Photography On Display At Biscayne National Park Through Late February

"Timekeeper" is one of the images Matt Stock captured for his latest art show at Biscayne National Park. Photo by Matt Stock.

Unique glimpses of Biscayne National Park will be on display in the park's Dante Fascell Visitor Center Gallery through February 24 as award-winning photographer Matt Stock displays a dozen shots he took in and around the park.

A "Nearly Full Moon Meet the Artist" reception - featuring refreshments, an artist talk and a silent auction - will be held from 7-9 p.m. on Saturday at the Dante Fascell Visitor Center located at 9700 SW 328 Street, 9 miles east of Homestead, Florida.

The display, titled Hidden Groves, included 12 photographs taken in the park and nearby areas. Mr. Stock uses a technique inspired by the Renaissance painting technique sfumatto he calls "Painting with Light in the Dark.®" Using photos taken from dozens of angles under varying lighting conditions, he combines the otherwise-similar images into a single luminous composition.

For this show, Mr. Stock has focused his lens on Florida's mangrove forests.

"As the sun sets, people forget that nature continues to thrive," says the photographer. "People forget that mangroves continue to stand sentinel and vigil guarding our shorelines day in and day out. Come moonrise when the world becomes a dimmer version of itself, people tend to forget nature does not tuck in for the night. But that becomes hard to remember as the world beyond our city lights becomes one of shadows and darkness. One cannot care about a cause one cannot see so it has been my goal to show the general public the inherent beauty of what has been my home for over 20 years."

Mr. Stock was recently a featured presenter at TEDx in Coconut Grove, an event inspired by the renowned TED Conferences held annually in California and Scotland that bring inspired thinkers from the worlds of technology, entertainment and design together to learn from and further inspire others.

Hidden Groves is part of the park's Community Artists Program, which started in 1997 as an outlet for the works of both established and emerging artists who are inspired by the beauty of Biscayne National Park. The program is made possible by the South Florida National Parks Trust through the generosity of Sedano's Supermarkets and the Miami-Dade County Division of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.