S ometimes it’s the smallest details that tell the bigger story. By focusing his lens on small flowers and insects, photographer and Weehawken resident George Chemas found that local wildlife is on the upswing.
With over 20,000 pictures of butterflies, Chemas believes he has one of the largest photo collections of butterflies in the state.
“People have the tendency to think that I’m shooting places that are very far away,” Chemas said. “But a lot of my work is in local parks in the area.”
In fact, Chemas’s shoots are no farther than 30 miles away from his Weehawken home.With over 35 years of experience, Chemas is very familiar with local wildlife. According to Chemas, the weather wasn’t suitable for some species of butterflies this year.
“In July and August, it rained a lot, and the temperature was too cold,” Chemas said. But still, Chemas believes the environment is rebuilding.
“I’ve been seeing butterflies in this area that I have never seen before,” said Chemas. “Many that are from the area, but weren’t that common only a few years ago. For example, the Admiral butterfly. I had the pleasure of shooting on Boulevard East, and saw a lot of caterpillars that will eventually develop into beautiful Admirals.”
George of the jungle
Chemas’s interest in photography grew as a young man while living in his hometown, Popoya, Colombia. According to Chemas, Popoya means the interior land, and is within traveling distance to the thick jungles of the Amazon.
“I walked inside the jungles a lot,” Chemas explains, “and I took pictures of flowers, and birds, and other animals.”
During the summers away from school, Chemas would shoot at local archaeological digs and sell his work to magazines. Back at the university in the city of Cauca, Chemas honed his skills working in the university’s dark room.
“Me and my friends took care of [the room] for the university,” Chemas said. “So, whenever something was going on, we would walk around, snapping pictures and developing them back in the dark room for the local newspapers.”
Moving to the U.S. when he was 22, Chemas eventually settled in Weehawken.
“I really like the town, because my kids were born there and go to great schools there,” Chemas said. “I’m lucky I moved to Weehawken because there is a lot of green in the area – it really is the garden state.”
New life
According to Chemas, many other species of plants and animals are settling in Weehawken, too.
“We’ve really seen a rebirth of the Monarch butterfly in this area over the last two or three years,” Chemas said, attributing the recent success to the numerous Milkweed plants in the area.
“[People] think that I’m shooting at places that are very far away, but a lot of my work is in local parks in the area.”
– George Chemas
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According to Jennings, damselflies, a smaller species of dragonfly, are also increasing in numbers. “The damselflies are water-dependent,” Jennings said, so they breed in water. With increased efforts to clean local water supplies, Jennings said, the damselflies now have more hospitable homes. Chemas agreed.
“I’ve even been taking damselfly pictures in my backyard,” Chemas said.
To search for these and other species of wildlife, Chemas recommends the Hudson County’s Braddock Park in North Bergen. With the largest lake in the county, the 167-acre park is home to two island bird sanctuaries.
For more information on Chemas’ work, please visit: www.jchemasphoto.com. Send questions or comments on this story to: current@hudsonreporter.com