Hiding in Plain Sight
About the show: It came about from excursions at work with Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ with my good friend and extraordinary photographer, Northside Jim. I’ve wanted to do a wildlife photography themed fundraiser for CWF for a long time… I first met Jim after reading his blog, which is all about the beach on Long Beach Island. He describes himself as a beach bum with a camera. I now know that he’s much more than that! He wrote about an injured gull that he found and brought to my dad’s veterinary office for care. From there the connection was formed.
I immediately started following Jim’s blog and was hooked. His photos, creative and funny captions and stories from the beach were very enjoyable to read (and they still are!). I started to notice his love of ospreys in his post. As one who is charged with monitoring ospreys throughout the state I started to comment more about them and then offered him the opportunity to join me in the field in the summer of 2013.
The special fundraiser and opening night of “Hiding in Plain Sight” is on August 14th at 6pm at the Ann Coen Gallery in Surf City, NJ. Click here to check out the flyer.
From there we have been out in the field many times and he has joined many of my colleagues in the field now too. Jim does an amazing job of promoting our conservation initiatives with endangered wildlife in New Jersey through his intuitive writing and amazing photography. Since I am also very much into photography as a hobby (and we both shoot Canon), we both really hit it off. In the past two years I have seen his work to really evolve and take an awesome turn towards using his talents to engage and educate locals on Long Beach Island of all the wildlife that surrounds them. This is what spawned the show: Hiding in Plain Sight at Ann Coen’s Gallery on August 14. It will be a chance for Jim to interact with all of his fans, for them to see many of his amazing photos, and to raise some critical funding for CWF.
Jim’s not the only one on the bill for the show. We’ve also got the super talented Eric Hance, a professional photographer on Long Beach Island who has an amazing eye. Eric has a killer portfolio that is filled with jaw dropping shots that could fill the gallery on his own. Lastly, there’s me. I feel like I’m at a bit of a disadvantage to be in the show for a couple reasons. I don’t consider myself a wildlife photographer. I also don’t live or have a house on LBI. But, I do work with wildlife (mostly ospreys but also terrapins) in the area, so I guess that’s one advantage. I don’t think any wildlife photographer can say that they use a macro lens more than a telephoto lens for wildlife shots…I do. I also have a huge supply of old wood that I’ve salvaged, so all of my items will be hand crafted and framed in reclaimed wood. I also plan to make a few wall hangings to showcase both the wildlife I work with and their connection to the local area. So, with all this said, I think that I am lucky to have been included in the roster for this show. I really can’t contain the excitement that I have for it. 🙂
As I start to prepare for this show, I will not be taking any custom orders between now and then. I will have a waiting list for those who would like me to craft items after the show. For anyone who has already has work that I need to finish then I’ll still get it done while I’m working on my own items.
