“MOUNTAIN LAKES HOUSE AT SUNRISE”: This photo by Frank Sauer is featured in “Perspectives on Preservation: Capturing the Mountain Lakes Preserve from Up Close and On High.” Presented by Friends of Princeton Open Space, the exhibit is on view at Small World Coffee, 14 Witherspoon Street, through December 6. An opening reception is Friday, November 5 from 5 to 7 p.m.

Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS) is presenting a group show, hosted by Small World Coffee, of photographs taken at Princeton’s Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve in the winter of 2020. The works are on view at Small World’s location at 14 Witherspoon Street through December 6.

The show, “Perspectives on Preservation: Capturing the Mountain Lakes Preserve from Up Close and On High” includes photos selected from submissions made to the Friends of Princeton Open Space’s annual Give Thanks for Nature Photo Contest, as well as aerial photographs of the Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve taken by Princeton photographer Frank Sauer. All photos are offered for sale with a portion of the sales benefiting the Friends of Princeton Open Space.

An opening reception is Friday, November 5 from 5 to 7 p.m., featuring jazz guitar by Ilan Eisenzweig.

The show’s title references the range of subjects and activities that the photographers captured within Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve’s 75 acres of protected public land — reflecting its use as a place of recreation, contemplation, and artistic inspiration, as well as its value as habitat for a variety of native flora and fauna.

Sauer’s aerial perspective situates the Preserve within the larger landscape and highlights its importance to the ecological health of the community. With its upper and lower lakes, numerous rocky creeks, wooded wetlands, and upland forests, the Preserve holds a diverse range of ecosystems, which are made accessible via over eight miles of trails maintained by Friends of Princeton Open Space and its community of volunteers.

The Give Thanks for Nature contest kicks off each year on the day after Thanksgiving in celebration of Recreational Equipment Inc.’s (REI) Opt Outside program, which encourages everyone to skip the malls and head outdoors on what is typically the busiest shopping day of the year. The year 2020 was the sixth year of the contest, which is co-sponsored each year by REI’s Princeton store. To date, the contest has been limited to photographs taken in the Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve between the kick-off day and January 31 of the following year. The 2021 contest will expand that scope to include the Woodfield Reservation, where FOPOS volunteers also do trail maintenance work.

For more information, visit fopos.org.