OCEANSIDE -- Jack Iskin said the approximately 35 photos he is displaying at the Oceanside Photo and Telescope Underground Gallery exhibit have one thing in common: the "ooh factor."

The 83-year-old describes that "ooh factor" as a scene that "grabs you." He has spent approximately 15 years of his life working to capture these images on film.

Work by Iskin and seven other San Diego photographers will be displayed through Feb. 3 at the gallery at 918B Mission Ave. in Oceanside.

Among the images in the exhibit are a Venetian canal; the Merced River in California; an ivy-covered, stone stairway leading to a doctor's office in a small town in France; and a lone surfer at Swami's Beach in Encinitas.

A couple of his photographs have won awards, including first place at the San Diego County Fair and the Los Angeles County Fair, Iskin said. Most of the framed photographs sell for $300 to $400.

A retired Navy veteran of World War II, Iskin said he donates a portion of the proceeds to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, an organization he said he has supported for years.

Iskin, who graduated in photography from Palomar College, said he began taking classes there about 20 years ago. While he learned to appreciate film photography, he said he was most fascinated with Polaroid manipulation of photos.

He said the process requires a specific type of Polaroid film in which he manipulates the emulsion before the image dries. Then, he has the images redone on canvas to look similar to a painting.

He said he hopes that as a photographer he can offer people "a personalized experience or a connection as you do on stage."

Iskin said part of his interest in photography stems from his experience during the war. He enlisted at age 17, he said, and served on the "most decorated" World War II battleship, the USS South Dakota.

"It took a boy to places he never imagined he would see and gave him experiences that were so marvelous and horrific," he said.

After a severe injury left him hospitalized for more than six months, he returned to the United States. He was eventually sent by the Navy to the University of Michigan, where he explored his creative side by earning a bachelor's degree in speech.

After graduation, he said, the injuries he suffered during the war forced him to leave the Navy.

Iskin said he earned his master's degree, and then moved to California in 1948.

He spent years working as an importer of Hawaiian textiles, retiring 20 years ago.

Iskin said he has "always liked imaging, but I don't know how to draw," and that his photography is his "artistic expression."

OPT Underground Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, call (760) 722-3348.