BELLA VISTA -- Quin Warsaw, 17, of Bella Vista, also known as "Snappy," was recognized Oct. 27 as Artist of the Month for October by the Bella Vista Arts Council at a reception at the Bella Vista Country Club.
He has been photographing nature since 2017 and uses a Nikon D500 camera to capture images of squirrels, rabbits, butterflies, flowers, many types of birds, etc.
"I just like all of nature," he said.
He selected a favorite out of one of many photos that were on display on one table -- a photo of a deer that seemed to be looking right at the camera. He said he took the photo at Crystal Bridges.
Warsaw is a son of Michele and Mark Warsaw. His mother, who home-schools him, said her son's hobby goes back to when the family moved to Northwest Arkansas in 2017. She was walking the trails, and he was getting bored, so she handed him her point-and-shoot camera to entertain himself. She noticed he had an eye for photography, and things grew from there.
"He is teaching me," she said. "It's a good way to spend our time together."
She said her son volunteers at Horses for Healing, plays golf and volunteers at golf tournaments, and is a member of the Bella Vista Blue Bird Society, the Bella Vista Photography Club and the Arkansas Master Naturalists. He has photographed 150 species of birds in Northwest Arkansas, she said. All of his photos have been taken in Northwest Arkansas, and many in Bella Vista, she added.
Doug Keck of Bella Vista is also a member of the Bella Vista Photography Club and attended the reception.
"He's great," Keck said. "From when he started to where he's at now, you can see the improvement. He's got the eye."
JB Portillo of the Arkansas Master Naturalists said Warsaw went through the organization's training "with flying colors" last year. He wanted to be part of the group so much that they made him an honorary member -- he will be a full member when he turns 18 in January, she said.
Bella Vista Mayor Peter Christie presented Warsaw with a certificate recognizing him as Artist of the Month. He said Warsaw's artwork is "stunning."
"I went onto his web page. I can see why he has the name Snappy. His dad and mom take pictures of the same thing he did, and it doesn't even look the same. He has that knack. Very clever young man," he said.