Zoom Lens Group Art Show

A new photography exhibit by the Zoom Lens Group opens Jan. 10 at the H. Allen and Sally Fernald Art Gallery at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center in Belfast. The show, on display through March, is free and open to the public from 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Monday–Friday. The Zoom Lens Group began meeting virtually in January 2021 via Zoom. Two founding members, Ed Lajoie and Penny Linn, had long tossed around the idea of starting a photography group. The pandemic offered a unique opportunity to get the group started. While the name of the group (Zoom Lens) references a piece of photo equipment, it’s more a tribute to Zoom, the now ubiquitous online platform that allowed the group to form and flourish during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group’s five members — two educators, a database manager, a graphic artist and an emergency room doctor — found reprieve from pandemic isolation by connecting via their photography. Together, they shared and critiqued photographs, and demonstrated and discussed theories and skills to further develop their craft. The exhibition features work by Doug Chamberlin, John Gage, Ed Lajoie, Penny Linn and Vera Morrison, who passed away in October following an automobile accident.