“My name is Chris Walters and I am a Corning, NY based photographer living and working in the Finger Lakes. I specialize in long exposure photography.

Ever since using my father’s film camera in Key West, FL, my passion and understanding of photography and aesthetics grew first through technical study in high school and then through university studies in philosophy, religion, and English. During my extensive time living and traveling throughout the United States and overseas, I had the privilege to photograph my experiences and see my photography skills grow as my eyes opened up to the world around me.

I currently serving as the Grants Manager & Gallery Curator for The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes. Prior to this, I worked overseas as the Country Director/Educational Programs Manager for an international non-profit. I have a BA in Interdisciplinary Humanities from the University of West Florida, an MA in International Educational Development from Columbia University, and completed two years of service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the country of Georgia. Since 2013, I have shown my work in exhibitions throughout the Finger Lakes region including Corning, Elmira, Ithaca, Olean, Penn Yan, and Watkins Glen. Recent honors include the Stephen and Elise Rosenfeld Excellence in Photography Award (1st Place) in the Arts Center of Yates County’s 2016 Annual Juried Exhibition and Prize Winner in State of the Art Gallery’s 28th Annual Juried Photography Exhibition. In 2016 I opened my first three solo exhibitions – Home, at 171 Cedar Arts Center’s Houghton Gallery, From Whence We Came at Alfred State College’s Hinkle Gallery, and The Light of Other Days at Mansfield University’s Loomis Gallery. In spring 2018 I was part of the Biennial Art Alive Invitational, a 4 person group show at Elmira College’s George Waters Gallery. In December 2018 I will mount Out of Time, a solo show at CAP ArtSpace in Ithaca, NY.

I draw inspiration from cinematographers John Toll, Caleb Deschanel, Emmanuel Lubezki, Roger Deakins, Matthew Libatique, and Dante Spinotti as well as from authors Cormac McCarthy, Ernest Hemingway, Mark Helprin, and Norman Maclean.”

“Photographs are quite literally, the light of other days, the manifestation of past as present. Like surrogate memories, photographs allow the viewer to actualize the past, evoking feelings and memories that are no more. As they think upon this past, they are often confronted by all that comes with it. But rather than looking on with longing and sadness, I hope the viewer will embrace the beauty and sanctity in both the photograph itself and the act of viewing it. By doing so, they can engage in rather than disengage from life around them and let the illumination of the present moment wash over them.”