We are heartbroken to share that professional photographer, filmmaker, and Norwell resident Cary Wolinsky passed away unexpectedly on Friday, June 16, 2023. Cary was a long-time member and supporter of the NSRWA and sat on the NSRWA’s Advisory Council. He was a National Geographic photographer since 1972. After producing 32 features, and 46 short pieces for the magazine, he would turn to filmmaking, when he began collaborating with his son, Yari, in 2008.
In 2014, their company, Trillium Studios, released Raise the Roof, a documentary about the reconstruction of an 18th century Polish wooden synagogue by a team of students led by artists Rick and Laura Brown. The film, aired on PBS, was featured at more than 100 film festivals.
In 2020, he and Yari created the NSRWA 50th Anniversary Film. After creating this film, Cary and his son were inspired to tell more stories featuring the challenges our watersheds face, how climate change is exacerbating them and more importantly what some of the solutions are to protect our water. At the time of his death, he was working on a series of short educational documentaries on climate change called Turnaround Films. The series included The Impervious Problem, Green Roofs, Karen and the River, and When in Drought, Massachusetts. In these films, and throughout his life, Cary’s love of nature and passion for caring for it shines through.
Wolinsky said, “Our world is changing. The cycles of our local weather, once familiar, are becoming unrecognizable. The changes are complex, and the ways people experience them can sometimes be devastating. Turnaround Films documents these changes, explores why they are happening, and introduces the people who are finding innovative ways to mitigate or adapt to them.”
Everyone at the NSRWA will miss Cary’s passion for our watershed, his limitless curiosity, and his beautiful photos and films that inspired us all to do more to protect our waters.
To read more about Cary, go to Legacy.com.
Cover photo by Trillium Studios.