Life Along the Hudson photo exhibit

From June 20 to October 4, the Albany Institute of History & Art welcomes Life Along the Hudson: Photographs by Joseph Squillante, a collection of more than 30 black-and-white images portraying the artist’s devotion to the river’s natural beauty and to preserving its bountiful resources.

Here is more about the artist from a release for the exhibit:

Joseph Squillante has spent the past three decades traveling the entire length of the Hudson. Like the Hudson River School landscape painters before him, some of his photographs capture the beauty and romantic quality of the river, while others focus on people who live and work along its shores.
 
Just as the photographs of the Adirondacks by Seneca Ray Stoddard in the late 1800s aided in the designation of the area as a state park, Squillante’s photographs of the Hudson River have raised public awareness of the river’s importance. His commitment to helping transform the Hudson into a cleaner and more esteemed natural resource has earned him the respect of the Hudson River community. He has worked closely with the Riverkeeper organization, receiving its River Rat Award in 1997; with the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, founded by Pete Seeger; and with Scenic Hudson, which gave him its 2005 Hudson Valley Hero Award. Three additional images by Squillante, including a portrait of Seeger, are included within the Albany Institute’s current exhibition, Hudson River Panorama: 400 Years of History, Art, and Culture.
 
Although he has seen much ugliness on the Hudson—including chemical discharge, oil spills, and industrial plant explosions—Squillante has kept his lens trained on the river’s natural splendor. “It’s the beauty that matters,” he said. “That’s what makes people aware of this national treasure. My whole mission is to raise awareness of the beauty of the river through photography.”