IMAGE GALLERY: New Westboro Gallery Show: Seasonal Landscapes [Video]

Paul Norton's landscape photographs—spanning every season and the past 40 years—are featured in a new show, Seasons, at that runs through April 8. The show includes local scenes, and views from the Berkshires, West Virginia, Utah and California.

Norton, an Upton resident who was a commercial artist, told Westborough Patch, "All of my professional work ended up in the trash bin. Now I'm creating photographs on acid-free paper that will last a long time."

Season's includes about 25 reasonably-priced photographs ($145 to $229), which are 11 by 12 inches, 12 by 18, or 16 by 20. Some photographs are digital and others were made by scanning large format transparencies and then digitally enhancing the images.

The show's opening reception was held on Sunday, Jan. 15. Norton is often seen wearing a hat, but he was notably hatless at the reception.

At the reception, Rebecca and Jerry Hickman said, “Paul’s black and white photos remind us of Ansel Adams. We love the (two) waterfalls. They compliment each other in both season and in the mats and would be lovely as a pair.”

His Journey

Raised in Bedford, Norton had a Brownie camera as a child but didn't have the resources to pursue photography. His first exposure to a darkroom and printing came at Yokota Air Base in Japan, where he was stationed in the US Air Force from 1960 to 1962.

When Norton returned to civilian life in 1963, he joined the fire department in his hometown. The Bedford fire chief, who knew of Norton's interest in photography, asked him to photograph scenes where fires had taken place. This peaked Norton's interest, and he soon realized that he wanted to deepen his knowledge of photography. According to Norton, "I ran into a lack of knowledge that I wanted to fill."

In a life-changing move, Norton enrolled in a three-year diploma program at the Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, California.

After a brief stint in Philadelphia, Norton returned to Bedford and got a job with a catalog studio in Marlborough. 

In 1980, Norton opened his own studio in Upton. His clients included Knapp Shoes, Prince Spaghetti and , among others. All along, Norton took photographs of nature. Since his retirement in 2004, Norton has pursued his passion for photography.

Norton's fiancé, Janet Lewis, who is an artist, brought him to The Westboro Gallery in 2009. She thought that other people should see his work. That's when Norton joined the gallery.

His Work

Seasons presents subsets of Norton's photographs: early black and white images, digitally altered and realistic shots and a series that focuses on snowflakes.

Norton's early work from the 1970s includes a striking black and white shot of a rock from Yosemite (Yosemite Sentinel) and the gristmill in Sudbury. At the reception, Peter Dolan commented, “I love the texture and feel of Sentinel. Because it’s in black and white, those aspects are brought into focus.”

Another early work, Maine Coast (1970s) is reminiscent of Japanese art, with a flat image in spite of diagonal lines.

One of the most beautiful photographs in the show, Fall Pasture (2010) is a postcard perfect shot of horses grazing in Upton. Another, Golden Oak (2010) achieves a more artistic effect through the use of a filter and back lighting, according to Norton.

Norton presents a series of interesting shots of snowflakes that formed on the glass in his home. In Frost Fish he sees a fish jumping out of the water catching a fly on the background of water that was digitally created. Moonfrost includes images of frost with a digitally added moon.

In Iceberries, Norton achieves an almost real image. The Westboro Gallery press release stated, “If you just lightly touch the tops of the gleaming bright crimson berries, casually graze over droplets of slowly melting ice, you are bound to come away with wet fingertips, aren’t you?”

See the Show - , a non-profit cooperative, is open Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 3 p.m. The gallery is located at 8 West Main St. For more information, call 508-870-0110. 

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