Jennings hosts Audubon photo winners
Winning entries from the nationwide 2018 Audubon Photography Contest are on display through April 24 at Jennings Environmental Education Center in Brady Township.
Alongside Jennings, the local Bartramian Audubon Society is hosting this exhibit.
Society President Jeffrey Hall said he thinks this is the first time the winning photography has been organized into a traveling exhibit and made available to local Audubon chapters.
“Bartramian Audubon has a great relationship with Jennings — our monthly meetings are held there, we are a sponsor and participant in their Celebrate the Bloom festival, some field trips are joint efforts, and one of their staff is on our board,” Hall said.
“When I learned of this opportunity, I checked to see if Jennings could be the venue, and they were enthusiastic about working with us on this. And my fellow Audubon board members were equally pleased for Bartramian to host,” he said.
The winning entries were selected for this prestigious nature photography award from more than 8,000 submitted by photographers from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 10 Canadian provinces.The display includes the grand prize winner “Great Gray Owl,” winners in the professional, amateur and youth divisions, and other images from the top 100 entries.“As an experienced nature photographer myself, I am deeply impressed with the quality of the images in this exhibit, any one of which I'd be thrilled to call my own,” said Hall. “I particularly like how the exhibit includes a nice mix of portraits, action shots, and more artistic images.”
The Jennings center is the only location in Western Pennsylvania where this traveling exhibit can be seen, and one of only three sites in the state.The photographs are displayed in the newly renovated exhibition area of the Jennings center at 2951 Prospect Road.“If National Audubon continues to make the contest winning photos available, we might try to host another of these in a few years,” Hall said.The Jennings center will host the sixth annual “Celebrate the Bloom” festival on July 27, which this year will include a professional art show, as well as nature explorations along scenic trails, demonstrations, artisans, food and live entertainment from local musicians.For the Celebrate the Bloom art show, professional artists from within a 100-mile radius of Slippery Rock may apply electronically for the juried exhibition. Prizes will be $500 for first place, $250 for second, and $100 for third as well as a people's choice award. The deadline for entry is June 20.
