Few exhibits at LPCA can fill a space quite like the photography of Nancie Battaglia. It is, quite honestly jaw dropping to know that what fills (and I mean literally FILLS) the walls of the gallery is a drop in the bucket of the images Nancie has accumulated in her professional life.
Nancie landed in Lake Placid after being hired by the Lake Placid Olympic Organizing Committee as chief still photographer for the 1980 Olympic Winter Games. And she never left. She's covered 10 Olympic Games (8 of them Winter Games) in her 30+ year career, and has been published in uncountable publications from the New York Times to SKI Magazine and everything in between. Her photos depict everything there is about the Adirondacks, not just sports. She's everywhere there's a story and on the trails hiking and skiing. You'll find her just about everywhere you go, camera(s) around her neck and Golden Retriever trotting along behind.
I attended the very crowded opening reception for her exhibit at LPCA last Friday and have since been telling everyone I see they absolutely MUST see this. There are not just photos on the walls. There are magazines, calendars, puzzles and more, and there's even a vintage AP wirephoto transmission machine with a photo in it underneath the wall of her B&W wirephotos. Do a Google search of the wirephoto process. It's quite fascinating, especially if you're young enough that you don't remember what that even means!
There's so much history on the walls of the gallery, history buffs will enjoy taking the time to look and read everything. Make sure to take the time to do so. There have been few exhibits at LPCA that affected me as this one has. It's art, history and stories all rolled into one. Amazing.
Battaglia's exhibit will hang in the gallery at Lake Placid Center for the Arts until June 22. Gallery hours are generally Tuesday through Saturday from 1 - 5 pm and during performances.
Plan a visit to Lake Placid and we know you'll eventually catch a glimpse of Nancie in action, on the trails, in the village, at Whiteface Mountain or at a news worthy event.
A Post Script:
On my way home last night after publishing this blog, I stopped to take some photos of the High Peaks from Adirondack Loj Road.....and who should pull in behind me, but .............
