John E. Dowell’s hauntingly beautiful series, Paths to Freedom, originated from a dream featuring his long-departed grandmother and her tales of cotton fields. The dreams were so powerful that it encouraged him to seek out the cotton fields firsthand. In the deep South, in the dead of night, Dowell envisioned the harrowing journey of his enslaved ancestors. Through his photography, he explores their courage, wisdom, and pursuit of freedom amidst the darkness. His images, currently on view at The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, evoke portals, spirits, signs in nature, and faith.

The concept for your series originated from a dream. Could you share more about this? Did you wake up with a clear vision of what to create, or did it take time to piece it together?
“It took time to piece it together. When I first began having the dreams, I wasn’t quite sure what was being requested. After consulting with my sisters and brother, I assessed that it was about my grandmother’s stories of cotton.”

In your insightful conversation with Brittany Webb, you talk about your connection with your ancestors, specifically your grandmother. How hard was it to trust (and act on) what was being conveyed to you?
“My grandmother was very clear and matter-of-fact. From there it became a matter of how to get to the cotton—contacting farmers, traveling to farms, et cetera.”

Can you talk more about the idea of portals in nature offering hope and encouragement to
slaves? Was this something that you read about or something that you came by naturally when out in the fields? And in what forms (light, burrows, etc.) do you feel these portals existed?
“That idea of portals first came from my experiences with religions of African origin—Voodoo, Santeria, and Gullah spiritual traditions. In all of these experiences, the individuals
communicated with their ancestors, gaining informative guidance, strength, and the ability to survive. I almost always had emotional experiences photographing cotton. I experienced
hearing and seeing things that were there only on a metaphysical level. At times when I was out photographing, I could hear singing—and many times while I’m looking at cotton, I know nobody is there but I swear I can see slaves picking cotton. At rare times, I felt like I was really experiencing pain as if I had been beaten.”

For this series, you’ve photographed cotton fields in the dark. What did this process look like? Did you scout the location during the day and then go back at night with specific ideas? Or was it more of an organic process?
“A little of both. I started with an idea based on some exploration during the daytime, and then at dusk, I just followed a feeling. I sort of imagined the path and how a group or an individual would run away. Some of this was based on knowledge of the Underground Railroad and seeing or perceiving escape routes when I was within the cotton fields. When I was there at night, I got a certain feeling—it was an awareness of ancestral presence.”

So many of us are living in cities, addicted to screens, and disconnected from nature. I can’t help but think of the concepts of “grounding” or “earthing” when I see your work. Is that something that you think about? What do you think we can learn from nature, and what role does it play in your personal life?
“For me, I have looked for and searched for moments in nature that are very spiritual to me. In my work, I have discovered places and moments that have given that identification. For example, in a banana plantation in Caracas, I photographed an area that felt like I was in the middle of an altar. Not in front of it—I was in it. In South Dakota, I had a similar experience in a corn field where I felt the presence of God. So nature for me becomes a means of discovering my spirituality.

“When I am in nature and have removed all of the distractions of the world, I really feel a presence of God. What’s interesting for me is when I’m in the city, I feel there is a potential awareness of humanity in certain situations, like the park and areas of communication—what I really feel in the city is that disconnecting from screens and enjoying interactions with nature and individuals is possible. So that is to say these connections I experience in the city or outside the city are not formed in spite of a sort of addiction to the screen or an influence by that stuff—I just move through it—it’s not really a part of my life.”

Do you think there is a connection between being connected to nature and feeling connected to one’s ancestors?
“That depends on the experience and background of the individual. I think of experiences I have had in church services, ceremonies within the Gullah culture, Santeria, Voodoo, I could go on and on—all religions of the African diaspora where I’ve felt connected to my ancestors. In a ceremony of this sort there are many individuals who are possessed by spirits of ancestors. For example, in a Voodoo ceremony, one can have experiences with Shango or Ogun, and the same thing in Santeria or Candomblé. In the process of the ceremony, we can see someone who has been taken by the spirit of the particular Orisha or Loa. As I’ve mentioned, I’ve experienced connections to my ancestors in nature, I’ve experienced them alone, and I’ve witnessed others experience it in ceremonial or group environments—so it all depends on the individual.”

Discover More

MINNEAPOLIS — Waterfowl on lakes and rivers are a common sight. But it’s the not-so-common loon that when seen in person is often the apple of a photographer’s eye, especially for Chris Whitty.

“I’ve been taking pictures of loons and birds on the various lakes for a long time,” he said.

Capturing wildlife on camera is one of his favorite hobbies, usually involving a trek to a remote lake in British Columbia, Canada. Loons frequent this area, some even nesting, but there’s a “white whale” of sorts always on his mind.

“If you go out looking for something in my experience, you’re not going to find it. It’s kind of the surprise,” he said. That’s precisely what happened on a spring morning. Whitty did his typical weekend trip to a lake. “I’m like, ‘oh there’s a couple loons’ and then I’m like, ‘oh my god it’s the white one’,” he said.

Four years after first seeing it, the elusive white and gray feathered loon was back at his favorite photo spot.

After hastily getting out of his car to the point where he forgot to put it in park, Whitty grabbed his canoe and glided across the water like the great northern diver in his lens.

“What I like to do is I paddle slowly and quietly and get in the angle for the light and then just stop and then just watch, and they just tolerated me for quite a while,” Whitty said, estimating he took pictures of the white loon among other loons for at least an hour.

Dale Gentry, the director of conservation for Audubon Upper Mississippi River, said it’s shocking to see a loon with such a color. “I’ve never seen one in person, and I’ve only seen pictures on the internet,” said Gentry. “Albinism and a leucistic bird, they have some sort of genetic change that influences the genes that code for a pigment in their feathers called melanin.”

When an animal is albino it cannot produce melanin, which gives an animal its color. Therefore, it’s white. Leucism is when an animal lacks some melanin, making it partially white or gray.

“It’s much more common for birds to have little patches of white feathers,” said Gentry. “But for the entire bird to be in sort of leucistic plumage is less common.”

He estimates 1 in 30,000 birds is leucistic. That only adds to the rarity that a loon, known for its strikingly black plumage, would carry the opposite color.

“A number of questions pop for me about the bird,” Gentry said. He wonders if it has a mate and how it is received by the loon community given its different appearance.

If the white loon does mate, Gentry said the leucistic trait could be passed down. The trait however could be recessive, meaning the chicks would still have their normal dark color.

Whether it has offspring or not, the chances Minnesotans would learn that in person are slim to none.

“I think something like 97% of North America’s loons nest in Canada so we’re kind of an outlier (in Minnesota),” Gentry said.

Whitty said birders have begged him to keep the lake’s location a secret, that way it doesn’t get flooded with photographers. It’s a request he’s happy to oblige, even if the encounter is truly up to nature to decide.

“It’s funny, you go looking, you won’t find it,” he said.

Jeff Wagner

Jeff Wagner joined the WCCO-TV team in November 2016 as a general assignment reporter, and now anchors WCCO’s Saturday evening newscasts. Although he’s new to Minnesota, he’s called the Midwest home his entire life.

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Blackburnian Warbler by Mathew Malwitz/Audubon Photography Awards/2024 Grand Prize Winner
Location: Promised Land State Park, Pennsylvania, USA
“​​Two Blackburnian Warblers face each other in profile; their gray and white wings outstretched behind them. Their yellow heads and orange necks stand out against a blurred gray background, and their bills and feet are entangled.”

Now in its 15th year, the Audubon Photography Awards is celebrating the magic of bird photography. Run by the National Audubon Society, the competition is open to professional and amateur photographers of all ages. This year, Mathew Malwitz came away with the top prize for his delightful portrait of two Blackburnian warblers facing each other in a wonderful symmetrical pose.

Last year’s grand prize winner, Liron Gertsman, was once again celebrated this year. His interesting photo of a flock of willow ptarmigans in flight, with their white feathers melting into the white sky, won the professional category. These winning entries were chosen from more than 2,300 entrants from all 50 U.S. states, nine Canadian provinces, and one territory.

The photo contest has also expanded its scope, adding the Birds in Landscapes Prize for the first time. Designed to draw attention to how birds connect with their broader surroundings, the inaugural prize was handed out to Kevin Lohman for an atmospheric photo of a California quail perched on a small bush in a field.

Sadly, birds like the California quail and the Blackburnian warbler are facing increasing obstacles to their survival. The National Audubon Society’s climate science report, Survival by Degrees, states that two-thirds of North American birds are facing extinction due to climate change. A special climate change visualizer even lets you see how the birds in your area will be impacted.

By taking in these photos and learning more about what the future holds, there’s even more motivation to make the necessary changes on a small and large scale to delay the effects of climate change.

Here are the winners of the 2024 Audubon Photography Awards, which celebrates exceptional bird photography.

Forster’s Tern by Kevin Lohman/Audubon Photography Awards/2024 Professional Honorable Mention
Location: Shoreline Lake, Mountain View, California, USA
“A Forster’s Tern is in the air, its head turned almost 180 degrees so that its bill is pointing almost straight up, and its tail is twisted. The bird’s outstretched wings give the impression the bird is floating upside down. Water droplets appear in a stream from the bird’s bill and also below it.”

Willow Ptarmigan by Liron Gertsman/Audubon Photography Awards/2024 Professional Winner
Location: Kluane National Park, Yukon, Canada
“Seven Willow Ptarmigan are staggered throughout the image. Each is in various stages of flight. Their white bodies blend in with the completely white background; only their black eyes, bills, and tail feathers stand out.”

Barred Owl by Erin Boisvert/Audubon Photography Awards/2024 Amateur Honorable Mention
Location: Deep Brook Preserve. Newtown, CT, USA
“A Barred Owl hangs upside down from a thin tree branch, its body horizontal, its face turned and looking at the camera. Above it hangs a squirrel on a branch. Its head is nearly completely severed and is held in the owl’s talons. Its fur is bloodied.”

Red-necked Grebe by Edwin ​​Liu/Audubon Photography Awards/2024 Youth Honorable Mention
Location: Colonel Samuel Smith Park, Etobicoke, ON, Canada
“Two adult Red-necked Grebes face each other in the water. The entire grebe’s body on the right is visible, and two black and white-headed chicks sit on its back. One is leaning to receive a small fish from the bill of the parent.”

Sedge Wren and Gray-head Coneflower by Trisha Snider/Audubon Photography Awards/2024 Plants For Birds Honorable Mention
Location: John E Pearce Provincial Park, Wallacetown, Ontario, Canada
“A tiny russet brown Sedge Wren grasps two long, parallel stems as if they were stilts. The bird’s head looks to the left of the frame. Green grasses surround the bird, and yellow flowers are at the bottom of the image.”

American Kestrel by Parham Pourahmad/Audubon Photography Awards/2024 Youth Winner
Location: Calero County Park, San Jose, California, USA
“An American Kestrel stands on a post in profile, and a male kestrel is on her back with his wings stretched behind him. The birds are both in profile facing the left of the frame, the male above appearing to be an extension of the female below.”

Black-capped Chickadee and Broad-leaf Cattail by Linda Scher/Audubon Photography Awards/2024 Plants For Birds Winner
Location: Wood Lake Nature Center, Richfield, Minnesota, USA
“A Black-capped Chickadee clings to a single beige hook-shaped stem filled with seeds. The bird’s black legs appear to be spread at a 90-degree angle to hold the stem. The bird’s black bill is full of seeds.”

Wild Turkey by Travis Potter/Audubon Photography Awards/2024 Female Bird Prize Winner
Location: Roseville, Minnesota, USA
“A female Wild Turkey stands in profile, and her head is held high and wings are fanned out behind her. She stands between railroad tracks littered with leaves that extend into the distance.”

Common Gallinule by Douglas DeFelice/Audubon Photography Awards/2024 Fisher Prize Winner
Location: Tarpon Springs, FL
“A Common Gallinule’s green feet stick straight out of the surface of water, while its body is submerged and not visible. Splashes of water are outlined in gold against a black background and dark surface, making it difficult to distinguish between the feet and water.”

California Quail by Kevin Lohman/Audubon Photography Awards/2024 Birds in Landscapes Prize Winner
Location: Santa Cruz, California, USA
“A California Quail perches on top of a small bush in a field. One row of bushes and trees in the foreground is in focus, along with the quail, while other bushes are out of focus or blurred. The scene is a muted brown and orange, with layers of light and dark.”

Great-tailed Grackle by Tristan Vratil/Audubon Photography Awards/2024 Amateur Winner
Location: Corner of Slaughter Lane and Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas, USA
“Silhouetted grackles perch on power lines that bisect the image, with their tails nearly all pointing in the same direction. The sky is purple and pink. Through the whole of the photo are blurry figures of grackles flying through the air.”

National Audubon Society: Website | Facebook | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by the National Audubon Society.

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The National Audubon Society has announced the winners of its 2024 Photography Awards that, among other amazing images, include photos of birds threatened with extinction.

Now in its fifteenth year, the contest features stunning work from professionals, amateurs and young people that highlights the beauty of birds and the joy of capturing it through photographs and videos.

Winning entries and honorable mentions were chosen from more than 2,300 entrants from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., nine Canadian provinces and one territory. For the first time, the competition awarded the Birds in Landscapes Prize, which was introduced to draw attention to how birds connect with their broader surroundings.

The Grand Prize of $5,000 was awarded to photographer Mathew Malwitz for his shot of a battle between two Blackburnian Warblers, which is one of the endangered species.

Whether the setting is wild, urban, or suburban, or the relationship is symbiotic or reflects a specific challenge birds face, the prize encourages photographers to take a step back, consider the environment as a whole, then let their photographs tell the story.

Audubon’s report, Survival by Degrees, reveals that two-thirds of North American birds are threatened with extinction from climate change, including species featured in this year’s Audubon Photography Awards such as the California Quail and Sedge Wren, in addition to the Blackburnian Warbler.

The next contest begins October 24 and ends February 28, 2025.

All the winners and honorable mentions can be seen here.

Taken in Promised Land State Park, Pennsylvania, two Blackburnian Warblers face each other, their gray and white wings outstretched behind them. Their yellow heads and orange necks stand out against a blurred gray background and their bills and feet are entangled.

Seven Willow Ptarmigan race through the image, each in a different stage of flight. Their white bodies blend in with the completely white background, while only their black eyes, bills and tail feathers stand out.

A Forster’s Tern is captured in the air, its head turned almost 180 degrees so that its bill is pointing nearly straight up, its tail twisted. The bird’s outstretched wings give the impression the bird is floating upside down. Water droplets appear in a stream from the bird’s bill and also below it.

Silhouetted grackles perch on power lines that bisect the image, with their tails nearly all pointing in the same direction. The sky is purple and pink. Throughout the photo, blurry grackles fly through the air.

A Barred Owl hangs upside down from a thin tree branch, its body horizontal, its face turned and looking at the camera. A squirrel hangs on a branch above it — its fur bloody and its head nearly severed and held in the owl’s talons.

A Black-capped Chickadee clings to a single beige, hook-shaped stem filled with seeds. The bird’s black legs appear to be spread at a 90-degree angle to hold the stem. The bird’s black bill is full of seeds.

A tiny russet brown Sedge Wren grasps two long, parallel stems as if they were stilts. The bird’s head looks to the left of the frame. Green grasses surround the bird, and yellow flowers line the lower image.

An American Kestrel stands on a post in profile, and a male kestrel is on her back with his wings stretched behind him. The birds are both in profile facing the left of the frame, the male above appearing to be an extension of the female below.

A female Wild Turkey stands in profile, her head held high and wings fanned out behind her. She stands between railroad tracks littered with leaves that extend into the distance.

A California Quail perches on top of a small bush in a field. One row of bushes and trees in the foreground is in focus, along with the quail, while other bushes are out of focus or blurred. The scene is a muted brown and orange, with layers of light and dark.

A Common Gallinule’s green feet stick straight out of the water while its body is submerged and not visible. Splashes of water are outlined in gold against a black background and dark surface.

Summer is officially here, and the pools are open. What goes well with pool time? If you are an artist, watercolors surely come to mind. If you happen to have a cool, shady spot, paint outdoors. If not, find one. Our parks have stairways and terraced trails leading to the cool creeks and streams.

Take your camera and sketchbook on a woodland walk. Pick a comfy log or rock, settle in and just be still.

Listen. Look.

Life will start to appear around you. Look for details on the logs and rocks. Let your hand choose loose flowing strokes to capture the feel and mood of the environment. Make notes to remind you of the smells and colors and the way they make you feel.

Your notes will remind you of how you felt you when you were “in the moment.” Being able to put that feeling into your artwork is a priceless gift and needs to be nurtured — a delightful task for a lazy summer day.

By this time, you should be ready for some air conditioning.

Calls are out for artists able to bring the viewer into the experience of creating as they look into the artwork. I saw a couple of shows just this week that included several feels-like-you-are-there pieces. Details to follow.

Penitentiary Glen

Lake Metroparks’ 37th annual “Amateur Photography Contest & Show” is open for viewing through Aug. 4 at Penitentiary Glen Reservation, 8668 Kirtland-Chardon Road, Kirtland.

I was a judge, as was Maria Perme, Maria Perme Photography and Roni Leatherman, Roni Leatherman Photography. This year’s show had 129 entries from 56 participants. Only four of them were juniors — 14 or younger. It’s a number we’d all like to see increase.

The Best of Show winner in the Adult division is Doug Wilson, and the Best of Show winner in the Junior division is Branson Porter.

The contest also named winners in several categories:

— in Lake Metroparks: Stewart Unsdorfer, first place; Rob Lewis, second place; Linda Janosko, third place; John Venen, honorable mention; and Sebastian Knez, honorable mention.

— in Lake Erie: Emily Zerecheck, first place; Nic Cassell-Greene, second place; Earl Linaburg, third place; and Lana Andriyenko, Sarah Komaromy and Jay Joseph, honorable mentions.

— in Wildlife: Gary Wright. first place; Doug Wilson, second place; Jim Legat, third place; and Dwight Boyer, Alexandria Novak, Jacquelyn Leach, Ty Whiting and Tony Gazso, honorable mentions.

— In Landscape: Grace Eapen, first place; Alexandria Novak, second place; Stewart Unsdorfer, third place; and Heather Barninger, Jacqueline Sprenger and Emily Zerecheck, honorable mentions.

— In Black & White: Doug Wilson, first place; Gary Wright, second place; Christy Buser, third place; and Linda Kelley, Evan Brzeczkowski and Taylor Stanley, honorable mentions.

— in Floral: Gary Wright, first place; Raymond Rundelli, second place; Heather Barninger, third place; and Roger Lokar, Evan Brzeczkowski, Sarah Komaromy and Aaron Knight, honorable mentions.

— in the Junior Division, which included all the above categories: Branson Porter, first place; Emma Gooden, second place; Brooklyn Amato, third place; Brooklyn Amato and James Komaromy, honorable mentions.

Wildwood Fine Art & Wine Festival

Enjoy the Wildwood Fine Arts & Wine Festival from noon to 6 p.m. on June 22 on the shady grounds of the Wildwood estate,7645 Little Mountain Road, Mentor. Learn more about the event or become a volunteer by calling 440-974-5735 or emailing wildwood@cityofmentor.com.

Stella’s Art Gallery

Stella’s Art Gallery, 38033 Euclid Ave., Willoughby, opened the first of a double show in the main gallery last weekend. This first exhibit, “Size Matters,” began with the artists’ awards reception.

Congratulations to Rickie Denes, the Best of Show winner.

The winners in Tiny Bits, no larger than 4 by 6 inches, are Tracy Zakaysek, first place; Nancy Nelson Brotz, second place; and Linda Janosko, third place.

The winners in Medium Muscle, between 8 by 10 inches and 12 by 16 inches, are Gregory Johnson, first place; Nancy Nelson Brotz, second place; and Wendy Playter, third place.

The winners in Living Large, for artworks 18 by 24 inches or larger, are Becky Grasser, first place; Heather Hayden, second place; and Anna and Sam Weisend, third place.

The second show, “Ekphrastic Poetry,” calls for the art of the word. Writers are to select and confirm their choice of artwork from the exhibit before June 27. Only one author per art piece is permitted. Writers will express their feelings or reactions to this specific piece, and it will join its inspiration on the gallery walls.

All are invited to the open-mic reading in the gallery from 7 to 9 p.m. on June 28. Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate Ray McNiece will jury the writings.

The July show is “Opposites Attract?” You decide between the two categories, Abstract and Realism, as both will fill the gallery with their opposing points of view.

Abstract is art that does not represent reality but uses colors, shapes and textures to present an appealing image. Realism features art that depicts everyday life in a naturalistic manner and can reach the point of appearing to be a photographic image.

All mediums are welcome. Art will be accepted from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on July 2 and 3 and from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on July 6.

For more information, visit StellasArtGallery.com or call 440-266-9111.

Ashtabula Arts Center

Entry is open for the 2024 Paul & Norma Tikkanen Painting Prize. Interest has grown as news spreads of this $40,000 competition. The first-place prize is $12,000 in both abstract and realist painting. There are also two $5,000 second-place prizes and up to four honorable mentions, $1,000 each.

Paintings must have been completed in the past three years, and the contest is open to artists from Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Summit and Trumbull counties. It is also open to artists from Pennsylvania counties Crawford, Erie, Lawrence and Mercer. Maximum size is 4 by 4 feet and 25 pounds.

The first round of submissions will done digitally and must be received by July 14.

Entry details and a link to entry are available at ashtabulaartscenter.org. Good luck, everyone!

Fairmount Center for the Arts

Fairmount Center for the Arts, 8400 Fairmount Road, Russell Township, is looking for artists to enter the 48th annual “Fairmount Art Exhibit,” set to open Aug. 6.

Submissions are being accepted online and will be accepted at the center on July 27 and 29. Get details at fairmountcenter.org or 440-338-3171.