the museum will be accepting entries for the museum’s annual photography contest.  Entries will be accepted from Aug. 3 through Sept. 4 during the museum’s business hours which are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

The theme for this year’s contest is “Life After Dark,” according to Museum Director Rob Roberson.

There has already been a lot of interest in the contest, Roberson said, noting several people have been coming in asking about when the show will open.  He said many of these photographers seem excited about the theme and “have said, ‘I already have a great idea for that.’”

“So I think we should get some interesting night shots,” Roberson said.

The winners of the 2010 photography contest as well as others selected for display will be included in an exhibit which will be open from Sept. 11 through Oct. 30.

For more information on the photography contest including a complete set of rules, visit the museum’s website at ww.pipm1.org.



AUTHOR LECTURE/BOOK SIGNING

In addition to all this photography, the museum will also offer a special author’s lecture and book signing this next month.

On Aug. 14 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Northwest Oklahoma author Sam Sackett will discuss his book “Sweet Betsy from Pike,” Roberson said.

“The book is about a girl going west with her hubby for the California gold rush and is based on the poem or song by the same name,” he said.

While he said he realizes “it doesn’t have anything to do with this area,” the museum director noted the book “does have a western theme” and offers “another way to bring people in.”

“It’s something different for the community,” Roberson said, noting the museum is all about “trying to expose people to different things.”