Encouraged by last year's solo exhibition, and still inspired by Bermuda's beauty, photographer Peter Matcham opens his second solo exhibition in the Onions Gallery of the Bermuda Society of Arts this evening.

Entitled 'Wish You Were Here', the collection is a continuation of the local theme, but whereas last year's show recreated an aura of Bermuda's not-so-distant past, the new show is about the present, and Mr. Matcham's lens captures a variety of elements, including architecture, golf, beaches, flora and fauna, sunsets and landmarks, many by moonlight. All but two images are human-free.

"The show is about the setting and the beauty of Bermuda, and allowing people to put themselves in the picture, and an opportunity to show people a lot of things that they otherwise might not see, or see from a different perspective," the photographer says.

"There is a certain amount of romanticism involved, particularly in the nighttime shots. It is a very difficult thing to get sufficient light not to make an image look too bright yet maintain the aura of mystique of what is happening at that moment at night — just the whole pleasure of it, and the subtleties of the colours you see in the shots illuminated by the moon."

A man who never leaves home without his digital camera, Mr. Matcham has been shooting new work for this exhibition from the time the last one closed until a few weeks ago. In terms of time, he has moved about at all hours of the day and night to capture a wide range of light.

"Bermuda's light is so unique," he says. "Every part of the day is really different. There is the softness of the morning light, and at other times the light is so dramatic."

Briefly discussing a few of the images, Mr. Matcham says he captured the long, tree-lined road entitled 'Zuill's Drive' because it remains a bit of old Bermuda, while he particularly liked the beauty of the roof lines at 'Cedar Lodge 2', and especially the image which includes a palm tree because it conveys the feeling of a "nice, cool summer". The backlit cloud hiding the moon at Hungry Bay pleases him because it is moody and "very romantic".

Summing up his goals for this exhibition, the photographer says, "I was trying to capture that certain je ne sais quoi".

There are approximately 60 photographs in 'Wish You Were Here', and all are printed locally on achival quality paper and canvases, with archival quality inks.

"They are also framed here, so it's totally a local enterprise," Mr. Matcham says proudly.

• 'Wish You Were Here' continues through September 24. For further information see the Bermuda Calendar.