Arthur Morris began photographing birds in the summer of 1983 while teaching in New York City. After seven years of “just birding,” he purchased a 400mm manual focus lens and started crawling around in the mud at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, New York to get closer to his favorite shorebirds—with film, of course
In 1989, Arthur decided to begin selling his images. As a first step, he and Elaine, his beloved late wife, brainstormed on a new business name. Elaine suggested “Birds as Art” and Arthur took to it immediately. Today, Elaine lives on through this name, which serves as both his business name and the title of this exhibition.
By the early 1990s, Arthur’s dream was to become a full-time nature photographer specializing in birds. With Elaine’s full support, they both walked away from their teaching positions in June 1992 to pursue his dream. Now, after more than 20 years of photographing birds, Arthur, one of the 55 original Canon Explorers of Light, continues in that role today as an Explorer of Light Emeritus. In addition, Arthur is a founding member of the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) and was made a NANPA Fellow to honor his work on both high school and college scholarship programs. He also cofounded BirdPhotographers.Net, an educational website that helps up-and-coming nature photographers develop their skills.
Thousands of Arthur’s images have been published worldwide in a great variety of traditional and online settings. Approximately 24 of his images have been honored in prestigious contests including The BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition, the Nature’s Best Windland Smith Rice Contest, and the National Wildlife Federation Nature Photography Contest.
Birds as Art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris features 67 of Arthur’s all-time favorite images. Visitors will enjoy his clean, graphic style while simultaneously building a deep appreciation for our feathered friends.
Thank you to the sponsors and supporters of Birds as Art: Canon, Think Tank Photo, Delkin Devices, Wimberley Professional Photo Gear, Induro, Canon Explorers of Light, 4th Generation Designs (Mongoose tripod heads), LensCoat, and Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris.
