Herald photographers showcase work in Malverne

“We want to continue to push the boundaries of our creativity,” said photographer Susan Grieco, who shoots for the Herald. “We’ve had such a good reaction from residents, so we said, ‘Let’s do this and carry it forward.’”

On April 13, the Club of Long Island Professional Photographers (CLIPP), Malverne Division — a group of 12, mostly Herald freelancers — kicked off its second exhibit, “Reflections,” in Malverne. The event saw a turnout of local residents and Village officials, including Mayor Patricia Ann Norris-McDonald and Trustee Michael Bailey.

Last July, after years of discussion of how the photographers could get together to exchange ideas and showcase their work, Herald freelancers Kathy Leistner and Jeff Wilson proposed the formation of the group that meets monthly. Grieco secured Malverne village hall as a meeting space and suggested the use of a vacant storefront on Hempstead Avenue as the group’s display case.

Next door to the Malverne Cinema is a small storefront that theater owners Henry and Ann Stampfel had converted from a coffee shop into a screening room years ago. They cordoned off a small portion of the space — about six feet by four feet — painted the windows black and used it for storage. Now, members are using the space to showcase their work. The first exhibit featured photographs of Malverne at night, and was well received by the community.

Grieco said that the themes of exhibits will change quarterly, and may or may not be related to Malverne.

The April 13 exhibit included an official ribbon-cutting by Mayor McDonald, and also featured the auctioning of several prizes, including movie theater tickets and a photo album, among other items.

Residents also had the opportunity to view and admire 12 newly-framed photographs that stand in the window, along with written reflections by each photographer for each work.

“We wanted to have the ribbon cutting, and it should have been done with the first event,” Grieco said. “But we were still getting the window ready. Now we said, ‘OK, let’s let everyone know.’”

“It was a decent turnout,” she said of the recent event. “The gallery is a thing of beauty, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. With this theme, we thought we could do a lot. We think we’re beautifying the village in a way it hasn’t been before. It’s something different.”

The “Reflections” exhibit can be seen 24 hours a day from April through June. The next exhibit is scheduled for August. For more information, please call (516) 599-1933, or check out the group’s Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/MalverneCLIPP.