Rome Area Council for the Arts (RACA) will host "Solutions: A Five Year Journey Into Digital Photography," an exhibition of work by Paul O'Mara, Jan. 17 through Feb. 11. This is O'Mara's first solo exhibition.
For the past 14 years, O'Mara has provided commercial photography services to clients throughout northwest Georgia. His most visible work appears locally in institutional publications by Berry College, Shorter College and Darlington School. Sewanee (University of the South), Lee University and Baylor School in Tennessee have also published his work.
Most of O'Mara's commercial work is for clients who require images for marketing their products. Some examples include: A&L Shielding, Southern Joinery, OTR, Doug Hamil Advertising, NL Smithworks, Quantum Cotton, European Home Designs, Rooster Head Antique Heart Pine, Brooks Building Group, Billings Cabinet Co., William N. Jones AIA, Floyd Medical Center and Redmond Regional Medical Center.
Variety is the operative word in O'Mara's work. He photographs everything from jewelry catalogs in Atlanta to cool-air charges in Anniston. Much of his variety can be attributed to his past education and experience.
O'Mara stepped into the world of photography wearing a uniform. In 1977, he began a six-and-a-half-year education as a U.S. Navy photographer. He spent a year at Syracuse University in the Military Photojournalism Program and became a photographer for the U.S. Navy Fiht Demonstration Squadron (Blue Angels). During this time, O'Mara acquired the essential photography skills he still utilizes today.
O'Mara and his wife Kathy, Upper School art teacher, have lived in Rome since 1984. His firt job in Rome was as a photojournalist at the Rome News-Tribune. He is a member of the American Society of Media Photographers.
A reception with the artist was held Thursday, Jan. 20 at the RACA gallery, located at 248 Broad Street in Rome, Ga. For more information, call Allen Bell at 706-295-ARTS.
