Savannah photographer Tim Coy gives us a peek at the shapes, colors and shadows that he captures on film

At first glance, Tim Coy's photographs raise an eyebrow, prompting a deeper examination of what the artist is communicating - particularly with his more abstract compositions.

But Coy will tell you not to attempt burying his images under layers of abstract interpretation.

Instead, view Coy's exhibit at the Jewish Educational Alliance as a happy string of serendipitous events, moments in time captured when exactly the right light, just the right alignment of cosmic forces, came together to snap Coy to attention.

Coy was born into a Savannah family but grew up in the Northeast. Pursuing an early interest in the photographic arts, he studied at Yale College, where he received his B.A. in 1971, and also studied black-and-white photography at the Maryland Institute of Art.

After graduation from Yale, he studied classical guitar at the Guitar Society of New York and the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore.

After a hitch in the U.S. Navy, where he served as an aviation officer, Coy returned to Savannah, opening a popular night club on River Street and embarking on a career in the music business.

Although he was not a practicing photographer during those years, he maintained a keen interest in the works of the masters and continued to shoot when time permitted.

But since 1998 he has dedicated himself to photography, studying under Alison Shaw, George Dewolfe, Tim Cooper and Jim Hansen and at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography and the Maine Photographic Workshops. He also explored the aesthetics of photography under Paul Caponigro.

The diversity of his exploration and his intellectual attachment to his images is apparent, but even more so when he explains his own work.

"I have not created these images; I have found them," Coy says. "The gift of perception is an intense personal experience. The collection records not only plays of light but also my responses to them.

"When I am in the field with my camera, the alchemy of light and shapes blending together in a radiant moment of charged silence engages my sense of joy. And so I cannot remove myself completely from the process. These photographs are recordings of light and shape and energy; but they are also recordings of my rapture in observing them."

This exhibit is Coy's first solo show since November 2002, when his "Flights of Light," was on display at Oglethorpe Row Gallery.

His photographs were awarded two prizes in the 2003 Coastweeks competition sponsored by the University of Georgia Marine Center. In October he was invited to serve as an artist-in-residence on Ossabaw Island. His next exhibit is planned for May 2004 at Oglethorpe Row Gallery.