Susan Wides’ talk at WAAM will probe the concepts and aesthetics of her 14 year photographic study of the perception of place in the Catskills / Hudson River Valley. Using a 4x5 camera with a movable lens, Wides manipulates the focal plane as a way of simulating contemporary perception. The camera lens calls the viewer to experience the perception of place - to soak up its light, its spaces, its history, its potential – and to see it anew.