LARGO - A black and white view of the Smoky Mountain woods curtained in mist is almost palpable. Sunlight streaming onto a Western canyon floor in a dazzling shower of light approaches the surreal.
These are just two of the works in an exhibition of black and white and color photographs featuring scenes taken at national parks from Hawaii to Dry Tortugas. The show is at the Packinghouse Gallery, a Largo business specializing in nature photography.
The business takes its name from the original business of its home - a 4,100-square-foot, single-story building sitting close to Oakhurst Road.
For more than 70 years, the wood building with its high, heart pine ceiling and skylights was J.S. Hill Groves citrus packing plant. The plant closed in 1986 and all but two acres of the original 60 were sold for homesites.
The following year, Hill's granddaughter, Lesley Collins, turned the plant into a her first business - high-end sea kayaks for the serious enthusiast. Twelve years later, the kayak industry "had changed considerably," Collins said. "It had become more recreational" and less expensive kayaks had become the craft of choice.
She sold her inventory and closed the business in the spring of 1999 and immediately began weighing ideas for another business venture.
A photography enthusiast since the 1970s, some of Collins' most memorable kayak trips were for photographing whales and bears in their natural habitats.
"I always wanted to do more with this building and with my photography," she said.
She discovered, she said, that there was no gallery in the Tampa Bay area specializing in nature photography.
Friends encouraged her and she decided to turn the former packing plant into just that and more - a nature photography gallery, photography studio and photography resource center with custom framing, photo classes, local and national workshops, newsletter and photo club.
"I remodeled the building, which was a bare shell, for close to $100,000" she said. The open ceiling was retained to give the gallery a feeling of spaciousness. Rooms were built to house classes, framing work, studio photography and offices.
Memorabilia from the building's history were placed on the ceiling rafters - a wood kayak, grove signs and wooden packing boxes. The business opened in November 2001.
Visitors are greeted by Collins' 8-year-old sheltie, Kelsey, who quietly keeps an eye on her owner's movement throughout the gallery.
A gift shop features hand carved birds, books and accessories on photography, handmade cards with animal photos by Sharon Toly of Tampa, butterflies by Cheryl Day of St. Petersburg and birds by Barb Collins of Largo. A framed photo of "Reddish Egrets" by Arthur Morris is priced at $489 and a painting by Ernest Simmons of a Florida panther is $11,000 with proceeds going to the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary.
Jim Swallow of St. Petersburg is Collins' only full time employee. A professional photographer with more than 20 years' experience, he handles the business' studio portrait work, weddings and other events, as well as commercial work.
"There is nothing like this on the west coast of Florida," Collins said. "I still love kayaking, but I enjoy the greater versatility of this business, a business I think can contribute more to the community."
Mary Trice of Seminole, an exhibitor in the gallery's current show, "Unique Images of Our National Park," said she has become a better, more serious photographer since taking classes at the Packinghouse and going on field trips.
"It was a hobby for 20 years," Trice said. The classes and trips, she said, have "opened up a whole new world for me. I used to take snapshots, now I can create photos that are pleasing to the eye."
The show features the work of 25 photographers from Florida, Colorado, Michigan and Ohio. Among the works are some in the large format style, which gives prints more definition because of the larger negative used. The large format is gaining popularity, Collins said.
Exhibitor Matthew Kraus of Clearwater said he has been using a large format 4x5 view camera for about 20 years.
"It's important for me to feel a part of the scene," Kraus said. "Using a view camera with a dark cloth lends itself more to a quiet and contemplative approach, thus allowing me to slow down and become one with the scene and be better aware of the mood I am sensing."
The show officially opens with an artists' reception from 6 to 9:30 p.m. July 25 at the gallery. The reception is open to the public.
