Georgetown nature photographer shows Arctic images at Bates College

Georgetown photographer Will Richard, a frequent traveler to the Arctic and leader of an environmental studies seminar at Bates in 2002, returns to the college to present a slide lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15, in the Smedley Lounge, Environmental Studies House, 111 Bardwell St.

Titled Experiencing the Summer Solstice on the Arctic Ice, Richard’s presentation is open to the public free of charge.

A writer, registered Maine Guide and adventure tour organizer, Richard will discuss images from trips to Ramah Bay, in Labrador, and to the edge of the Arctic ice near the eastern entrance of the Northwest Passage. The slides will show wildlife, dramatic land- and seascapes, and human settlements current and abandoned.

Last fall, Richard was central to a Bates-Chewonki Foundation symposium on the Arctic that concentrated on Canada’s Nunavut territory. In autumn 2002, Richard taught “Perceptions of Place and Time — High Altitude Bioregions” at Bates. Designed to develop students’ skills of perception, the seminar combined classroom work with field trips as far afield as the Gaspé Peninsula.

At the same time, Richard exhibited images of Maine and the polar regions at the Bates College Museum of Art. He has also shown his photography at Chewonki, the Chocolate Church, L.L. Bean, Maine Audubon, the Maine State House, Bowdoin College’s Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum and the University of New England.