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February Issue 2007
North Carolina Museum of Natural Science in Raleigh, NC, Features Photography Exhibition
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Science in Raleigh, NC, is presenting a photographic exhibit featuring the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge at the Museum's Nature Art Gallery. Photographers Diana Bloomfield, Mary Doherty and Lisa Tolley, all residents of Raleigh, will exhibit their work from Feb. 2 through Apr. 1, 2007.
The theme centers around images they each captured at the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Columbia, NC. During individual visits, the three women documented the flora and fauna of the Refuge in both color and black and white images.
"One role of photography is to preserve that which is disappearing, and that certainly includes our increasingly vanishing landscapes," said Bloomfield. "Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge is a remarkable and beautiful environment, with over 93,000 acres of wetlands, providing habitat for over 300 species of wildlife. That includes the endangered bald eagle and red wolf, and is home to tens of thousands of swans, geese and ducks."
Bloomfield, who teaches photography workshops at the North Carolina State University (NCSU) Craft Center and at Duke University's Center for Documentary Studies, has enjoyed a 25 year career. She is exhibited widely throughout the US and China, and adds that the Refuge really needs to be protected and preserved for future generations and, more importantly, for the wildlife that makes the Refuge their home. "These photographs on exhibit are merely a small sampling of the quiet untouched beauty found at the Pocosin Lakes Refuge, but also a reminder of why we need to protect this land," Bloomfield continues.
Mary Doherty began dabbling in photography at age 12 when she received a camera as a Christmas gift. In 2002, she took a class in black and white photography at North Carolina State University and became completely captivated by the entire process from capturing the image to developing the film to processing the final image. Doherty continually tries to expand her knowledge through workshops, exhibiting and exploring different artistic approaches.
"Photographing the Pocosin has been a very poignant experience for me," Doherty says. "To see and hear thousands of snow geese and swans in one area was breathtaking, mesmerizing and almost deafening when the orchestrated wave of thousands of winter birds lifted off from a cornfield. The sights and sounds were humbling and will not be forgotten."
Lisa Tolley says nature photography is not the focus of her work but she was moved by the controversy over the Navy's proposal to locate an outlying landing field near the refuge. "I wanted to be a part of the efforts by environmentalists to protect the area," she says.
Tolley works primarily in black and white with an old 35 mm camera given to her by her father. She enjoys experimenting with different kinds of photographic paper for the different effects they yield.
The Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1990 and receives over 34,000 visitors annually. It encompasses 110,106 acres in Hyde, Terrell and Washington counties and includes 6,291 acres of open water; 25,427 acres of riverine swamp; 50,310 acres of pocosin wetlands; 1,200 acres of agriculture; 25,828 acres of grasslands; and 1,486 acres of pine and hardwoods forest. The headquarters is located in Columbia, NC.
Providing a habitat for migratory waterfowl and other birds like ducks, geese, tundra swans and raptors is one of the main objectives of the Refuge. Other goals include protecting the unique Pocosin wetlands and enhancing habitat for those species that are classified as endangered or threatened. Visitors can also spot red wolves, which have been reintroduced at this site, and black bears.
For further information check our NC Institutional Gallery listings, call the gallery at 919/733-7450, ext. 361 or visit (www.naturalsciences.org/store/nature_gallery.html).
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