Hosted by Small World Coffee, Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS) presents a group exhibition of photographs taken at the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve in Princeton, New Jersey, during the winter of 2020.
The works will be shown at Small World’s location on Witherspoon Street in downtown Princeton. The exhibition includes photos selected from submissions to FOPOS’ annual Give Thanks for Nature Photo Contest, as well as aerial photographs of the Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve taken by Princeton photographer Frank Sauer. All photos will be offered for sale with a portion of the sales benefitting the Friends of Princeton Open Space.
On Friday, November 5, Friends of Princeton Open Space will host an
Opening Reception featuring jazz guitar by Ilan Eisenzweig.
Small World Coffee
14 Witherspoon St | Princeton
5pm - 7pm // All are welcome to attend
The show’s title references the range of subjects and activities that the photographers captured within Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve’s 75 acres of protected public land—reflecting its use as a place of recreation, contemplation, and artistic inspiration, as well as its value as habitat for a variety of native flora and fauna. Sauer’s aerial perspective situates the Preserve within the larger landscape and highlights its importance to the ecological health of the community. With its upper and lower lakes, numerous rocky creeks, wooded wetlands, and upland forests, the Preserve holds a diverse range of ecosystems, which are made accessible via over eight miles of trails maintained by Friends of Princeton Open Space and its community of volunteers.
Give Thanks for Nature contest kicks off each year on the day after Thanksgiving in celebration of Recreational Equipment, Inc.’s (REI) Opt Outside program, which encourages everyone to skip the malls and head outdoors on what is typically the busiest shopping day of the year, Black Friday.
2020 was the 6th year of the contest, which is co-sponsored each year by REI’s Princeton store. To date, the contest has been limited to photographs taken in the Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve between the kick-off day and January 31st of the following year. The 2021 contest will expand that scope to include the Woodfield Reservation, where FOPOS volunteers also do trail maintenance work.