About Larry
Larry O’Reilly took up photography as an active interest after retiring from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, where he served as Assistant Director, in charge of Exhibits and Public Spaces.
He has also been active in various conservation groups, particularly with those dedicated to using images of nature to inspire people to protect and care for our environment. Most of those nature images are exceptional for the skill and dedication of the photographer, and are inspiring to me to work for greater skill in my own work.
Like any other “hobby,” including doing surveys for money on the side, the more time spent doing it, the better the work I’m able to do. I did a lot of experimentation over the past few years, testing compositional shots, different forms of light, ways of enhancing color or form, but not becoming dependent on “technical manipulation” to achieve the desired effect.
There seems to be a great variety within these photos, but I have striven to find the “essence” of each object, stripped down for immediacy and impact, mostly the impact of beauty made plain.”