ARTISTIC PAIR BRING THEIR TALENTS TO BEAR FOR UNIVERSITY.

Byline: DIANA PEYTON Community Columnist

Charles Morgan waits until dark.

Just before the full moon, when the light on the desert horizon is casting shadows, the photographer captures a long moment with time-lapse photography.

``The eye lets in more light than the camera, so I have time to do my work in the moonlight,'' he said.

The technique he uses is called painting with light. Morgan sets up a tripod with a camera on the darkened desert floor, then filters light from a flashlight or other source to take a time-lapse photo of his subject. He sees his life experiences as an enhancement to his artistic ability.

``I have had other jobs through the course of my life which have helped me to deal with others,'' Morgan, 41, said. ``I think those experiences have added to what I do. I just gravitated toward it. I have always liked taking photos.''

The fine-art photographer has a degree in painting and drawing from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, but has never taken a class in photography.

The desert creatures don't bother him, but he hasn't been totally undisturbed. ``Once when I was out in the middle of the desert, a traveling salesman drove up while I was taking pictures. It happened to be his favorite place to stop and unwind. It was kind of nice to have the company. Twenty minutes later he was gone,'' he said.

Morgan and his wife, Suzanne Hackett, met in 1993 in Nevada.

Also an artist, Hackett paints roadside architecture, mostly in the desert, she said - hence her artistic bond with Morgan. ``But I do my work in the daytime.''

Hackett is the director of major gifts for California State University, Northridge, and is leading a fund-raising campaign, called CSUN Rising, to raise $11 million toward outfitting buildings replaced or repaired after the Northridge Earthquake. She is also completing work for a master's degree from CSUN in studio art.

While living in Nevada, she served the Nevada Arts Council as the Save Outdoor Sculpture campaign coordinator.

In 1994, Hackett founded the Goldwell Open Air Museum just outside of Beatty, near Rhyolite, an old mining town. The museum is a collection of sculptures by Belgian artists scattered across the desert.

Earlier this year the lead artist for the museum died.

In March, Hackett and Morgan formed a nonprofit corporation overseeing the work. ``I'm committed to the university,'' Hackett said. ``Charles is the director of the museum.''

Morgan's fine-art photography, ``Desert Nights/Desert Lights,'' is on display at the CSUN Performing Arts Center Lobby Gallery until Dec. 21.

If you love to hear the thunder of percussion and can't keep away from a parade, the 18th annual Highlander Marching Band Field Competition on Nov. 11 could be your ticket to heaven.

The three-time city champions will host bands from more than 35 Southern California schools in a 10-hour event sure to keep spectators' toes tapping.

Junior Daniel Donnelly and senior Lynisha Perkins are the Highlander drum majors. Senior Armando Goytia, is the assistant.

The auxiliary director is Christine Clayton, and percussion director is Louie Caballero.

Proceeds from the event will help defer the $1,000 cost of the traditional Scottish uniforms the Highlander band members wear. The competition runs from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Kimberly DeRose, a 13-year-old eighth-grader at Chaminade College Preparatory School in Chatsworth, has been selected as one of nine students worldwide for the Planetary Society's Red Rover Goes to Mars training mission.

The teen will help select a possible landing site for a future sample return mission.

Sherman Oaks amateur photographer Henry Lehn has won first place in a photo contest, called ``Feel the Beat: Rhythms From the Heart of America,'' held by the Museum of Anthropology at California State University, Chico.

Lehn was featured in this column in August when he won $10,000 from Popular Photography magazine for his photos of Puerto Rico.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2) Charles Morgan and his wife, Suzanne Hackett, are absorbed in work at California State University, Northridge. Above is a sample of his fine-art photography on display at the CSUN Performing Arts Center Lobby Gallery. She is working on a master's degree in studio art at the university.