If you happen to live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and are interested in Photography, you owe it to yourself to make the trip over to Hayward to check out PhotoCentral.

PhotoCentral is a community oriented resource located in what was once the boiler room of the Hayward Area Recreation and Parks District. Started by Geir and Kate Jordahl back in 1983, PhotoCentral provides public darkroom and digital printing facilities, as well as classes and exhibition space.

I was there for the first time last night to check out an exhibition by 25 local photographers who recently completed a class at Foothill College. The show – called 25 views – is a little like the one resulting from the Stanford/Modernbook class I participated in earlier this year in that there is a huge variety of styles and subject matter on display. There really is “something for everyone”.

The space itself can best be described as “funky”, with interesting nooks and crannies and pictures taking up every precious inch of wall space including the work areas as well as corridors and public spaces (it takes a lot to accommodate over 100 pictures!).

The overall standard of work is very high, with plenty of unusual and imaginative work to maintain the viewers interest. I won’t single out any one artist here, for fear of offending someone, but it was great to see work by several friends and photo acquaintances on display.

The only downside is that the exhibition is only open on Monday nights from 6:30-10:00pm (or by appointment). The show runs until August 29th.

Sneak peak of the show: http://photocentral.org/25Views/

Definitely worth a look if you are nearby.