Photographer Patricia Flyzik Falco showcases her passion for the natural world in “Wanderlust in Focus,” an exhibit that opened Thursday at Tamaqua Community Arts Center, Pine Street, Tamaqua.

“While the show includes pieces from around the world, I don’t consider this ‘travel photography,’ ” said Flyzik Falco, proprietor of fine arts business Runamok Images in Orwigsburg. “Rather, these scenes captured along the way reflect my love for travel and the beauty of the world around us.”

The exhibit marks Flyzik Falco’s first exhibit at Tamaqua Arts.“Wanderlust in Focus,” featuring 40-plus images, runs through the end of the month.

Born in Washington, D.C., Flyzik Falco and her family eventually returned to Coaldale, her parents’ birthplace. After graduating from Panther Valley, she moved frequently, though eventually chose to settle in rural West Brunswick Township to raise her family.

Flyzik Falco’s passion for the natural world and eye for art began watching her avid-sportsman father absorb the outdoors and capture it through his love of photography.

“Seeing Jake’s enthusiasm for both, I emulated him by often roaming the woods of Coaldale for hours while trying to bring out that beauty in the high school’s dark room. I began using film and processing in the dark room, but now prefer my Olympus digital mirrorless camera.”

The artist’s nature and landscape roots, she said, “are genetic, just a part of my being. My favorite quote is Ralph Waldo Emerson: to paraphrase, in the woods, nothing can befall me in life — no disgrace, no calamity, which nature cannot repair.”

As for favorite photographers, “I am in awe of how Dorothea Lange and Henri Cartier-Bresson can evoke such emotion with just one image.”

Flyzik Falco, who learned photography hands-on via countless workshops and hours in the field, did not start a photography business early on. With a degree in business management, she combined her love of business and animals as owner of PawPrints Pet Salon for 25 years.

Community credits include serving as president of the Orwigsburg Business Association for several years and earning accolades such as Schuylkill County Business Woman of the Year and Orwigsburg’s Citizen of the Year.

In 2023, Flyzik Falco — who regards art museums as a passion and inspiration — started Runamok Images. She named the business such as “I believe art should make us all want to run a little wild.”

In terms of styles, Flyzik Falco finds herself drawn to wildlife, macro, street, architecture and still life.

“Wildlife is always at my core. I love the challenge of researching and discovering where and when a particular animal will be. You can sit for days to hopefully catch that one special moment, with the perfect background and the right light.”

Lately, “I am developing an attraction to street photography, capturing a person’s real unguarded emotion; their story in one image is a thrill. To me, it’s like wildlife photography, but with humans.”

Flyzik Falco, president of the Schuylkill County Allied Artists, hopes to inspire viewers to pause and feel a connection to her work. She also aims to “tell a story, convey a feeling and have the viewer become involved.”

One challenge, though, now facing photographers “is digital manipulation and AI,” Flyzik Falco said. “I prefer not to use digital manipulation, but am not opposed to others doing so, as long as it is stated upfront. On the other hand, I do not agree with letting a program create a picture for you, as in AI.”

Throughout her photography career, Flyzik Falco has won many juried competitions, had her work published in local magazines, and worked with several tourism agencies for their digital campaigns. Having her work hang in art spaces also ranks among Flyzik Falco’s career highlights.

The photographer’s work has hung in, among others, the Allentown Art Museum, Reading’s GoggleWorks and Schuylkill Haven’s Walk in Art Center, plus local restaurants and hotels.

Looking ahead, Flyzik Falco — currently dipping her toes into framing and linocut printmaking — wants to incorporate other forms of art into her photography.

“I currently print my images on canvas, metal and wood, but how much fun would it be to add paint or ink to those images?”