By Erin Stuber, Herald staff writer

It is an especially cold day in early May when Teri Pieper chooses to photograph Coulee City as part of a project called "Through Our Eyes." There is a strange mix of blue skies and both pale and dark clouds. Rain seems likely, but for the moment, the weather is just fine for taking pictures. Pieper, a longtime Moses Lake photographer, is here today as part of a project conceived by Kathy Kiefer, another well known Basin photographer. "It was sort of a convergence of ideas," Kiefer said. Kiefer contacted 12 local photographers and invited them to participate in "Through Our Eyes." Each was assigned one or more communities in Grant County and asked to photograph its people and places. The results would be on exhibit in Soap Lake in July. "It was like, go to those towns and discover what those towns are to you," Kiefer said. It is with these limited rules that Pieper is photographing her appointed town of Electric City. She has decided to turn this photographic excursion into a camping trip in her van and has taken along Biscuit, a big furry black dog, for company. As she drives through the small city, she reflects on the rolls of film she has already shot on this short trip. The day before, she was in Marlin ? Pieper volunteered to photograph more than one town ? and found her Pentax pointed toward the railroad, grain elevator, city hall and an old church. "It probably used to be quite a growing little town," Pieper says of Marlin. She spent the morning in Grand Coulee and there she focused on the dam and power lines. "Each of these towns, Marlin, Electric City, Coulee City, all seem to have their own personality," Pieper says. "Each is distinctly different." Pieper is shooting Electric City with black and white film. She has some shots planned; the day before she made arrangements to photograph a small theater a local woman began building at the back of her downtown shop. After taking some more general shots of the theater construction, Pieper directs the Electric City woman to stand among the folding seats which are not yet bolted to the floor. Click, click. She thanks her subject, and loads her equipment back into her van to look for her next one. "I was trying to think of things that are representative of this town," she says as she drives through the small town. Pieper has been enjoying working on "Through Our Eyes." "It makes me look at things differently," she says. "I see it as a challenge, a way to look at things differently." Pieper, a photographer for more than 25 years, scans the streets as she meanders around Electric City. Suddenly, she spots something that catches her eye. "That's kind of interesting," she says, throwing her van into reverse, backing down the street. She gets out, sets up her camera on a heavily-padded, well-loved tripod and approaches a broken down old truck that hasn?t been moved in years. In what most passers-by would see as an eyesore, Pieper sees something intriguing, and possibly a great photograph. Click. After having her film developed, Pieper's next task is to select the best frames to enlarge. Kiefer has set some restrictions for this project ? only five photos per town will be exhibited. A month later, Pieper ? and the other photographers, including Kiefer ? have narrowed down their impressions of 19 Grant County communities to five images a piece and Kiefer is pleased with the results. "There's cleverness in this exhibit, there's artistry and there's just some damn good photography," Kiefer said. "You're going to get a real look at these communities," she added, explaining that not every image is a pleasant one. "They really went out there to discover. It's very honest." The participants come from varied backgrounds, some are professional while others take pictures as a hobby. They are: Mike Ahmann, Brent Blake, Randy Bracht, Victoria Cotton, John Glassco, Don Graham, Kiefer, Cheryl Morris, Pete Rice, Joe Rogers, Alyson Schill, Erin Stuber and Pieper. The photographers themselves have become the subject of free publication, also called "Through Our Eyes," which is currently available at various businesses and other locations throughout the Basin. Examples of the photographers' work and short biographies give their audience an informed perspective of their pictures. The publication will also be on hand at the exhibit. Mary Ackerman assisted Kiefer in the "Through Our Eyes" project, securing the Las Brisas Art and Conference Center where the photos will be shown from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, July 6 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 7. Masquers Theater has also stepped in to help sponsor the show, as have other local businesses and orginazation which will be recognized at the exhibit. The exhibit has been expanded upon and is now part of the Sun Lakes Photography Festival. Other local avid shutterbugs are invited to join in the festival by showing their work at Las Brisas this weekend. Those interested may bring their photographs to the center on between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on July 4. Festival volunteers will hang the pictures which will be displayed in another area of Las Brisas while the "Through Our Eyes" exhibit is shown. A photography swap meet is planned for Saturday, July 6 at the old post office in Soap Lake. It will open to the public at 9 a.m. Advanced reservations are required to participate. Kiefer hopes both the photography festival and "Through Our Eyes" become an annual event. She plans to invite different photographers to participate in an ever changing themed exhibition of their work year after year. "We'll continue to capture the faces and the feeling and the character of the Basin," she said. "It gives the community an opportunity to reflect on itself."