“Dreaming Stream” by Kimberly Sawyer.

Longevity is a good indicator of success in many endeavors, and by that measure, LightBox Photographic Gallery has exceeded even the hopes of its owners.

Michael and Chelsea Granger opened LightBox 15 years ago as a center for photographers, especially those who embrace film and other traditional and alternative techniques. Since then, the gallery on Marine Drive in Astoria has shown the work of locals and professionals from around the world.

Now, for its 200th exhibit, LightBox is bringing together many of the supporters who have helped make that possible.

“200,” a show of works by 50 members of the gallery, opened Dec. 14 and continues through Feb. 1.

Featured in the exhibit are Loren Nelson, Roger Dorband, Terry Thompson, Julie Moore, Chris Villiers, Sam Blair, Kimberly Sawyer, Sandy Brown Jensen, Stu Levy and Jody Miller, along with many others.

Some of the names will be familiar to those who have visited LightBox in recent months.

Moore, for example, just completed the solo exhibition “Connected,” which ran at the gallery between Nov. 9 and Dec. 11.

An exhibit by Nelson, titled “Found Subject(s) Matter,” was on display between Oct. 12 and Nov. 6.

Their work will join a collection that includes portraits, wildlife photographs and familiar landscapes. One image from the exhibit, by Bend photographer Larry Huhn, is a double-plate print that shows a flock of birds in flight over the Columbia River.

For Michael Granger, seeing the 200th exhibit come together marks a milestone.

“There’s no way we would have even dreamed LightBox would take the form it has today,” he said. “Even after the 100th exhibit, we wouldn’t have foreseen a 200th show.”

He is quick to give credit to the photographic community and to supporting members of the gallery, who get first invites to special events and can display their images and ideas on the LightBox website.

In addition to being a center for fine art photography on the North Coast, LightBox provides high-quality digital scanning and printing, traditional film printing in both color and black and white, plus matting and framing services.

According to Michael Granger, the gallery is set up to further its mission as a gathering place, with elements of community like workshops on processes like carbon transfer printing.

Also, unlike “200,” which is a member exhibition, shows at LightBox are often juried.

A juried art show is a competitive event judged by a jury of critics, usually experts or professionals. After a call for entries, the jurors select those who will participate in the exhibit.

In the next exhibit at LightBox, “The Photographic Nude 2025,” which begins Feb. 8, the Grangers will act as jurors.

A call for entries to the exhibit, which will explore artistic and creative views of the body, is open through Jan. 4.

Even some of the most successful photographers have complained that they have struggled to get the art world to accept photography as a “fine art.” With LightBox, over 200 exhibits, a gallery has done much to advance the art and the medium here on the North Coast.

‘200’

A milestone exhibit at LightBox Photographic Gallery, 1045 Marine Drive, Astoria, featuring the work of its members.

On display through Feb. 1. Hours are noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, or by appointment.

www.lightbox-photographic.com