MONDAY, Sept. 21 — Carol Spry, 62, Mason, works as a registered nurse at Sparrow Hospital. She’s been there for three decades. But in her spare time, Spry travels around the state taking loving photographs of Michigan wildlife. This Saturday, Spry is the featured artist at Katalyst Art Gallery. Her work will be on display and available to buy throughout the day.
“I’ve never worked with Katalyst before,” said Spry. “But I joined the Arts Guild to see who would be interested in displaying my photos.” Right away, Spry got a notification from Katalyst asking if they could showcase her work.
Spry will be selling note cards with photos of Michigan lighthouses on them. She’s also selling a 12-month calendar featuring pictures of wildlife taken around the state. For her, producing a Michigan-themed calendar is a yearly tradition.
“There’s such a diverse amount of cool things in this state,” said Spry. “You can always look at another state and be envious. But that’s just because some people don’t look around and see the beauty they have in their own state.”
In the winter, Spry likes to travel to the Upper Peninsula. Last year, she traveled to Eben with her husband to snap photos of the Eben Ice Caves. The two of them went up to Sault Saint Marie a few years ago so that Spry could capture pictures of blue ice.
“There’s always something neat to see up there, regardless of the weather,” said Spry. “Even in the spring, we like to go up there. One time, I took pictures of windsurfers surfing in winds that were 28 miles per hour.”
Spry said that she is particularly fond of the snowy owl. The bird can be hard to find, so she stays on the lookout for sightings using the website, ebird.org. She tries to improve the quality of her snowy owl pictures every year.
“They have been coming to Michigan on and off for the last 10 years,” said Spry. “This early in the season, they’ve already spotted two snowy owls in Alpena.” She explained that they don’t usually start showing up in Michigan until December. For some reason, this year is different.
“I’ve read that it’s possibly because there was a good breeding season in the Arctic,” said Spry. “Then, there are so many babies that they have to go further south for food. That could be why they’re here already.”
Spry said that she can sit outside with her camera for hours on end. She simply loves to be in nature, surrounded by wildlife. Oftentimes, her husband will tag along and carry her camera equipment for her. “I call him my ‘camera mule’,” laughed Spry. She said that he always accompanies her if she’s going somewhere dangerous like a frozen lake or a waterfall.
“If I’m going somewhere local, then he doesn’t come with me,” said Spry. “He’s seen some of these places a million times.”
Spry has big plans for the future. She’s going to take her camera outside the borders of Michigan to a much more exotic locale: the Galápagos Islands, home to some species that exist nowhere else in the world. “They have a ton of hummingbirds, and actually, an active volcano right now,” said Spry. “Hopefully, when I get there, there’s still some lava dribbling out. I can only imagine what kind of things I’m going to see.”
Featured Artist: Carol Spry
Saturday September 26
12 to 6 p.m.
Katalyst Art Gallery
1214 Turner Rd., Lansing 48906
Support City Pulse - Donate Today!
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here