HANCOCK — The Copper Country Community Arts Center presents an exhibition of 20 black and white photography portraits by Glenn Ierley starting Wednesday through March 2 in the Kerredge Gallery.

Glenn Ierley descends from a Copper Country immigrant — his maternal grandparent’s family name was Myllymäki. He began his career in 1982 as a math professor at Michigan Technology University. In 1992, he moved to University of California San Diego but kept his house here, returning every year for three months of summer sailing. After retiring in June 2011, he returned full time to the Copper Country.

The portraits in this exhibition are stark, but there is a warm and timeless quality to them. He says about this series that it was created with the use of studio lighting and digital software to achieve a classic, film-like result.

His approach is inspired by the works of Armenian-Canadian Yousuf Karsh, among others. There will be an opening reception for Glenn’s exhibition from 6 to 8 p.m. Eastern time Friday.

Ierley will present an additional program on his fascinating project to restore sets of “color separation” negatives taken in the early 1900s by Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii to create the photograph in its true color. Original software for that restoration took 10 years to complete and the results will be shared at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15.

The exhibition and the program are free and open to everyone. This exhibition is supported by a grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Copper Country Community Arts Center is at 126 Quincy St. in Hancock. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call 906-482-2333 or go to the website at coppercountryarts.com.