Meeting nature up close
As a radio announcer, today’s all-star makes her living communicating through the spoken word. But put a camera in Margie Wrye’s hands, and she speaks to us fluently with imagery — conveying her love of nature through amazing close-ups of hovering hummers, lounging lizards and sweeping vistas of stunning scenery.
Name: Margie Wrye.
Age: “40-something.”
Occupation: “Radio announcer (and mommy).”
Photography experience: Photography was Wrye’s original career choice but, as she explained in an e-mail, “Life got in the way of art, so I put the camera down until Christmas of 2006.” That’s when she gave her son a digital camera. She ended up having as much fun with it as he did, and her passion for photography was rekindled.
Camera: Wrye calls herself a Canon woman, using a Rebel XTi 70-200 f/2.8 IS zoom, 50mm 1.4, and 17-40 f/4 (until it was stolen recently). She uses a 2x extender, and a 500d close-up lens, 430 EX flash.
Favorite subjects to photograph: Nature and scenics. “There is something about seeing a bird, or a coyote, with the light hitting it just right so you see it looking back at you. You have your camera, you get the picture, you can remember that moment forever. . . . I prefer shooting wildlife with my camera instead of a gun; pictures last longer than dinner.”
Favorite photos: “My favorite photo, eh? You’re torturing me! That’s like picking my favorite child. . . . So, you choose my favorite.”
We assume she’s talking about her favorite photo, not child, so we’ll call “hummer smorgasbord” her favorite.
● Browse her photos at go.azstarnet.com/ galleryallstars.
● Browse the rest of the gallery at go.azstarnet.com/gallery.
– John Ames