The Mitzvah Tank
captures a New York
religious vehicle parked
beneath a provocative sign.

MITZVAH TANK

"There are lots of photos in the show that I've never enlarged
before,' says Wallace, who maintains a Web site gallery at
Special to the Jewish News
www.davidwallacephotography.com . "There's a funny series taken
on Hollywood Blvd."
avid Wallace reveals a lot about himself through the pic-
Images come from many places, reaching from Washington,
tures he takes of others.
D.C.,
to Amsterdam and New Orleans to Paris. Wallace believes his
His first exhibit, "Fragments of the Day: David Wallace
increasing
attention to taking pictures enhanced his abilities to
Photography," lets viewers know that he travels worldwide, closely
• experience any situation at hand .and observe simultaneously.
observes his surroundings and remains captivated with emotions
"During the 1990s, I began representing clients who were expand-
expressed spontaneously.
ing
their businesses globally and kept a journal of my experiences','
Fifty of Wallace's images will be on view July 27-Sept. 28 at the
explains
Wallace, who was an attorney for 25 years before joining the
Janice Charach Epstein Gallery at the West Bloomfield Jewish
management
team of his family's metal recycling business, Huron
Community Center, where there will be a reception at 6 p.m. open-
Valley Steel Corp., in 2003.
ing day and a Coffee Culture Conversation event at 7 p.m. Thursday,
"I realized that the journal did not provide me with a means of
Aug. 17.
sharing
my experiences with others, but I got an idea after watch-
"The photos are arranged by city, but they should not be consid-
ing
a
television
magazine segment about a New York cab driver. He
ered travel photos',' says Wallace, 52, a Huntington Woods resident
carried
a
camera
with him as he was driving and would stop and
who works with black-and-white images off hours when business
takes him to distant destinations. "They are street photos, mostly of take random pictures.
"I went out and bought an Olympus camera and took it with me.
people as they get caught up in the moment."
In
1999, after a trip to Belgium, I became hooked on photography
La Grand Place shows a couple embracing on a Brussels street.
when
I saw the results. I changed to a 35 mm Canon to help me
The Mitzvah Tank captures a New York religious vehicle parked
communicate
what I viewed and the way I see things."
beneath a provocative sign. Shanghai Residential Alley gives
Wallace
credits
celebrity photographer and former Seaholm
a glimpse of urban poverty hidden behind a rich landscape as
women wash pots in communal sinks.
On The Streets on page 47

Suzanne Chessler

Photographer
David Wallace
captures
moments in
time around
the world.

July 27

e

2006

43

