Pegasus Home Page

Current Show

Featured Artists

Classes at Pegasus

Our History

Upcoming Events

 Books for Sale

Catalog Index

Contact Pegasus Owner

Roberta McIntosh  

Developing a Voice for Light
by Eva Poole-Gilson

            “As a child I was bad at anything to do with ‘art.’ I was terrible in ‘art.’ But when I got that Brownie box camera in second grade—well, taking pictures was different.”

            “And what did you take pictures of?” I asked Roberta McIntosh, now one of the featured photographers at Pegasus Gallery.

            “What does a kid take pictures of?” She laughed. “The outhouse at the campsite, a cat doing his business, your brother making a face….”

            “Do you have any of those old shots?”

            Roberta produced a slightly crinkled three-and-an-half-by-five-inch, spiral-bound collection of ten black and whites. All their edges were “pinked”—old-fashioned elegance. The cover, still dark red and glossy, read “Genuine Super Pak Snaps. They’re BOUND to be better.”

            “These were probably taken when I was about 10; my family began vacationing in Canada from Ohio where I grew up…. In sixth grade, though, we took a trip to Florida, Fort Lauderdale, and I saw the ocean for the first time…. Wow—light!”

            That first glimpse of one of the earth’s great expanses of water and light made a life-long impression on a young girl who had no idea at the time that because of it—and later experiences, too, of breath-taking, natural beauty—she would become one of those people who produced that stuff she thought she was so bad in: “art.”

            “As I got older I became interested in old photos from the family—my mom as a child, and I took quite a few pictures in high school. But by the time I was 21 I had my first child…. For a while I took mainly pictures of my children, but I did take lots of those. Then in the late ‘70s I finally bought a fairly good 35mm camera. Shortly after that I came to the High Sierra for the first time.”

            It was magic for her. She hiked Kearsage and Onion Valley and the Bristlecone. She walked the Walker River and the Owens River, avidly taking pictures, pictures, pictures, trying to capture the elation those places inspired in her.

            Influenced by Ansel Adams, Roberta did only black and white images for a few years, took a photography class, found a darkroom she could rent to process her own work. Living in Venice, California, she took an even better 35mm camera to the Boardwalk, photographed people and buildings—the cityscape. But it was, again, the ocean—the light—which propelled her to intensify the study of what had by then become her chosen avenue of expression….

            By 1997 she began exhibiting some of her work in Sherman Oaks at the Seven Sanctuaries show and in Venice at the Dudley Avenue shows. By 1998 she was considering leaving the city, retiring from her career as a music copyist.

            Where to? Where did she most love to indulge that undercurrent of passion which enriched her life?

            The High Sierra, of course!

            In her decisive fashion she drove up to the Owens Valley, looked circumspectly at the real estate offerings, and bought a house.

            By 2001 she was tucked comfortably in her new home. With more time to pursue what had been a lifetime hobby, she signed up for photography classes at Cerro Coso College, with Instructor John Wilson. “I gained more technical information and, because of the classes, took more and more pictures. Digital printing became popular. I decided to buy a scanner and a good printer to create my own work….

“Taking pictures you learn more about yourself, and as you learn, your photographs change, and your approach changes. I’ve made changes this year especially. I understood this year that photography is an expression of your self. I’m finding my own voice. I want to communicate—share a feeling. You can hold onto a feeling with a photograph—if you can get it. My photos are not to tell a story. I want them to share a feeling.”

            What does the future hold for Roberta?

            “I know I love it here. I feel lucky. I have fun doing what gives me pleasure. It makes me happy to share my work. But my burning desire is to find my own voice. And of course, technically to create a print that looks good…a long-lasting, archival print….”