Pinelands: New Jersey’s Suburban Wilderness

A self-taught and award-winning photographer of the New Jersey Pinelands, Al Horner uses his artistic skill and eye for natural beauty to help others see the magic of this ecosystem and spark their desire to protect it. Al will share visuals of his work and talk about how he uses photography to show the importance of the Pinelands to the region and to the world.

Programs require pre-registration. Online registration available until 24 hours before the event. If online registration is not available, call (914) 762-2912 x110 to register.

Albert D. Horner is an award-winning fine-art photographer whose images distill the quiet beauty and intimate landscapes of New Jersey’s Pinelands National Reserve. Self-taught, he brings curiosity, patience and a practiced eye to his craft, recording the oak and pine forests, cedar swamps, meandering waterways and native wildflowers that make the “Pine Barrens” a place like no other. “Although the Pinelands does not have mountain peaks or lush valleys with babbling streams, it does have a beauty and uniqueness all its own,” says Horner.

Horner began taking 35mm photos as a hobby, working first in black and white and then in Kodachrome. He visited scenic locations in the United States and abroad, but wasn’t quite satisfied with the images he produced. Horner soon realized he needed a subject close at hand where he could monitor light and weather conditions in all seasons. For the Medford Lakes, N.J., resident that subject was the Garden State’s Pinelands, a place he had explored since childhood.

Since 2005, using digital photography, Horner has produced more than 150 stunning images taken in the 1.1 million-acre Pinelands National Reserve. Some 80 of these fine-art photographs appear in his 2015 monograph, “Pinelands: New Jersey’s Suburban Wilderness.” A Pinelands Preservation Alliance board member, Horner uses his art to advocate on behalf of the ecologically important region, giving presentations and exhibiting his images.