Photos on the Fly

Her upcoming exhibit at is of photography, but Evelyn Jacob has more than a little of the poet in her as well.

“Wings Set Me Free,” the name she chose for the exhibit, is not only a phrase from a classic song in Unitarian Universalist churches, but it conveys, she said, “some of the metaphorical power of seeing birds in flight. It might also prompt one to consider different forms of freedom and different forms of flight: the power of take off, the beauty of gliding, the loveliness of wings outspread, the exhilaration of speed, and, finally, the inevitability of landing.” 

The Potomac woman has been a birder for about 15 years. The photos in the exhibit were taken largely over the past three years in Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia and Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware, and in Florida on Sanibel Island and beaches near Ft. Myers. One was taken in New Zealand.

There are 21 images in the show, focusing on large birds that live or feed near water, such as egrets, geese, pelicans and flamingos. 

“For photographing birds in flight,” Jacob said, “I'm drawn to large birds for two reasons. One reason is aesthetic—large birds tend to be very graceful when flying, and I think their forms more easily ‘speak’ to people about flight as a metaphor. The other reason is practical—to capture small birds in flight one needs a very big lens and special equipment to support such a lens. I've rented such a lens and tried it, but I prefer the freedom of being able to hold the camera and lens in my hands to follow the birds as they fly. In very low light I use a tripod to photograph birds in flight, but otherwise I usually hand hold the equipment.” 

Jacob was a cultural anthropologist for almost 30 years and during most of that time a professor in the Graduate School of Education at George Mason University.

“My interest in photography developed while I was working at GMU, and then became my primary focus when I took early retirement seven years ago,” Jacob said.

Her award-winning nature and landscape photographs have been exhibited in numerous area venues and are part of many private collections.  

There will be an artist’s reception for Wings Set Me Free: Photographs of Birds in Flight from 2-4 p.m. on Sept. 18 at River Road Unitarian Church, 6301 River Rd., Bethesda. The exhibit runs from Sept. 1 through Oct. 11, Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jacob recommends visitors call the RRUUC office (301-229-0400) before going to ensure no activity is scheduled in the Fellowship Hall Gallery.