In “Dolphin Seas,” a new exhibit at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center, artist and avian photographer Lanny McDowell has expanded his repertoire to include these marine mammals in 14 color photographs. The show launched on May 8, and will continue through May 23.
“Basically, I lucked out,” Mr. McDowell said. “The dolphins came to look at us, and I took pictures.” The photos are among hundreds he shot while on two pelagic birding trips by boat. In September 2015, Mr. McDowell traveled with Vineyarders Sue Whiting and Flip Harrington aboard their boat Auklet out of Menemsha. Then in February, he joined 60 birders on the Helen H. out of Hyannis for an excursion organized by the Brookline Bird Club.
Pelagic birds spend most of their lives at sea, and such excursions attract dolphins and other marine mammals looking for bait schools. “Dolphins are curious and fun-loving,” Mr. McDowell said. “They present themselves and ride the bow waves made by the boat.” The prime location for such sightings is where colder shore waters meet the warmer waters of the Gulf Stream and the continental shelf. While the boating trips are primarily designed to observe birds, the dolphins are a welcome bonus.
In addition to his work as a painter, Mr. McDowell has long turned his love of wildlife to photographic portraits. For his dolphin series, he used a Canon digital camera with a telescopic zoom lens. The images range in size from 16 by 24 inches to 20 by 30 inches. He took them by leaning over the side of the boat and holding his camera at arm’s length. This angle allowed him to shoot down through the water on a day when the waters were particularly calm and glasslike.
“Incoming” and “The Liquid Life” are charming portraits of these likeable marine mammals. “Local Talent” catches a rare North Atlantic puffin in mid-flight near a dolphin surfacing. Other images move toward abstraction, like many of Mr. McDowell’s paintings. This is most evident in “Dorsal” and the “Deep Reflection” series, where water and light patterns dominate the composition. “Surface Tension” combines the figure of a dolphin with the abstract light streaks and ripples the animal seems to swim through. The nearly monochromatic palette of the dolphin series moves the images toward the purity of black and white while taking advantage of the color of the dolphins, environment, weather, and season.
The “Dolphin Seas” exhibit is located in the Feldman Family Artspace at the Film Center, which is generally open before and after film screenings. For more information on hours, email info@mvfilmsociety.com, or call 508-696-9369.