Big turnout for "Island in Amber"

Nearly 150 people visited the reception Saturday at the Great Falls Library.

It was gratifying to see folks I hadn't for 5, 10 and even 30 years. They'd heard about the show and came by to check it out. There were also a number of people who'd lived in Cuba when they were younger, and told interesting tales about the island when it was in its heyday in the '50s.

Part of the reason for the great interest also has to go to the kind people who helped promote the reception: Brian Trompeter wrote a marvelous article for the Sun Gazette Newspapers , Brandon Weigel listed it in the Washington Post Weekend, and Alice Ross, editor of northern Virginia's sumptuous arts magazine Elan Magazine, published a number of additional images and asked me to contribute a two-page essay.

Cuba: Island in Amber, a free exhibition of photography from Cuba, is on display at the Great Falls Library until May 30.