Nature's Whisper and Roar: Review by the Daily Review

HAYWARD — Patrons of the arts come in all shapes, sizes and species.

Not unexpectedly, homo sapiens, or humans, crowded Friday night's opening reception at PhotoCentral Gallery for "Nature's Whisper and Roar," a wildlife photography exhibit.
The guest list also included a great horned owl, turkey vulture, American kestrel and domestic dove from Fairview's Sulphur Creek Nature Center.

The birds, residents at the wildlife rehabilitation and education center, were stars in the flesh and in photos. Their high-definition pictures were included among 100 photographs of animals and birds from Alaska to Africa, and Yosemite to the hills above Hayward.
The birds were brought from an adjoining room by ones and twos, center Coordinator Wendy Winsted said, to reduce the stress level.

"They're used to crowds," Winsted explained, "but not too much (at one time)."

The work of photographers Oliver Klink of San Jose and Munir Kureshi are featured in the exhibit. Klink photographed the center's birds, and is donating proceeds from the sales of these pictures back to the center.

Klink also photographed "The Players,"11/2-year-old grizzly cubs, in Alaska last summer. For seven days, he followed the cubs and their mother to observe their behavior. He captured many images, including a playful moment depicted in the exhibit photo.

Earlier this month, Kureshi visited Monterey, where he took a picture of a mother sea otter and her pup. The mother manages to keep the pup on her belly while turning in the waters of Monterey Bay.

Kureshi learned about hummingbirds while photographing them in the Santa Cruz Mountains, as well as Arizona, in recent years. On some days, he observed more than 100 hummingbirds at a time, in areas specially planted to attract the energetic, 2-inch-long birds with iridescent feathers. "The technical challenge is to freeze their flapping wings, and capture unusual postures often undetected by the human eye," Kureshi said. He learned to distinguish the different types of hummingbirds as they hovered in midair to display territorial dominance, courtship rituals, or merely feeding.

PhotoCentral Gallery hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Monday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. The gallery is at 1099 E St. "Nature's Whisper and Roar" will be exhibited through March 2. For information, visit http://www.photocentral.org, e-mail info@photocentral.org, or call 510-881-6721.