A new fine-art photography exhibit has sprung open the doors to nature at the Park City Library.

And the 25 works in the showcase, which is up through May 25, were composed and taken by local artists Deborah DeKoff and Johnny Adolphson.

To celebrate, the two will be in attendance at a free artist reception that will be held from 3-5 p.m. on Saturday, March 25, at the library, 1255 Park Ave.

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DeKoff and Adolphson are happy to participate in a joint exhibit.

“It’s about seeing these little miracles nature provides and capturing these moments of amazing light…” Johnny Adolphson, fine-art photographer

“I’ve admired Johnny’s finely composed images, his vibrant colors, and his intrepidness to literally climb mountains to capture an image,” said DeKoff, owner of Park City Photographers. “To be able to have my landscapes hanging side by side with Johnny’s is a privilege.”

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Adolphson, a former wildland firefighter, has nothing but respect for DeKoff.

“I think Deb’s great,” he said. “We’ve actually partnered up on some other things, including some local publications. I’m excited to partner up with her as well.”

Both photographers are honored they were asked to show their works at the library.

“A library is a sacred place,” DeKoff said. “It’s where knowledge grows and imaginations come alive. To be selected to show images that can transport a mind through imagery is a great compliment.”

The exhibit means a lot to Adolphson, who lives in Heber City.

“I’ve always enjoyed the Park City community, and we do the Park Silly Market and a lot of other local events,” he said. “It’s great to have an exhibit in a public, local spot.”

The works of the two photographers are mostly scenes of nature, which poses unique challenges, Adolphson said. 

“I enjoy the process and enjoy the search for that perfect shot,” he said. “Having a goal gets me out there, but sometimes I end up finding something that is totally different.”

Part of Adolphson’s love of photography are the hikes.

“I spent a lot of time out alone after hiking in the dark just waiting for sunrise, and then hiking back from sunsets,” he said. “I’ve returned to these places multiple times to make sure the conditions are right for the photos. Finding the right composition, getting the right light takes a few tries sometimes.”

One of DeKoff’s challenges is capturing what she sees in her mind.

“(It’s about whether) I can just hike to that spot, move left or right over obstacles, get the perfect foreground to match the awesome mid-ground and hope for an amazing sky background all to come together before the light changes,” she said.

DeKoff’s criteria for selecting the photos for the exhibit was about impact and finding her favorites.

“My large black-and-white images of classic cars are bold and impactful, whereas my landscapes brought me back to the serenity of the day I captured the images,” she said. “These easily became favorites due to the eurythmics: repeating patterns of land, trees, animal or floral.”

Adolphson, on the other hand, wanted to give a taste of his two loves — the areas around the Heber Valley and Park City and the Utah’s Southwest Desert.

“I’m a Wasatch Back local and spend time around here, but I’ve worked as a desert photo guide and workshop instructor out of Kanab,” he said. “So my choices are a good mix of our local landscapes as well as shots from the Southern Utah area. And they were taken in the span of my career.”

DeKoff, who was a Kodak International medalist at 17, and Adolphson, who started selling his works professionally in 2014, discovered photography through different lenses.

“I admired the black and white imagery of Diane Arbus and Ansel Adams, but I wanted to place people within landscapes to offer a sense of belonging to their environment,” DeKoff said. “As a former extreme introvert I discovered that the camera was an amazing tool to speak with others.  Photography gave me a voice.”

For Adolphson,  whose wife serves as his manager and consultant, photography came from his attraction to adventure.

“When I was younger I was a firefighter and I did a lot of rock climbing around the West,” he said. “I saw many moments of amazing light during those outings, and most of those days I took around a disposable wind up film camera with only 12 shots that I got at the grocery store. Then I got my first Canon DSLR in 2011, and decided to up my game.”

Photography allows DeKoff to focus on her creativity.

“(It ranges) from environmental portraiture, capturing the faces in the places that are meaningful to the subjects, to traipsing out and breathing in nature for a landscape,” she said. “Photography is catching the ephemeral and holding it forever.” 

For Adolphson, photography is the gateway to magic outside his front door.

“It’s about seeing these little miracles nature provides and capturing these moments of amazing light I work so hard to get to,” he said. “It’s like my meditation to get the sunrises and sunsets. Whether I get a shot or not, it is fulfilling on a deep level and brings things into perspective. But I do feel fortunate when I do nail a shot.”

Park City Library Director Adrian Herrick Juarez is thrilled to showcase DeKoff and Adolphson in a spring exhibit.

“A library is a wonderful place where the community can enjoy vibrant and artistic abilities from members of our community,” she said. “Being able to show public art is a wonderful part of our mission as a library experience. We hope everyone will come in and see what they do.”