Singer Graham Nash Brings His Photos to San Juan

Singer-songwriter Graham Nash visited San Juan Capistrano on Tuesday night to kick off an exhibit of his photographs at the House of Photographic Art in the historic Forster Mansion.

Nash -- best known for performing with the Hollies and various incarnations of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young -- signed books and prints at a benefit reception, which cost $50 a person and was scheduled to run from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at 27182 Ortega Highway.

Despite his rock pedigree, Nash is also an internationally renowned photographer and digital imaging pioneer whose work is represented by a classic 1969 portrait of David Crosby in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, according to a press release promoting the exhibit. 

"The Photography of Graham Nash," an exhibition of 50 images, includes portraits of family, friends and fellow music icons, as well as scenes and cityscapes captured during Nash's world travels.

The opening reception was hosted by the Women of Chapman, a group dedicated to a program of service to Chapman University. Attendees had the opportunity to order Love, Graham Nash, a handmade fine press book limited to 70 copies, signed and numbered by Nash (the set includes 21 bound photographs, images of handwritten lyrics for 17 of Nash's songs, letterpress versions of lyrics, a portfolio of nine free-standing photographs and a companion CD). 

Nash first started taking pictures when he was 10, inspired by his father, an amateur photographer.  "I had a camera before I had a guitar," he remembers. Many of the works featured in the San Juan Capistrano exhibit were previously published in the book Eye To Eye: Photographs By Graham Nash. 

At the heart of Nash's photography is what he has described as "that decisive moment when it all comes together in that little rectangle in the viewfinder—it all clicks, and then I click."

To attend the reception, you must RSVP to Maryanne Charis at 949-429-2220.

The free exhibit continues through Nov. 17 and can be viewed by appointment.