LISA JONG-SOON GOODLIN OVERCOMES FEARS; PHOTOGRAPHER'S SHOW AT GALLERY 100 THROUGH JULY

This untitled photo by Lisa Jong-Soon Goodlin is on display at Gallery 100.

For Lisa Jong-Soon Goodlin, her first solo gallery show represents overcoming a fear.

Goodlin gave up photography many times out of fear of being judged and rejected. "Probably the thing I was most afraid of was the fear of not being good enough," she says.

"Sure, I could make a few good pictures, but what if I could never produce anything good again? It was easier to quit than face the possibility of not being able to make another good picture."

But at age 39, those fears have been replaced by what Goodlin calls "a zest for working."

That positive feeling is evident in Goodlin's show, "Light Struck," on display through July at Gallery 100. The gallery is located at 119 Independence St.

The black and white photographs in "Light Struck" were taken during a trip to Mexico. The show examines through formally composed images the contrast of poverty and wealth, the natural world and the world made by humans to be found along the beaches and in the neighborhoods of Acapulco.

Taking pictures coalesces her thoughts and feelings about such things, Goodlin says. "Photography allows me to synthesize the disparate parts. It makes me feel whole."

Goodlin was born in South Korea and was adopted by John and Betty Goodlin at age 1. She was raised in Glendora, Calif., and later Mounds, Ill. Her father is deceased and her mother, Betty, still lives in Mounds.

Goodlin spent the early part of her adult life trying to find her niche. She says she "bombed out" as a theater and biology major at Southeast. She later graduated from SIU with a degree in English.

For a time she was an editorial assistant for Outside magazine in Chicago but chafed under the harness of corporate journalism. All the while she was taking photographs but stopped short of putting them before the public.

Two years ago, she changed her mind. "I was almost 37 and I thought, I could be lying on my death bed saying, Why didn't I do the thing I most wanted to do in the world?" she said.

Goodlin now lives in Syracuse, N.Y., with her philosophy professor husband, Mario Saenz, and their 6-yer-old son, Miguel, who is home schooled.

She approached Gallery 100 about hosting her first gallery show because she wanted her mother to be able to see it. Some friends from high school also came, one of whom she hadn't seen for 20 years.

Her first gallery show has given Goodlin new insights into the life of an artist.

"Like most experiences in life, it's different than what I thought it would be," she said.

She spent the early part of last week hanging the show herself. "This was the first time I had done this by myself," she said. "... I didn't have time to think about, Will people like my work? I was worried about whether it's level.

She discovered that learning how to use a power drill to drive in the screws was part of what she enjoyed.

"I love everything about being an artist," Goodlin said.

Her next show, titled "Meditation on Small Things," will be presented in the Adirondacks in the fall.

Once you overcome one fear there's always more fear waiting, she says.

"The trick is learning to live with fear."