They can all be found in the many-sided world that lies west of Highway 280.
That is not just the subject but also the name of the ongoing photography exhibit at the Coastal Arts League gallery. “West of 280” is on display through March 28 at the gallery located at 300 Main St. in Half Moon Bay.
 The four photographers that make up the "West of 280" exhibit now at Coastal Arts League show off some of their photos: from left, Drew Campbell with his shot of a local pier, Kirsten Klagenberg with her close-up study of a starfish, Jeff Klagenberg with his sweeping shot of the coastline and Ed Grant with his shot of a Mavericks wave. |
Geographically, the focus is Año Nuevo State Reserve to Pacifica, generally hugging the coastline with some side trips into the forested hills, Gazos Creek or the cluster of redwoods colloquially known as Heritage Grove.
The photos are the work of equally diverse photographers Jeff and Kirsten Klagenberg of El Granada, Ed Grant of San Jose whose work appeared in CAL’s recent Mavericks surf photography exhibit, and Drew Campbell, a former Coastsider now living in North Carolina.
“The idea is to demonstrate the diversity of the coast,” said Jeff Klagenberg.
The photographers hope to present the unique world that lies to the far west of the highway that bisects the peninsula. “There’s really a difference in which side of 280 you’re on,” he said, citing the contrast between the San Francisco International and Half Moon Bay airports.
An equally unique network brought the quartet together.
Jeff Klagenberg became interested in photography as a child and is well-known locally. Several Coastsiders collect his work. His wife, Kirsten, got into photography in her junior year of college by way of her first artistic interest, which was painting. She signed up for classes that took her from darkroom to digital, developing an interest in close-up photography of marine life. She has shown work at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito.
She met Jeff, a CAL member, at the CAL gallery in 2005. They married two years later.
Professionally, she worked at Oracle with Drew Campbell, though neither knew that the other was interested in photography.
Campbell, a 10-year Coastside resident before relocating with wife Susie to North Carolina in 2005, had also been interested in photography since he was a teen, and shows nature photographs in this show. His work has appeared in the Laurel of Ashville magazine, including shots of homes and gardens in the vicinity of Biltmore, near Asheville, N.C., and other publications.
The trio had planned a show at CAL that centered in their neighborhood. “We wanted to do something about the coast,” said Jeff Klagenberg. They brought in Grant, a former high school teacher who had photographed the Mavericks wave and its surfers since 2002.
“We put (the exhibit) together thematically for the Coastside,” said Jeff Klagenberg.
The framed photos are for sale, ranging from $10 to $450.
For information, contact CAL at 726-6335.
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