Baltimore Woods to welcome photographer Sandra Roe

Have you ever caught a glimpse of a wild animal only to have it disappear a moment later?

Perhaps it was a flash of orange as a fox darted into the bushes or the head of a beaver as it swam across a pond. Maybe you spied a bear in the woods and knew it best to keep your distance.

Whatever the experience, you may have wished that it would last a little longer.

The fall art exhibit at Baltimore Woods Nature Center may help, in a way, to make your wish come true. The show, titled “Captured Moments, Photographs of Life in the Wild” by Sandra Roe, gives us the opportunity to linger with wild animals and appreciate them all the more.

The public is invited to attend the artist reception on Sunday, Sept. 8 from 2:30 until 4 p.m.

The exhibit will be on view in the art gallery of the John A. Weeks Interpretive Center from Sept. 8 through Oct. 29. This is an informal event when visitors can meet the artist, ask questions, and enjoy refreshments.

The exhibit may also be viewed Monday through Friday 9 to 4 p.m. and Saturday 10 top 4 p.m.

There are no admission or parking fees, and all of the artwork is for sale.

With her zoom lenses and watchful eye, along with a great deal of time spent in nature, Roe is able to capture unique images and bring us up close to animals that we often miss or may never have seen.

Examples include fox kits that play with one another in the grass and a pair of raccoons that stare out at us from the crook of a tree.

Among other images is a muskrat chewing on a piece of wood and a porcupine that peacefully sits as we examine it.

These and other photographs have the power to fascinate and charm us, and sometimes demonstrate what humans and animals have in common.

From the little chipmunk to the big black bear, all of the animals represented are the natural inhabitants of Upstate New York. Roe has provided her own anecdotes about select images giving us a sense of her experiences.

Viewers of the exhibit will also find factual information about several of the species, thus offering an opportunity for learning as well.

Roe states that for most of her life, she was successfully self employed. After her children were grown and gone, she left her career behind to pursue what she loved: the art of photography and especially nature photography. She goes out in every kind of weather to achieve the best images possible. Her “office” extends from her backyard to the deep woods, quiet fields, and the rolling hills and mountains. Recently, she traveled to Alaska and enjoyed photography adventures there. “I’m now happy,” she says, “just trying to do what I love with the tools I have: my camera, my eye, and my appreciation of the natural world,” Roe said.

An award-winning photographer, Roe’s acclaimed images have earned her an international audience throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Her work has been published in numerous books, publications, and websites, among them Forbes, Smithsonian Magazine, and Travel & Leisure. Commercial work includes real estate photography, product shots, archival documentation, travel and tourism, as well as documentation of numerous festivals, performances, and events.

A portion of the proceeds raised from the sale of the artwork goes to support the mission of Baltimore Woods Nature Center.