Bird lovers and art enthusiasts can find common ground in the next few weeks at the South Shore Natural Science Center in Norwell, where nature photographer Greg Lessard will display a photography exhibit entitled “Snowy Owl: Soul of the Arctic.”
“Snowy owls have fascinated me for a long time, probably about a decade at this point,” said Lessard, who lives in Middleborough. “Photographing them on the South Shore and North Shore of Massachusetts allowed me to study them in detail.”
The exhibit in the Vine Hall Art Gallery in the science center, which runs until Feb. 7, includes nearly 30 images of snowy owls taken since Thanksgiving weekend of 2013, when Lessard said he opted to immerse himself in nature rather than brave Black Friday shopping queues. The collection includes text he wrote about the story behind each photograph.
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This is Lessard’s second portfolio featuring snowy owls. His previous exhibit, “Year of the Snowy Owl,” was displayed in 2012 at the North River Wildlife Sanctuary in Marshfield.
“I was thrilled to see photos of these owls instilled excitement in people,” he said, adding that many became interested in researching the birds further after the Marshfield exhibit.
Frequent visitors to the South Shore Natural Science Center may remember another of Lessard’s exhibits, “The Glory of Massachusetts,” a collection of photographs of various subjects from around the state, on display last March.
Lessard said he is interested in nature photography in general. “I have a gallery full of wildlife from around the country,” he said. “Lots of birds from around here, but I’ve gone West and been able to photograph bears and moose and mountain goats. Basically, if it moves, I’m interested in photographing it. There’s a lot of beauty to be seen in animals.”
Elise Harmon can be reached at elise.harmon@globe.com.
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