Fall is the perfect season to get outside and take in the beautiful landscapes Kentucky has to offer, but for those hard-pressed to escape to nature, photographer Ed Lawrence’s “Woods and Waters” exhibit at the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center’s City Gallery is the next best thing.
The collection of photographs, on display through Dec. 4, 2021 as part of the Louisville Photo Biennial—along with Lawrence’s book of the same title—captures the beauty and timelessness of lands being protected by the Woods and Waters Land Trust. The culmination of more than 5 years worth of photography, it features landscapes and native flora from the nonprofit’s eight conserved properties in the lower Kentucky River watershed.
The photographs give reverence to every season presented in the woodlands and the streams that run through them. Lawrence, a Frankfort, Ky., resident considers the work of capturing the land in all four seasons to have been a meditative experience, tethering him to the work of the WWLT for the long-term. Seeing the devastating effects of climate change and overdevelopment, he hopes that his work inspires others to join WWLT in preserving the landscape, so that future generations of humans and wildlife can benefit from its scenic beauty and exceptional water, air, and soil quality.
Lawrence will be discussing his photography in an Artist Talk on Friday, Oct. 22, 2021, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center’s City Gallery along with sculpturist Chad Eames. Copies of the book Woods and Waters will be for sale at the event for $40, and Lawrence will be available for book signing. All proceeds from books and photographs will benefit WWLT. The exhibit is part of Lawrence’s capstone project at University of Kentucky, where he finished his degree in Liberal Studies this spring. At the age of 72, he is the oldest graduate in the class of 2021.
