April 29, 2015
Stadler Studio has found a new home in Langley at the building where the Children’s Theater was located. After 10 years at the last location, I finally feel home. Our open house is this Saturday, May 2 from 4:30-7 p.m. at 222 Anthes Ave. You’ll see the new gallery space and studio. which has been transformed from floor to ceiling. The space is what I’ve always dreamed of since I first opened my doors in 2001.
I’ve been a Langley kid since the days I would skateboard from the Middle School after school. It’s so great to be in such a unique town and vibe of friendly people by the sea.
Come for wine and food catered by Midnight Kitchen. It will be a room full of people with whom I have worked through the years. All are welcome. On the walls you’ll find featured “Transcending Youth,” photos following the growth and changes of time with a Whidbey Island Waldorf class from first to eighth grade through an eight-year journey of consecutive portraiture. I have watched a group of children become young adults and transform into who they are today. The whole process has been very personal to me and will hold the image of their youth in my mind and heart forever.
At the Waldorf school each class and teacher stay together until graduation at eighth grade. This presented the opportunity for such a project. Some students have come and gone throughout the years and I can recall all their names. At the end of this project I feel they are my own kids growing up. Being a parent now, I can appreciate, through my children, the fleeting moment of childhood. The students will also be present at the reception to share some insight of growing up “on film.”
On Whidbey Island there is such a diverse happening of photographic subjects. I’ll go from photographing art glass to a house in the woods for a builder and finish up with a family portrait on the beach at sunset. It gives me balance and ever-changing subject matter. Sure, it rains some days; it can be a beautiful thing and I’ve always thought about moving to, say, Kauai to shoot weddings. I always come back to the thought of the amazing community of cool people who have raised and supported me.
There are big things happening here if you look a little closer.
For more information about Michael, visit his website at: stadlerstudio.com. All photos courtesy of Michael Stadler.
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