Peter Zappel
(831) 479-9121
www.peterzappel.com
Santa Cruz, CA

Silvia Austerlic
(831) 426-0690
silvia@got.net
Santa Cruz, CA

Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1952, Peter Zappel fled from his homeland with his family during the Hungarian revolution. Living briefly in England and Canada before settling in the United States, Peter brings a wealth of diverse experience to his photography. He has been living in California since 1961. He is a graduate of California State University San Jose, holding a BA in Political Science. Photographing since 1979, his images are not meant to document location or subject matter per se, but to inspire both the eye and the mind; to evoke the sense of mystery surrounding life. His images have appeared in national magazines such as Outdoor and Travel Photography, Redbook, Self and a variety of specialized magazines. He has been interviewed on National Public Radio (State of Arts KUSP 1999).
Peter is working on his book, Color and Soul, A Visual Journey of Illusion and Transformation in collaboration with Silvia Austerlic, a graphic and web designer from Argentina. She created his virtual gallery www.peterzappel.com which previews images from this book-in-progress under such headings as Dreamland, Black Color, and Illuminations.

Silvia Austerlic was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1965. She studied graphic design at the University of Buenos Aires, where she was a teacher of art history from 1990 to 1997. In 1998 she came to the United States, and has been living in Santa Cruz since 1999, where she studies digital media and web design. Since 1995 she has been interested in the cultural impact of the information technology from a design perspective, and in finding ways of tapping into the collaborative potential of the new tools to give voice to new actors.

Peter and Silvia visited Bodie in August 2001, and the website Bodie, An American Ghost Town, a collection of 20 images, was created in November 2001. Bodie stands as a message about impermanence and change: the Wild West, manifest destiny, dreams fulfilled, promises dashed... There is also a beautiful and peaceful aspect to age, since Bodie is maintained in a state of "arrested decay" not as a victim of the elements but as a historic park that people can actually enjoy... and most of all, a photographer's paradise!