Photographer friends share glimpses of nature

By Forrest Greenslade
Posted Tuesday, October 16, 2007

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Chatham County, NC - Chatham Artists Guild member Juan Pons and his close friend Mike Dunn share a life-long love of photography and nature. They will share their passions with visitors to the Nature Art Gallery at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh from Oct 5th through Nov 25th in an exhibit: "Glimpses of Nature".

While Juan A Pons uses digital photography technology exclusively, his images are unaltered and present subjects as they appear in nature. "I never cease to be amazed by the natural subjects I photograph and hope that sharing my photographs will inspire others to appreciate and respect natural life," he notes.

Pons was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. At the age of sixteen, Juan began attending high school at Chapel Hill-Chauncey Hall in Waltham, Massachusetts. “The school had an excellent photography program lead by an inspiring teacher, Alice Solorow,” Pons recalls “and it was here that my interest in photography began. Upon graduating from high school, Juan attended Clark University where he continued to pursue his interests in photography and gain experience working with the media. Following his four years in college, Juan's photography pursuits yielded to his professional career demands, and he has led a very successful career as a computer engineer. After several years, Juan picked up photography with renewed vigor focusing on nature and wildlife. “I converted to digital equipment due to the tremendous advantages digital technology offers. Digital equipment allows me to have the same control over images that I once had when I developed and printed my own black and white images.” Pons explains.

"Mike and I are very good friends," Pons continues, "and we go shooting together often." "We support each other in our photography." Juan helps on the technical side, whereas Mike, being a Naturalist at the Museum of Natural Sciences, helps with the nature subjects. Juan and Mike share a vision, but approach it from different angles, Mike is a professional naturalist, whereas Juan views himself an amateur.

Dunn says, “I owe my appreciation of nature to my father, who instilled a love of the outdoors with frequent hunting, fishing, and boating trips.” Mike began taking pictures at an early age, using a small instamatic camera to document the world around him. After attending Virginia Tech, UVA and NC State, he took a summer job as a seasonal naturalist at Wm. B. Umstead State Park in Raleigh. “I fell in love with the idea of working outside and helping people get excited about nature.” “I was lucky to secure a permanent position with NC State Parks. It was during my time with State Parks that I combined my photography with my desire to educate people about the natural world.” After eight years, Dunn moved to the NC Museum of Natural Sciences.

Pons and Dunn agree, “Photography is a tool for directing people’s eyes to the beauties and mysteries of the world around us”. “It is an aid to telling the story of the magic that surrounds us and that we are often too busy to see or appreciate.”

The Chatham Artists Guild annually produces the Chatham Open Studio Tour. Juan Pons is one of the many visual artists who will open their studios to the public at The 15th Annual Tour on December 1&2 and 7&8, 2007.