“Seeing Through the Eye of a Hummingbird”
exhibit at Cheese House Gallery in November

Banner Elk – By now, all the hummingbirds that spend summers in the mountains are long gone to points south.  Over at the Cheese House Gallery, however, hummingbirds are everywhere to be seen on the large format photographs of Constance Toops, the featured artist for November.

Connie Toops took her first pictures with a borrowed Argus film camera on a fourth grade school trip in 1961. Thus began her love affair with photography. While subsequently obtaining a Natural Resources degree at Ohio State University and working for the National Park Service, she honed photographic skills, sharing images of wildlife and wild places with an ever-widening audience.

In 1978 Connie became a freelance photojournalist. She is the author/principal photographer of nine nature books and has published several thousand images – reflecting world-wide travels – in magazines, trade and textbooks, advertising, calendars, and museum exhibits. She also appears widely as a speaker. Nearly a decade ago Connie and husband Pat, a retired National Park Service biologist, purchased a mountainside farm in Madison County, NC, where they now live.

Connie and Pat landscape with colorful native flower species that attract hummingbirds, songbirds, and butterflies. In summer 2008 Connie wandered her garden with a small digital camera. On a whim, she mimicked hummingbird movements – targeting bright blossoms, zipping quickly between plants, exploring for secret nectar treasures. All images in this exhibit were captured within a few feet of Connie’s windows. The exhibit was funded in part by a Regional Artist Program Grant awarded in late 2008.  These funds come from the Arts Councils of Avery, Buncombe, Madison, and Toe River, with additional support from the North Carolina Arts Council.  In thanks to the citizens of these counties, Connie’s exhibit has been touring the region for the past year. 

Seeing Through the Eye of a Hummingbird includes ultra-close views of flowers hummingbirds encounter in western North Carolina. Although Connie recorded the images digitally, she remained true to her principles of film photography. She did not use computer manipulation programs to alter, enhance, or combine images.  Prints and copies of Connie’s books are available for sale during the exhibition.  Connie also has created a free flyer detailing how to attract hummingbirds to feeders.

The Arts Council is hosting a reception on Thursday, November 5, from 5-7 PM, and Connie will be on hand to answer questions.  The public is welcome to attend.  Seeing Through the Eye of a Hummingbird will be on exhibit until November 30 at the Cheese House Gallery, 630 Shawneehaw Avenue (Hwy 184), Banner Elk.  The gallery is open from Monday – Friday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and on Saturdays by appointment.  For more information, please call the Arts Council office, 828-898-4292, or visit the website, www.averycountyartscouncil.org.