By Bruce Barton

William Carter’s work as a fine arts photographer isn’t tied to a particular fashion or time period. He prefers to focus his lens on timeless matters — the laughing smiles of an elderly couple, the lines and shapes of classic nudes, the enduring beauty of forests and seashores.

Carter is currently enjoying a 40-year retrospective exhibition of his work at the Anita Seipp Gallery of Castilleja School, 1311 Emerson St., Palo Alto. A reception for the artist, a Los Altos Hills resident, is scheduled 6-8 p.m., Friday, in the gallery.

The 67-year-old’s passion for clarinet playing and jazz music translates to his visual art approach as well. “I’m interested in rhythm in forms as well as music,” he said. “I work a lot with negative spaces, in between things.” As a member of the San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation, Carter also appreciates the connection between the humanity in jazz and in his people work. “They (jazz musicians) really flow from the heart,” he said. “That’s what that (humanity) part of the show’s about.”

The acclaimed photographer’s long resume includes several books, such as the highly successful “Ghost Towns of the West,” published in 1971, and his latest book of nudes, “Illuminations,” in 1996. He has worked as a photojournalist, with spreads in Life magazine and The New York Times, among others, and as an assistant book editor for Harper & Row in New York.

Carter’s retrospective exhibit comprises a “four-way split,” as he calls it, between his humanity themes, ghost towns and building facades, landscapes and nudes.

His works have been shown at galleries throughout Europe and the United States.

Carter’s 51-piece show at Castilleja was a difficult one for him to assemble. “I had been thinking about the show for some time,” said the Stanford graduate. “As part of the final choice, I ended up taking pictures that were not necessarily better (than those rejected) but harmonious with one another.”

Carter has lived in Los Altos Hills since 1993. “I’m really fortunate being in this rural environment,” he said from his home, which has a view of the San Francisco Bay. “I have a catwalk from house to studio which I call my commute.”

Armed with a Canon or a German Linhof camera for panoramic views, Carter said his goal has been, and is, “looking for qualities in the work of longer-term significance. Both in the fine arts area as well as journalism, there’s a lot of commentary on the scene right now. I’m involved in looking at harmonics and form that are timeless in value.”

Born in Los Angeles, Carter said his passion for photography grew in “baby steps,” starting as a youngster with his mother getting a camera for him during a trip to Japan. “I started messing around with it, then I thought, I’d better learn how to print these (photos). Then I started to realize I could combine (photography) with writing.”

Carter started his career as editor of photo books, which led to freelance photography assignments and, eventually, Life magazine. A 1965 spread on the Kurds in northern Iraq put him in the national spotlight.

He gravitated toward books. One of his most enjoyable assignments came through Sunset Books of Menlo Park: a photo overview of ghost towns. He worked for a year and a half, traveling across 13 states taking pictures, as well as researching through historical archives.

Carter acknowledged the “major revolution in photography going on right now,” with the switch from traditional to digital cameras. Carter still shoots with traditional cameras but uses high-quality digital prints. He noted photo technology has improved dramatically and quickly with digital cameras and traditional film itself has become sharper and more flexible.

“I think overall when things become easier in photography, it becomes both a plus and a minus,” he said. “Some of the work done in the early 1900s is stunningly good.” Good, he said, because photographers in the early days were forced by the limitations of their equipment to focus better on quality shots. “It slows you down, forces you to look very carefully (at nuances),” Carter said. The Castilleja show, runs through Dec. 13. Friday’s reception is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Mondays through Fridays. For information, call 328-3160, ext. 406.