Photographer Larry Wagner is an icon on the coast
FORT BRAGG, CA >> Local photographer Larry Wagner, who is currently showing at the Cobalt Gallery in Fort Bragg, has long been the chronicler of the many facets of the Mendocino coast, both its people and its landscape. Memorialized in hundreds of artistic photos is a panoply of the weather, the beaches, fields, creeks, fauna, flora, and people that share the coastline.
No storm waves in the ocean are the same, no bird in flight is less majestic, and no person is less vividly captured in all his portraits are what define Wagner’s art. A lifetime’s journey brought him to professional photography and to Fort Bragg. A lifetime of experimentation, adaptability, patience, confidence, a drive to perform at his highest level, and a genuine love of people unfurled during a career in mechanical engineering after earning his Stanford degree in 1960.
Over the years, his photography has graced local galleries, and he seems to have gained the most from meeting more people.
He volunteers his time and skill free of charge to nonprofits that rely on photos to reach the public. For example, he assists the Hospital Foundation, the Mendocino Theatre Company, the Mendocino Art Center, Symphony of the Redwoods, Gloriana, and Circus Mecca.
Wagner has self-published over sixty books of his artistry, including three that feature portraits of over 200 artists in Mendocino County. Some of his publications tend toward the pleasantly unconventional. In 2011, he published “Look At Us, We’re Beautiful—Glamour Is Not Just For Hollywood,” containing photos of local women transformed by the majesty of portraiture. In 2012, Wagner published “Saloonachicks,” featuring the female patrons of a San Francisco North Beach “booze and blues bar” established in 1861 on Grant Street by Wagner’s great-great-grandfather.
Although Wagner was once part owner of Mendocino Coast Photography Gallery on Franklin Street, these days, he tends to post new work on his Facebook
page and enjoys the comments others post. “I’m not an active marketer,” he said, “but I was delighted when Button Quinn (owner of Cobalt Gallery) asked me to do a show, especially when I saw her gallery.” He continued, “It reminds me of the Van Gough Museum in Amsterdam. It’s displayed very similarly.”
Through his international corporate projects, Wagner and his spouse Marilyn have seen the world, gained joy from it, and then chose to retire to what Marilyn calls “the most beautiful place on Earth.” They never tire of the ocean view in all its moods which spreads out before their window like a living mural on a wall.
Why here? Why leave a lucrative vice president position for the international Colgate Company and move away from Manhattan? Wagner explained, “It’s not about the money. It’s about having a rich life.” The doorway to Fort Bragg opened when Marilyn Wagner inherited her parent’s home. Ernest and Betty Shoefer moved to Fort Bragg in 1961 and then opened the Mendocino Botanical Gardens in 1966.
Wagner explained, “I grew up in the middle of orange groves. I have always liked small towns. I like to know everybody.” The orange groves in the 30s and 40s were a mainstay in parts of Whittier, a town southeast of Los Angeles. “In New York City,” he recalled, “in all times we walked on the streets, we never ran into someone we knew.” Now going into Harvest Market is a social event.
Wagner recalls that the first photo he ever took was during a camping trip when he was asked to take someone’s camera and get a shot of a nearby chipmunk. He was eight or nine years old and described his first effort as “a lot of fun.” However, it never became more than a hobby. He said, “I was always disappointed with the result. I had an image in my mind, and I took the picture and developed it. It was never exactly what I liked.”
Settled in Fort Bragg, Wagner was deeply interested in fine arts but didn’t turn to photography to fill his time. Instead, he took a course on fine woodworking and created furniture pieces for about ten years. Still restless, he realized that “woodworking was a solitary activity,” and he craved interaction with people.
At about the same time, digital cameras hit the market, and Wagner was captivated by the artistic aspect of photography that digital cameras could nourish. He took a class in lighting and portraiture at the Mendocino Art Center. It wasn’t long before he realized that his work was more than good. He decided to go pro.
Since he was self-taught other than a few more professional classes here and there, he knew that going pro would “drive myself to be good. I wanted to live up to the words, ‘I’m a professional.’ “Since then, he has kept up with the latest editing software showcased at Apple conferences in San Francisco. Regarding the iconic film cameras before the digital age, he responded, “Why would I want to use those?”
Regarding his philosophical approach to a photo opportunity, Wagner said, “My eye is the camera. I’m always looking for a good picture.” He carries his smartphone everywhere. “One thing you learn,” he said, “is anticipation. I don’t need a lot of shots to capture something.” Now with the high resolution of digital photos, Wagner calls it “a different art form. I will do a lot of editing for artistic value.”
About himself, Wagner said, I really think of myself as a photo artist, not a photographer.” He has experience in various photo art genres such as nature, still life, portrait, event, and action. Much of his work lies in nature scenes, and his showing at Cobalt Gallery is titled “Storms.” However, for him, portraiture is the most fulfilling of genres. “I really love people and portraits,” he stressed.
Wagner respects the work of iconic photographers such as Richard Avedon, Steve McCurry, Annie Leibovitz, and Ansel Adams, whom he describes as “probably my first inspiration.” However, the artistry in his photographs is undoubtedly his very own. There are still more ocean storms and sunsets yet to capture and more people yet to pose and reveal their inner beauty. He has seen more of the world than most of us, but he declared, “I can’t imagine a better place for a photographer to live than here.”
The current showing of Larry Wagner’s work will continue until the end of May at Cobalt Gallery located at 430 North Main Street in Fort Bragg. Hours are from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Thursday through Sunday.