When Anne Gomes’ four children left for college in the early 1980s, she finally found the time and energy to explore interests beyond her nursing career. Growing up on the Peninsula, she loved looking at photographs, especially the ones in Life Magazine, so she decided to take a couple of photography courses at Chabot College in Hayward.
Anne fell in love with taking black-and-white photos as well as printing her own photographs. “After taking classes, I made a darkroom in a spare bedroom in my house. I bought a twin-lens reflex camera, which gave me a two-and-a-quarter-inch square negative. Eventually, I had two large-format cameras, which gave me larger 4x5 and 5x7 negatives.”
Shortly thereafter, Anne bought a home in Rockridge, where she has resided since. For many years, she worked three days a week as a home health nurse with Oakland Kaiser, but always found time for her photography. At one point, as a visiting nurse, she was so struck by one of her patients that she returned to take her photo, titled The Swedish Patient.
She often took a month off work each year to be a docent in Tuolumne Meadows; in addition to being an enjoyable volunteer position at the campgrounds, this experience in Yosemite inspired her photographic journey.
Every year, Anne looks forward to annual retreats in San Juan Bautista, where she meets with a group of photographers who have been getting together for 20 years to share 10 or so of their best prints with each other.
“I’ve taken photography classes and workshops here in California and other western states. During a workshop in Carmel, a group of us had the good fortune to meet Ansel Adams and tour his magical darkroom!”
She generally finds that she is most drawn to nature and still-life compositions; however, she has also documented the Mountain View Cemetery and Pardee House in Oakland.
1) Three Persimmons; 4×5 Large Format Camera; Three-Color Gum Dichromate Print on Rives BFK Paper
2) Chapel Doorway, Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, California; 4×5 Tachihara Field Camera; Kallitype Print on Watercolor Paper
3) Early Morning, Lake Tahoe; Tachihara 4×5 Large Format Camera; Silver Print
4) Betatakin Anasazi Cliff Dwelling; Tachihara 4×5 Field Camera; Silver Print
5) Red Cactus Diner, Highway 25, New Mexico; Olympus OM-1; Color Print on Primo Unryu A4 Paper
6) The Mozart Club, Highway 95, Nevada; Olympus OM-1; Silver Print
7) Paddling Dugout Canoe, La Selva, Ecuador; 35mm Olympus OM-1; Silver Print
“I began with a variety of early photographic processes, including gum bichromate, palladium, and kallitype. This gives them a tactile quality, where the image is not only on the paper but seems to become part of it. It gives the photos a timeless and romantic quality.”
Anne has shown her photographs through Open Studios and various galleries in Denver, the Bay Area, and Frankfurt, where she and her husband lived for two years. She was a member of the San Francisco Women Artists, and the Gallery House in Palo Alto — both artist cooperatives.
Anne’s work has been featured in magazines including View Camera and The Photographer’s Formulary. She was especially thrilled to receive several awards, including “Best Artist” twice from the Mill Valley Arts Festival.
“I love being chosen for a particular exhibition; it’s an award in itself.”
To contact Anne, email abgomes326@gmail.com; to see more of her work, visit Mesart.com.
