Through his effort to interview and capture the spiritual leaders of the Central Valley, Stephen Weiss has learned they come in many shapes.</p><p>"You can't define a spiritual leader as someone only who graduated from a seminary," Weiss said.</p><p>Weiss, a resident of Petaluma by way of Baltimore, is putting together a book or show that captures the images and words of spiritual leaders up and down Highways 152 and 99 and Interstate 5, among others.</p><p>In 30 years of traveling the freeways to Los Angeles and back, Weiss noticed that drivers move as fast as they can and pay no attention to the smaller communities along those highway corridors.</p><p>"If all you know of the Central Valley is the 5, then no one lives there and nothing exists there," Weiss said.</p><p>Driving along I-5, Weiss said, he noticed houses are literally not visible. So, he took a detour one day to see communities along Highway 33. In these small communities, where homes are often spaced out, Weiss realized that people often congregate in spiritual gatherings.</p><p>Each photo Weiss takes will eventually be combined with answers from his interview with the leader, which usually involves scripture from the person's given spiritual text. </p><p>He said the task has expanded, because to find spiritual leaders he had to see the bigger picture.</p><p>"I began to realize that I had to start to understand the story of a community," Weiss said.</p><p>So far, he's photographed about a dozen people: a Muslim chaplain, a curandera, pastors and a Native American spiritual guide, among others.</p><p>Weiss was a practicing physician until heart disease got the best of him a few years ago. </p><p>Cyndi Roelofs, a Los Banos Arts Council organizer, said Weiss' work is beautiful and special.</p><p>"We look forward to seeing his book," Roelofs said. "It's kind of fun to look back on our own town through somebody else's eyes."</p><p>The Los Banos Arts Council will also feature some of his work on Aug. 11 and 12 at the Ted Falasco Arts Center, 1105 Fifth St. </p><p>Weiss is looking for suggestions on spiritual leaders in the Los Banos area. He can be contacted at (707) 776-6113 or by e-mail at stephenaweiss@gmail.com.