Two photojournalists who share an appreciation for Wyoming and a last name will display their photographs at Plaza Diane Community Center for the Arts.

An exhibition featuring work by Dennis Davis and Mark Davis — who are not related — opens tonight (Thursday) at the downtown arts center.

During the opening reception, Dennis Davis will read from his new book, “Wyoming — Perspectives on a ‘small town with long streets.’” Images from the book will be featured in the exhibit.

Gathering information for the book in recent years offered Dennis Davis the opportunity to “step back and look at Wyoming from a larger perspective,” he said.

“Wyoming reveals stories and places heard or seen by relatively few,” he wrote in an artist statement. “Learning about the state and experiencing its richness proves endlessly rewarding.”

In his interviews with a variety of Wyomingites, each person cited the state’s diverse physical landscape, its national parks and wildlife as part of what makes Wyoming unique.

“They also cite the people, often noting that it takes a special kind of person to live here, as evidenced by our low multitudes amid high altitudes,” Dennis Davis wrote. “By several measures, the land and the products of its geological history have shaped the people.”

Both Dennis Davis and Mark Davis have devoted many hours to photographing Wyoming’s land, wildlife and people.

Mark Davis said he hopes that those who view his work at the Plaza Diane show leave with “an appreciation for Wyoming’s vibrant wildlife species and landscapes.”

Mark Davis is an award-winning outdoors writer and photographer for the Powell Tribune, covering stories on subjects ranging from grizzly bears to mammoth fossils. Prior to moving to Wyoming, he worked for the Omaha World-Herald as a photojournalist and outdoor reporter. He spends much of his free time outdoors and enjoys hunting, fishing and birdwatching.

The exhibition at Plaza Diane opens with a reception from 7-8:30 p.m. tonight (Thursday), and remains on display until Feb. 15. The gallery is open Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. or by appointment (contact Plaza Diane Coordinator Katie Stensing at 307-271-1264).