Photo By Matthew Albritton

"Fallen Leaf" is part of Matthew Albritton's exhibition of photographs at the Carnegie in Covington.

When Matthew Albritton embarked on a journey through Scotland with his father in search of their family's history, they retraced the footsteps of their ancestor John Knox, the 16th-century religious reformer. This father-and-son pilgrimage and a second visit to Great Britain by Albritton resulted in a series of evocative photographs that reaches far beyond a documentation of historical sites.

The lack of historical documentation is a refreshing surprise, since Knox is widely regarded as the father of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland. Along with other 16th-century European religious leaders like John Calvin and Martin Luther, Knox forged a new branch of Christianity in response to the perceived corruption of the Catholic Church. Visitors to Albritton's exhibition at the Carnegie Center for Visual and Performing Arts quickly discover, however, that they are not getting a history lesson.

A family tree in a binder shows Knox's place in the Albritton clan -- he is, as the artist calls him, his "many-times-great grandfather." Albritton's photographs are concerned with this personal connection to family and history, which he felt profoundly while in the British Isles. He shares this experience mostly through capturing light in understated, ethereal images, fleeting moments that remind us of the passage of time.

Photographs like "Brick Walkway" and "Cobblestone Road" capture the effects of time on stone. The bricks, grazed by slanting light, have been worn smooth by centuries of walking. The images make us think about feet going about their daily business over 400 years ago and also about the extraordinary individuals who might have traversed these stone pavers --people like Knox who changed history one step at a time. In turn, we think about what legacy we might leave behind.

In the exhibition, viewers can also compare the merits of different photographic techniques. Silver gelatin prints, made in a darkroom, convey rich tonalities and crisp detail. Albritton is especially skilled at giving depth and variety to dark areas. In silver gelatin photographs like "Doorway," shadows are not just black but also contain a beautiful range of values that reward the viewer who carefully studies the image.

Albritton's larger digital prints are created by capturing the image on black-and-white film and then producing the photograph on an archival inkjet printer. Through this process, the paper absorbs the ink, yielding a graphic quality that almost resembles an etching. This effect can be seen in photographs such as "Fallen Leaf," in which fleeting light hits a single, shining leaf, making it appear to float on a sea of stone. The delicate veins and edges look almost drawn with pen and ink.

Through these photographs, one can tell that Albritton, photography instructor at Northern Kentucky University, is a formalist at heart. He can look at the world through a camera's viewfinder and discover intriguing compositions that reveal sublime moments most people overlook.

More than a history lesson or a family tree series, these subtle, black-and-white, tightly composed images examine mortality, the passage of time and the universal connection to those who came before us. Grade: A

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matthew albritton's photograhpy on view at the Carnegie Center for Visual and Performing Arts through April 6.