Frequent world-traveler Mary Altier of La Selva Beach is showing her photographs at the Aptos Branch Library.
“Around the World with Color Photography,” a 60-piece exhibition, will run through Sept. 30.
The show, which is spread out in several rooms at the library, features images taken in Papua New Guinea, China, Italy, India, several countries in Africa, and more.
Altier’s inspirations are not only from local artists, but international ones as well, including Martin Chambi from Peru, Sabastiao Salgado from Brazil, Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher.
She moved to La Selva Beach in 1971 after spending a year living and working in the Atacama Desert of Chile and traveling around South America.
Altier has traveled to Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, tribal areas of India and other countries. She specializes in environmental portraiture, especially of people in remote locations, she said. Her interest in becoming a professional photographer began in 1979, when she went on a sabbatical from teaching at Renaissance High School to travel to South America for a year.
“As a traveler, I began shooting with the desire to keep my travel experiences alive,” she said. With a background in fashion design, Altier said she had no formal training in photography.
A reception is set for Aug. 1, from 1:30 to 4:30pm, with refreshments, and a slideshow of recent work.
The Aptos Branch Library is at 7695 Soquel Drive.
