11/07/14

For the first time, a father and son have combined their action-packed photography adventures into one exhibition at the Hays Art Center, 112 E. 11th.

Dr. Zoran Stevanov, professor of art and design at Fort Hays State University, and his son Donald Stevanov, art instructor at Free State High School in Lawrence, have travelled to the bottom of the ocean, to the monuments of Egypt, through the national parks of Utah and the rainforests in Costa Rica to capture on camera what very few people get the chance to experience.

The elder Stevanov said that at age 16 he was one of the first certified scuba divers in the state of Florida. "The sport just started and I happened to be there. It was a dream come true."

Stevanov calls one of his underwater photographs "Truck in the Truk Lagoon." He was on his way to an old nuclear bomb test site in the ocean when his plane broke down at Truk Lagoon, which is an area of WWII shipwrecks, he said.


On a tour of Egypt in 2000 with his wife, Teodora, Stevanov seized the chance to photograph ancient monuments.

"It was always my wish to go," he said.

The younger Stevanov, Donald, was one of his father's students. The son, said the father, eventually "superceded his master."

In Costa Rica, Donald captured up-close shots of the "Kell-Billed Tucan," "White Faced Monkey," "Howler Monkey," "Crocodile" and the "Red-Eyed Tree Frog," which can all be seen at the exhibition.

Not only have these artists captured scenes from outside the country and brought them here to Hays, but they've captured Kansas from its classic scenes to its original landscapes that display the state as majestic and mysterious.

The Stevanovs' photography will stay on display until Nov. 26. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.