There is a special photography exhibition opening April 16 at the Sammamish City Hall, focusing on threatened polar bear and wild mustangs.
- Sammamish Comment has provided reporting and commentary throughout its existence. Today it’s some shameless promotion for the photography debut of an exhibit by Gail Twelves, my wife.
Photo by Gail Twelves. This will be on display at the Sammamish City Hall April 16-July 8. Meet the photographer at a reception 6-8pm on April 22. The polar bear photos were made in the wild in Kaktovik, Alaska.
The exhibition is called Eye-to-Eye: A photographic connection with Polar Bears and Mustangs. It opens April 16 and continues through July 8. A reception with Twelves is April 22 from 6-8pm at City Hall.
Wild mustangs are threatened in the US West. A sanctuary, Return to Freedom in Northern California, is dedicated to saving these magnificent animals. Gail Twelves spent a week here taking photos of the herds. This and other photos will be on display at the Sammamish City Hall from April 16-July 8.
Kaktovik, Alaska, on Barter Island, is where Gail Twelves took photos of Polar Bears in the wild. This is a much more natural environment than the tourist-laden Churchill, Canada, well-known for polar bear tours. Image via Google images.
Return to Freedom, in Lompac, CA west of Bakersfield, is a sanctuary for several herds of wild mustangs.
Polar bear and horses have been Twelves’ passion since childhood. She spent a week in Kaktovik photographing polar bear and a week in Lompac with the wild mustangs. There will be about 40 photos on display at City Hall, some as big as 40×40 inches.
Gail Twelves, in Wiseman, Alaska, half way up the famous haul road between Fairbanks and Prudhoe Bay. From there, she flew to Kaktovik for the polar bear photography.
Sammamish Comment 
Wow, amazing photography!!!!! Incredible talent; should be a great exhibit.