"I'm just a Columbia boy who loves this town," said John Reitzel. His fondness for Columbia will be on display in a photography exhibit at the Mount Bethel Cemetery cottage, 700 Locust St. The exhibit will run in conjunction with Columbia's Fourth Friday on Friday, April 22, from 5 to 8 p.m. and also on Sunday, April 24, from 2 to 4 p.m.
Born and raised in Columbia, Reitzel has only been taking pictures for a few years. He and his wife took a trip out West with another couple pre-pandemic, and he bought an inexpensive point-and-shoot camera to capture Yosemite National Park and the Grand Canyon. "To get ready for the trip, I started taking pictures in Columbia, and I realized there is so much to photograph right here," he stated.
A major focus of his work is the Veterans Memorial Bridge linking Columbia and Wrightsville. "I grew up on Maple Street, and you could see the bridge from my front yard," he said. "When you're young, you take it for granted, but now I really appreciate it." He also enjoys taking pictures of local wildlife, Chickies Rock and Columbia's historic buildings.
"My favorite thing to photograph is definitely my 2-year-old granddaughter," he noted. "Seeing life through the eyes of a child is a blessing."
Reitzel, who works for LSC Communications (formerly part of R.R. Donnelley) and has more 35 years of experience as a color analyst, said he edits his pictures for color but nothing else. He doesn't place or remove objects, change the scale of the subject or do anything more extensive than color correction. "I understand color theory," he stated. "I know what catches people's eyes."
He didn't intend for his hobby to become a side job, but after posting some of his pictures on Facebook, Reitzel began receiving requests for prints. His work is currently displayed and for sale at Murphy's Mercantile, 261 Locust St.; on Facebook; and at https://susquehannaphotos.com. He also makes all of the frames for his photos, using his 30-plus years of experience as a woodworker.
"I never intended my photography to take off like this," he said. "I just like to create things. My mom was very creative, and she passed that on to me. ... I still feel a connection to her when I take pictures."
Reitzel said he loves connecting with the people who buy his photos as well. "The best thing about doing this is the stories I get to to hear when people buy a piece," he remarked. "A lot of people who used to live in the area will buy something and tell me it reminds them of home."
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