While in Costa Rica this past May, Cindy Jones photographed a male Talamanca hummingbird.
Cindy Jones doesn’t get bored easily. You’ve likely seen her around the District over the years, chairing galas for the National Museum of Women in the Arts and championing causes like The Washington Ballet and the American Heart Association—she admits she has a million interests. But it was a family health scare five years ago that made her discover her true obsession: photography. “Without realizing it, I think I was looking for some light,” she says of wandering into a camera store on the hunt for a distraction and finding her first Nikon instead. Since then, her passion for wildlife photography has taken her around the globe, embarking on expeditions led by premier lensman and amassing a collection of museum-quality images. Now, she’s sharing her work via her debut show at Martha Spak Gallery Oct. 1 to 29. “I am excited about my friends... seeing my photography printed for the first time,” she says. “Before this exhibition, I had never printed one of my photos.” The display takes viewers from the tropics of Costa Rica to the mountains of Canada to Jones’ backyard in Potomac, Md., and depicts creatures like rare hummingbirds and Chlorophonia finches (which are hard to find), as well as lions, cheetahs and leopards. “I think people will be surprised by the sharp focus of my subjects, especially the quick birds in flight,” she says. And every piece evokes an emotional connection with the animals. “I don’t think a lot of people absorb how beautiful nature is,” she says. “It can instill such a sense of awe.” Opening reception Oct. 4, free, The Wharf, 60 District Square SW, marthaspak.com