After retiring as longtime executive director of the Vineyard Preservation Trust in 2016, Chris Scott turned to bird photography.
After retiring as longtime executive director of the Vineyard Preservation Trust in 2016, Chris Scott turned to bird photography.
“If you begin to learn about the birds of Martha’s Vineyard, there is just a tremendous variety of what we can see if we go to the right places and open our eyes...” Mr. Scott said. “I find it fascinating.”
His fascination is now an exhibit at the Edgartown Library, featuring birds of the Vineyard and species he photographed while traveling off-Island. There will be an artist’s reception on Saturday from 3 to 4 p.m. and the exhibit will be up until Sept. 30.
Mr. Scott’s interest in photography started 50 years ago and has always been in the background of his professional career. In 2015, he was a public affairs officer in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, taking photos of ceremonies and rescues to sea.
Chris Scott photography show at the Edgartown Library continues through Sept. 30.
Chris Scott photography show at the Edgartown Library continues through Sept. 30.
But wildlife photography became his specialty because he enjoys spending time outside in the Vineyard’s natural environments.
“We’re unbelievably fortunate on Martha’s Vineyard to have all of this protected property that is going to be natural habitat forever,” he said.
He has photographed sea birds, shore birds, wading birds, water fowl, song birds and birds of prey. Some are migratory species and others are year-round residents. He practices approaching his feathered subjects quietly and positioning his camera at their eye-level.
“The eyes are the window to the soul,” he said. “When you see an image where the subject is looking right at you, it tends to speak to you.”
For example, while visiting Katama Farm he spotted a short-eared owl perched on a wooden post at Katama Farm. It’s a spot he frequently finds birds of prey hunting for mice and voles. In the photograph, the owl’s yellow eyes stare directly at the camera lens.
Short eared owl.
Short eared owl.
Another photograph shows a Carolina wren singing while resting on a budding purple rhododendron. He said the bird’s chirps are a harbinger of spring on the Vineyard.
One of his favorites photographs is a portrait of a European starling, a common bird on the Vineyard though it is not a native species. The image reveals the purple, blue and gold iridescence beneath the bird’s white-tipped feathers.
“I find as much beauty in a really common bird as I would with something terribly exotic,” he said.
The centerpiece of the show is the one black and white portrait. It depicts a great egret in the act of a hunting technique called the umbrella, where it fans its wings out to create shade.
“Fish see the shade and think they’re safe,” he said. “They think it’s a tree or a bush they can hide in, among the roots. They swim right into the heron.”
An element of his photography is preservation. He captures birds in a way that emphasizes their character and how they survive even when faced with habitat loss.
“There’s an element to me in the photography end of it of just seeing these things while they’re here,” Mr. Scott said.
Perhaps as a result, he enjoys taking photos of ospreys the most, a species he said is a Vineyard success story due to Island naturalist Gus Ben David’s efforts to boost its population.
Lisa Sherman, the director of the library, said she encouraged Mr. Scott to present his photography after he sent her an email sharing his work. The two are friends and while catching-up, he told her about his hobby.
“I opened this email and I [thought] ‘oh my gosh, this is unreal,’” Ms. Sherman said. “I didn’t know what to expect but it just blew me away.”
Mr. Scott has a long history with the Edgartown Library, and his name is even engraved in a bronze plaque at the library’s front entrance. While leading the Vineyard Preservation Trust, he helped with the library relocation efforts, moving from the Carnegie building to its current location on Edgartown-West Tisbury Road.
Ms. Sherman said it is sentimental to now have his photography on the walls.
“It just feels really lovely to have this full circle moment for him,” she said.
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