SNOW HILL — Neil Jernigan is a man on a mission.
His mission, he said, is to “educate and inspire current and future generations to explore, respect and help create and appreciation and awareness of the environment” in natural areas and, in particular, the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
Jernigan’s photographic works, entitled “Wild Pungo,” are on display at the Greene County Museum, 107 N.W. Third St., in downtown Snow Hill.
The exhibition contains images of the Pungo Unit of the wildlife refuge.
The goal of the exhibit is to help promote the art and science of nature photography as a medium of communication for nature appreciation and environmental protection.
An outdoor photographer, Jernigan, 22, is a 2009 graduate of Greene Central High School. He studied photography for two years at Lenoir Community College.
The son of James Albert and Tina Jernigan, the Snow Hill native got his first camera, a 35 mm, from his mother, who owns a scrapbooking store.
“Really, it was kind of my mom that got me started (in photography),” Jernigan said, “because she was taking pictures for the scrapbooks she was making.”
Jernigan’s first sale happened when his cousin asked him to take her engagement photos. His photography business developed from there when he was a senior in high school.
His business revolves mainly around portrait photography, such as weddings and other special events.
Jernigan’s interest in wildlife photography, which is mainly a hobby, grew from having grown up in the country between Snow Hill and Hookerton.
“My interest in the natural world started when I was a kid,” he said. “After growing up hunting and fishing, I was taught to love and respect the world we live in. I traveled with my parents and grandparents all over North Carolina in search of all sorts of wildlife and new landscapes. We always had a camera with us documenting the journey and animals.”
Besides dogs and cats, his family owned chickens, turkeys, horses, goats, hogs and even pet pigs, Jernigan said. Now they just have a lot dogs, he added.
His nature photos are a way for him to document the wildlife he enjoys.
“I’m at my happiest point outside in the woods,” he said.
The “Wild Pungo” exhibit can be seen at the Greene County Museum 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information, call 252-747-1999.