By Wayne Levin, From "Through a Liquid Mirror"
Spinner dolphins frolic in Kealakekua Bay; below, a
scalloped hammerhead shark. These are some of the
denizens of the deep that swim through the pages of
"Through a Liquid Mirror."
Portals to
By Greg Ambrose
an undersea world
Special to the Star-Bulletin
Through a Liquid Mirror By Wayne Levin (Editions Limited); 104 pages; $37.50; $25 softcover
ONE day as I exclaimed over a photo whose vibrant hues fairly leapt off the page, a photographer friend sniggered.
"Color hides a multitude of sins," he said cryptically.
Mystified, I pressed for an explanation. Saying nothing, Carlos retreated to the darkroom, then returned with two prints of the same image, one in color, the other black and white.
The contrast was startling, and I realized that color can dazzle the eye and trick the mind into overlooking poor composition, focus, framing and lighting. Stripped of color, those deficiencies were painfully obvious.
There is no such deception at work in Big Island photographer Wayne Levin's new book, "Through a Liquid Mirror."
His images are marvels of the universe, visual portals to other worlds hidden to most of us by our full-time, full-color vision.
When sucked through Levin's lenses, drained of their color and spat out on photographic paper, these images drip with subtle nuances of shade, motion, movement and magic. Through Levin's perceptive artistry, the
fleet of Japanese warships sunk in the Chuuk Lagoon become ghostly; a manta ray off Cocos Island glows with otherworldly luminescence; and bodysurfers diving under a wave at Makapuu turn into astronauts soaring through alien clouds.
As a bonus, the book is graced with a poem by local reporter Tino Ramirez, who reveals a lyrical side that isn't allowed full expression in his news stories.
For those who need words to help find their way through the unfamiliar terrain that Levin has created out of familiar territory, author and professor, Thomas Farber, provides a written introduction that attempts to explain the ineffable quality of Levin's work.
Most people will be content to sit back and take a ride to alternate universes by scrutinizing Levin's remarkable art.
As with most good art, Levin's images cause viewers to reexamine the cornerstones of their world, to question what is real and unreal, and to see the world with a fresh perspective.
Portals
What: Wayne Levin's work on display
