Emerge exhibit features local doctor

Dr. Paul Camnitz is not a professional photographer. Actually, he's the Head of the Division of Otolaryngology and Head of Neck surgery for ECU's Brody School of Medicine.

Although he's a doctor by day, an Emerge Gallery employee thought that his photographs of places around the world were good enough to hang in the Gallery.

Camnitz's work features what he calls the "memories" of the once-a-year trips he takes around the world-he has already traveled to about 30 countries.

"He captures the essence of the location through people, architecture and the land," said Vicky Fanberg, exhibition and event coordinator for Emerge Gallery. "Most photos are original film with only a few being digital."

The current exhibit at the Gallery contains some of Camnitz's photographs from places like Switzerland, Myanmar, Botswana, Nepal and Argentina, and will be shown at Emerge until July 12.

While his Emerge counterparts saw something in his work, Camnitz doesn't see himself as a photographer, but as "a person who takes pictures," and admits that he was nervous when asked to exhibit some of his photographs in the Gallery.

"I've always taken pictures more for memory than for display," he said. "Other people have said that I ought to display [my pictures] sometime because the interest is not only in the photograph, but also in the country that it was taken."

Camnitz has been taking photographs since 1979, and for the last few years has been donating his work to various auctions around Greenville.

Camnitz says that he isn't trying to make a statement with his photographs, but merely wanting to capture a memory from the places he has traveled.

"[What inspired me to take these pictures] is mainly their faces, their expressions, the fact that people are people no matter where you find them," Camnitz said. "The families in Nepal love their children and love their parents just as much as we do in the United States. When you get down to the basics we're all pretty much the same."

The photographs have received attention from gallery-goers in the area, although Camnitz modestly jokes that most of it comes from his wife, mother and daughter; but Fanberg says that his work is sparking interest in all who see the photographs.

"Viewers have been in awe of the photos, giving them awe and excitement about traveling," she said.

Camnitz's work can be seen at the Don Edwards Gallery at Emerge Gallery.

Emerge Gallery first opened in 2000, and now "has become the driving force in the revitalization of Uptown Greenville and the arts community within eastern North Carolina, and serves as a valuable educational, cultural, and creative outlet for the ECU School of Art and Design and Pitt County Community," according to the Gallery's Web site.

For more information about Dr. Paul Camnitz or Emerge Gallery, visit emergegallery.com.

This writer can be contacted at editor@theeastcarolinian.com.