Joe Poston, a professor of biology at Catawba College, will discuss nature photography from 6:30 and 8 p.m. Thursday. After his talk, a ribbon-cutting and reception will unveil a gallery of his photos at the Center for the Environment on the Catawba campus.

A hobbyist photographer for many years, Poston started with film cameras and now uses digital cameras. Many of his photos are close-up portraits of warblers and other birds that Poston captures for scientific research.

The new gallery in the Center for the Environment will include images of other types of wildlife, ranging from chipmunks to salamanders, as well as landscapes. Most photos were taken in North Carolina, but some are from travels elsewhere, including South Carolina, the Midwest, the Southwest, England, and Bonaire, a Caribbean island.

Poston, who earned his Ph.D. in ecology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is interested in conservation biology, ornithology and ecology. He joined the Catawba faculty in August 2000.