Life and art merge in the work of photographer Ruth Bernhard.

It was more a matter of chance than design that led Ruth Bernhard to become one of fine art photography''s true classicists.

Reflecting on a career that has spanned seven decades, Bernhard, whose latest retrospective exhibit, "Photography As Life And Art," is currently on display at the Highlands Inn, admits that chance played a major role, not only in her career as an artist, but in the very choice of subject matter itself.

"I became a photographer accidentally," says Bernhard, whose continued vitality and spirit at age 92 is a testament to art as a continual process of growth and discovery.

"When I was a young woman I needed a job and learned to work with an 8x10 camera, but I got fired because of my lack of interest. It wasn''t the kind of pictures I wanted to make and didn''t do anything for my soul."

As evidenced by her current retrospective, Bernhard brings a deep and abiding appreciation for the spirit that informs both life and art. Her now-iconic images of diverse "found objects" like shells, bones and dolls--and her female nudes in particular--impart an artistic sensibility that''s profoundly aware of the forceful interplay of life and death that is the essence of creation.

"I work entirely by intuition, and I try to express in my photographs how objects are meaningful and touch me," explains Bernhard. "I never question when I get an impression [from some object], when something tells me this is what I must do."

It was an encounter with photographer Edward Weston in 1935, says Bernhard, that first opened her eyes to photography''s tremendous potential as an art form.

"It was when I met Edward Weston that I realized for the first time that photography was serious," Bernhard recalls. "I was touched by his work and it made me look at my craft in a new way."

Bernhard''s nudes often draw comparisons with those of Weston, but Bernhard sees some very distinct differences.

"While I admire much of Weston''s work, I see great differences," says Bernhard. "I see the human body like a piece of sculpture, something wonderful like a seashell or flower. But Edward was a man and he responded to women as a man."

What also distinguishes Bernhard''s nudes from Weston''s is her exquisite sense of light, which imparts a luminescent quality that transforms flesh into sculptural marble. For all of their naturalness, Bernhard''s nudes belie the hours she spends precisely composing and lighting her subjects.

"I try to put light where I think the emphasis should be, where I see the greatest beauty and essence of something," says Bernhard. "I hope my pictures say something and people get a strong reaction, but I don''t care if they don''t see my intention, that doesn''t matter to me.

"Photography As Life And Art" will be on display from Aug. 6-Nov. 15. An opening reception will be held Thursday from 6-8pm. Highlands Inn Fireside Lobby Gallery, four miles south of Carmel on Highway 1. 624-3801.

Opening

Carmel Art Association "Percy Gray 1869-1952." Exhibit of more than 90 paintings by one of the founding members of the Carmel Art Association. Various special events accompany the exhibit: Aug. 7, 6pm, "Feast For Art," black-tie fundraiser for CAA. $75. Aug. 13, 7pm, lecture: "Watercolor as the American Medium. $5. Aug. 20, 7pm, "Percy Gray," a lecture by Don Whitten, Gray''s grand-nephew, free. Aug. 24, 7pm, "A Close Look at Watercolors," a lecture on materials, techniques, etc. $5/CAA members; $8/non-members. Dolores Street, between 5th and 6th avenues, Carmel. 624-6176. Through: 9/2.

Galeria Tonantzin "Journeys Real and Imagined." Works by Ruth Fash and Kathy Vargas. 115 Third St., San Juan Bautista. 623-ARTE. Reception: 8/8, 5pm. Through: 8/30.

Martin LaBorde Gallery New Orleans-based painter Martin LaBorde visits his Carmel gallery, which opened in February ''98. Reception: Friday and Saturday, 2-4pm. 6th Avenue, between Lincoln and Dolores streets, Carmel. 620-1150.

Shallcross Gallery "California Visions." Multimedia works by Claude Cirimele. In Galerie Monterey building, 499 Calle Principal, Monterey. 655-0642. Reception: 8/7, 6pm. Through: 8/30.

Venture Art Gallery "Explorations." Mixed media paintings by Arlene Vonnegut Nolan. 260 Alvarado Mall (in the DoubleTree Hotel), Monterey. 372-6279. Reception: 8/8, 2pm. Through: 8/31.

Vest Pocket Gallery "Photos by Larry." Photographs by Lary Meech. At Forest Hill Manor, 551 Gibson Ave., Pacific Grove. 667-5200. Reception: 8/7, 6:30pm. Through: 8/31.

Art Listings

Ansel Adams Gallery "Landscapes of the Spirit." Color landscape photographs by William Neill. Inn at Spanish Bay, 17 Mile Drive, Pebble Beach. 375-7215. Through: 9/15.

Bytes Internet Cafe "The Invisible World." Photographs by Helene Constant. 403 Calle Principal, Monterey. 372-2987. Through: 9/30.

Carl Cherry Center "Works on Paper." An exhibition of figurative drawings by Jeanne d''Orge, founder of the Cherry Center. Guadalupe Street and 4th Avenue, Carmel. 624-7491. Through: 8/31.

Carmel Valley Manor "An American View of the Orient." Watercolors by William F. Stone. 8545 Carmel Valley Rd., Carmel Valley. 626-4711. Through: 8/31.

Center for Photographic Art "Roadworks." Photographs by Linda McCartney, the late wife of Paul McCartney. Sunset Cultural Center, San Carlos Street and 8th Avenue, Carmel. 625-5181. Through: 9/11.

Chapman Gallery Works by SC Yuan, Hank Ketcham, Ron Elstad, Keith Lindberg and Colden Whitman. Also portrait artist Gail Reeves will be painting in the gallery every Saturday. 7th Avenue, between San Carlos and Mission streets, Carmel. 626-1766. Through: 9/6.

Gallery Artemisia Collective gallery exhibits: "Hoop of Eight," works by Big Sur women''s painting group and "Assemblages," works by Gail Goodenow. Next to Big Sur River Inn, Highway 1, Big Sur. 667-2027. Through: 8/30.

Monterey Museum of Art "Jo Mora: Artist and Writer." Collection of paintings, drawings and sculptures. Also works by Marie Brumund. Through 8/16. 559 Pacific St., Monterey. 372-5477. Through: 9/6.

National Steinbeck Center "This Side of Eden." Paintings that reflect California in the 1920s, ''30s and ''40s. 1 Main St., Salinas. 796-3833. Through: 9/13.

Pacific Grove Art Center "Four Points of View." Plein Air paintings by Delia Bradford, Mary Lou Correia, Geri Keary and Shirley Nootbar; "Future Memories," abstract paintings by Psy; "Day''s End," coastal sunset photographs by David Gubernick; "A Diary of Near and Far," paintings and prints by Kristin Hayward. 568 Lighthouse Ave., Pacific Grove. 375-2208. Through: 8/21.

Pajaro Valley Gallery "Collective ''98: New Works by PVAC Members." Works in many media by members of the Pajaro Valley Arts Council. 37 Sudden St., Watsonville. 722-3062. Through: 8/15.

PG Museum of Natural History "Leaping Elk, Dancing Men: Prehistoric Art of the Russian Altay." Photographs by Christopher Hulse. 165 Forest Ave., Pacific Grove. 648-3116. Through: 8/16.

Searle Art Landscape paintings by Cyndra Bradford, Jeff Smith, Diane Howell and Dave Rojas; ceramic works by Rabun Thompson. 639 Lighthouse Ave., Monterey. 373-0126. Through: 9/4.

Valley Art Gallery "Travels With Steinbeck." Works by members of the VGA. 218 Main St., Salinas. 455-1706. Through: 8/23.

Village Pub Oil paintings by Sofanya. Highway 1, near the Big Sur River Inn, Big Sur. 626-2876. Through: 8/8.

Weston Gallery "Selected Artists." Photographic works by Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Irving Penn, Yousouf Karsh, Paul Strand and Imogen Cunningham. 6th Avenue, between Dolores and Lincoln streets, Carmel. 623-4453. Through: 8/31.

Zantman Art Galleries Figurative paintings by Jie Mei Wang. 6th Avenue and Mission St., Carmel. 624-8314. Through: 8/14.