Twelve members of Berkeley Fine Art Photographers (BFAP), founded in 2010 for serious photographers who want to take their work to the next level and who value photography primarily as an art form, have created a group exhibit entitled “Triple-Point: Water, Ice and Vapor.” While participants in this submission embrace a wide variety of photographic styles and subjects, we have in common a fascination with the beauty and intrigue of the natural world as seen and interpreted through the eye of a lens. In particular, the nature and behavior of “water” is a favorite subject matter.

Our theme for this show is inspired by a scientific concept called “triple point.” In thermodynamics, the triple point of a substance is the temperature and pressure at which the three phases (gas, liquid, and solid) of that substance coexist in thermodynamic equilibrium. The triple point of water, as a substance, has a very specific definition, above or below which it is possible to change all of the substance to ice, water, or vapor by making arbitrarily small changes in pressure and temperature. We have taken these concepts of “equilibrium” and “coexistence” and applied them to our art – striving individually for photographs to which nothing needs to be added or taken away, and creating a collection which, as a group, showcases water as liquid, ice and vapor – all of which are vital to Earth’s hydrological cycle.

From the NASA website : “Earth is truly unique in its abundance of water. Water is necessary to sustaining life on Earth, and helps tie together the Earth's lands, oceans, and atmosphere into an integrated system. Precipitation, evaporation, freezing and melting and condensation are all part of the hydrological cycle - a never-ending global process of water circulation from clouds to land, to the ocean, and back to the clouds.”

Just as water is a unifying force for our planet, water is also a unifying element in our work as a group of artists. Beyond its physical attributes and the role it plays as essential to all life, water has, throughout the ages, been used as a metaphor. Its mystery, beauty, quenching, regenerating, life-giving, refreshing, comforting properties are an inspiration to artists of all genres, never more so than with photographers who have at their fingertips the ability to see and capture a moment – the glint of light on a frozen shard, the soft reflection of the moon on wet sand, the sweep of the tide, the thunder of a waterfall, the flight of clouds. By our collection of images we hope to leave viewers with impressions of water, ice and vapor which are, at the same time, awe-inspiring and delicate, gentle and full of energy, straight-forward and mysterious. We celebrate, appreciate and respect water not only as Earth’s dynamic life-blood, but also for all it symbolizes. No one image can tell its whole story, but a collection of images is a place to begin. 

The Triple Point exhibit will be on display from March 2nd to April 30, 2015.   Map and Directions