BROOKS INSTITUTE SHOWCASES TWO EXCITING EXHIBITS FOR JUNE “FIRST THURSDAY,” INVISIBLE LIGHT AND IMAGES OF NORTHERN ITALY

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – May 14, 2007— To coincide with Santa Barbara Downtown Organization's First Thursday initiative, Brooks Institute announced today it will showcase two exciting exhibits, Invisible Light and Images of Northern Italy. The public is invited to an artists' reception on Thursday, June 7, 2007 from 5 – 8 pm at Brooks' Cota Street Campus and Gallery at 27 East Cota Street.

The exhibit introduces two fantastically different and intriguing approaches to viewing the world. First, “Invisible Light,” by photographer Dennis Sheridan and radiologist-turned-photographer Thomas Lloyd Miller, exploit infrared, ultraviolet light, x-ray images, microscopic close-ups and other non-conventional photographic tools to unveil the natural world that is normally invisible to the human eye.

Sheridan is an internationally-published photographer whose work has appeared in many publications. He focuses on living subjects, particularly all forms of wildlife. His photographs have appeared on magazine covers, in books, calendars and scientific journals. He has many awards and one-man shows to his credit.

Miller has been working with digital images for twenty years as a radiologist with sub-specialty training in computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. More recently, he has combined his medical experience with his interest in photography, making photographs and images of a variety of subjects.

Miller and Sheridan have collaborated over the last several years producing unusual images of biological subjects, including snakes with unobstructed images of embryos fully formed inside of them, or flowers with visible internal reproductive organs. In exploring these new approaches to photography that expose invisible parts of the light spectrum, Miller and Sheridan are delivering a radically different look at the world with these seldom seen images.

In contrast to the invisible world, Brooks' Provost, author, and travel photographer, David Litschel, reveals nuances of color, shape and juxtaposition through his discerning sense of composition and captures stunning vignettes of the everyday world in his Images of Northern Italy . Litschel shot these photos in the summer of 2006, during a trip to Milan, Venice, the islands of Burano and San Michele and other small towns and villages surrounding Lake Como, including Cernobbio, Como, Brunate, Varenna, Tremezzo, Bellagio and Menaggio, to assemble this stunning exhibition.

Litschel is an architectural and a travel photographer whose images often combine aspects of both his interest in documenting people at work and capturing a “fleeting” moment. Litschel is the co-author of two books on photography: Black and White Photography published by Delmar a division of Thompson Learning, Inc., now in its second edition, and Digital Photographic Capture published by Focal Press in 2005.

Litschel is active in several professional organizations. He is president of the board of directors of the: Photo Imaging Education Association (PIEA), an Advisory Board Member of the Photographer's Forum magazine, and a member of the Board of Directors for Photoaccess.com. Litschel earned a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the University of Colorado, where he was awarded Phi Beta Kappa.

About Brooks Institute

Brooks Institute celebrates more than 60 years of educating students in the visual and media arts. With campuses in Santa Barbara and Ventura, California, the school offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in fields including Professional Photography, Visual Journalism, Film and Video Production and Graphic Design, and a Master of Science degree in Photography. Brooks' graduates are visible nationally and internationally, working for distinguished organizations including National Geographic, Smithsonian, Los Angeles Times and other national media outlets, including Hallmark Publishing, Cousteau Society, HBO, Kodak and other industry leaders in the visual media arts fields. For more information about Brooks Institute and the school's programs, visit www.brooks.edu, or call 805-966-3888.