Another Summit, a New Perspective

I don’t snore. I’m a very quiet sleeper. I don’t toss and turn, and I don’t breathe like a Mack truck. I’m the type of person you want to go camping or road tripping with because as far as sleeping goes, you can give me a sliver of a corner of a bed or sandwich me between others in a tent and not have to worry about me assaulting you in your sleep, physically or audibly. I sleep peacefully, at least on the outside. The only time I snore is when I’m sick and congested, and even then it’s rare.

But, after a long and successful weekend of working with the North American Nature Photography Association’s College Program, my student roommate lodged a complaint about me – I snored. I’m not even sure if I believe it, but if it is true, the only excuse can be how exhausted I was.

Two years ago, I was a scholarship recipient for the college scholarship program and participated as a student. This time, I was on the flip side, engaging with the program as a committee member and mentor to this year’s crop of talented students. Together with other members of the committee, I spent more than a year planning and preparing for this year’s program in Jacksonville, Florida. I connected with a local land trust to establish a conservation project for the students and flew in a day early to scout the area before the students arrived. Once they got there, I spent most of my time with the students in some capacity, shuttling them around Big Talbot Island for field shoots, sharing meals and staying with them in a house on the island, helping facilitate the creation of their project, joining them for summit events, and doing my best to connect them with other important and inspiring photographers and share what knowledge and experience I had with them. If I wasn’t with the students, I was in the trade show fielding questions and taking orders at the NatureScapes booth. I sure as heck wasn’t resting.

The NANPA College Program provides an intense but immensely rewarding experience for the undergraduate and graduate students selected to participate. I know because I was one, and my experience as a NANPA student changed my life. Through the NANPA College Program, I had the opportunity to collaborate with peers on a project that would help contribute to the conservation and protection of wild habitat in the Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas. I had the opportunity to meet and talk to professionals doing the exact work I wanted to be doing. I found people who inspired me and supported me, and I met people my age with similar goals and dreams. I knew from then on that my photography would change, and indeed it has.

I didn’t think any experience in my life would have the potential to eclipse that of being a participant in the 2011 NANPA College Program. There was nothing else that I felt would feed my soul in the way that it did, but I was wrong. Being on the flip side is even better.

I joined the College Program committee because I wanted to be involved in creating a powerful and life changing experience for others similar to the one I had. Little did I know how much that experience would give back, and how much it too, would sculpt my future.

As a program participant, I was inspired by my peers, and as a committee member the students inspire me even more. Selected student applicants are talented. They’re intelligent and creative. They are motivated, enthusiastic, and each one brings a unique perspective and set of skills to the group. They have innovative ideas and endless drive and passion.

But the students are only a part of the equation, albeit a huge and wonderful part. This year, a lot of the joy I felt was in working with my fellow committee members and others involved in the college program at the summit. The program would not have been possible without the combined efforts of so many people working together. Working with these people gave me opportunities to make new friends and for us all appreciate one another in new ways. Just like being a part of the college program built friendships with and respect for my peers, being a committee member has exposed me not just to the capabilities of the students, but the efforts and dedication of dozens of others working in various capacities. It was incredible to see the support for the students from professionals like keynote presenter Art Wolfe and companies like Canon USA and Canon Professional Services that provided the program with professional equipment to use. Others, like Hunt’s Photo and Video and Lowepro, donated gear. So many photographers wanted to meet with the students that we had to turn some away because there simply were not enough hours in the day.

Through the College Program, I am able to experience the spirit of the people involved in NANPA, and am reminded of what a special organization it is. The students motivate me to better myself as a photographer and inspire me to continue to share my knowledge and passion with others. They encourage me to think in new ways and push me to use my work to create positive change in protecting the environment. As a committee member, the impact the program has had on me is powerful and life changing, just as it was on me as a student.

At the summit, people kept telling me I looked tired (which I’m sure is a nice way of saying, “you look like goose turd”). I was tired. But every bit of exhaustion I felt was worth it to be a part of the College Program, to have the opportunity to work side by side with an amazing group of committee members and mentors, and to get to meet and bond with the exceptional group of students at this year’s summit. Being involved with the College Program enriches my experience as a NANPA member, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Even if it means I snore.

Back from Nepal

Wow, what an amazing whirlwind adventure! I’ve just returned from ten days in Nepal on a photography scouting trip and I’ve absolutely fallen in love. Nepal is an amazing country full of opportunities for creating stunning images; I could have created thousands of photos every day there if not limited by some technical and logistical issues while overseas. Right before I left, my laptop’s Logic Board died, so I ended up computer-less for the entire time I was in Nepal, which meant I had no way to back up or edit images while on the trip. Now I’m playing catch up, trying to edit and process at least some images before I leave for Florida tomorrow for the NANPA Summit in Jacksonville.

The purpose of my trip to Nepal was to scout photography locations with hopes of running a tour or workshop there in the future. NatureScapes.Net and Explore Himalaya teamed up to provide me with the opportunity, and I’m happy to report that the trip was a huge success. Nepal has a TON of potential for such endeavors, and I plan to work on developing an itinerary that would allow me to return there with other photographers and share with them the amazing culture, architecture, and natural scenic beauty that the country has to offer.

Here is a small collection of images from my week and a half in Nepal. Most of them have been minimally processed, as I haven’t had much time to go through them, but I wanted to make sure to share a sampling of them before I got wrapped up in the NANPA Summit this week, where I’ll be helping facilitate the College Scholarship Program, working the NSN booth, and also meeting in person with other photographers whom I have been collaborating with on various projects. If you happen to be going to NANPA, be sure to find me and say hello!

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A portrait of a young Nepali girl and her sister taken while they were walking home from school.

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Fog along a forest trail in Pokhara, Nepal.

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Thank you!

I feel really lucky lately. Granted, my life is not all sunshine and rose petals, but all in all, I have little to complain about. I live in a wonderful place, I’m surrounded by supportive friends and family, and I get to do things I love on a regular basis.

I’m a passionate person. I work hard, play hard, live hard, and love hard. I crash hard too. For the most part, many of the things I do, I do with all my heart and soul. My life is generally one big euphoric cloud of adrenaline and enthusiasm, and most of the time, I’m riding high on a big white puffy cloud of positive feelings. The thing is, the higher I get, the harder I can fall. Yet never once in my life have I fallen without someone to catch me.

Never once in my life have I crashed alone, and because of that, I’ve never crashed for long. My crashes are momentary bursts of emotion that tend to be a mix of sadness, loneliness, confusion, sometimes anger, and always incredible amounts of love. Even in the depths of my lowest lows, I always love the world.

I just got back from an amazing amazing trip to Acadia National Park with members of the North American Nature Photography Association. Acadia is one of my favorite places, and every time I go there I fall more and more in love with that place. I also always seem to meet really fun and interesting people there, and this trip was no exception. Despite the foliage not being quite at peak, the uncooperative weather, and limited shooting I did, I had an absolute blast because I was with incredible people. My co-leaders were probably the most inspiring group of pro photographers I’ve had the opportunity to work with, the participants were pleasant, positive, talented, and a whole lot of fun, and the others I met who don’t quite fit into the first two categories were simply exceptionally awesome people. I couldn’t have shared this experience with a more wonderful collection of individuals.

So when the good-bye hugs were shared, the “see you laters” murmured and car doors shut for the last time, I felt a sense of loss. This is not unlike other trips I’ve led, and I’ll admit a few or more tears were shed as I once again began to contemplate my whole life and what do with it. Internally, I felt my two halves – the one the yearns for a life of stability, security, and familiar roots vs the one that craves a life of constant inspiration, adventure, and exploration – tug at me. Part of me wanted to dive into the wilderness and not come out for a while. Part of me just wanted to get a massive hug from a friend.

I could go on and on about how these intense and immersive trips take their toll on me, or about how I have an amazing assortment of friends scattered all over the world, most of whom I see in person not more than a few times a year, if that, and how I wish that were not so much the case. Sometimes I feel like my heart can’t handle it anymore, being fragmented into so many pieces that have been broken off and given to various gypsies or homebodies whose home just happens to be a different place than mine. But then I realize I was gifted with massive heart, and no matter how many times I love I will always be able to love more because that is who I am.

I like who I am most of the time, and it’s possible for me to be that person because of the many kind and wonderful people who have been a part of my life, particularly those of you who have assumed an ongoing role. I’m a very independent person, but I thrive on human contact and interaction, and as much as I enjoy my moments of solitude, the truth is, I can’t be who I am in isolation. I need people. I need you.

So this note is really a thank you to all of you. This is a thank you to the NANPA folks and other environmental photographers who inspire me and get me excited about the work we do. This thank you goes to my friends who are just a phone call away when I need someone to share good news with, to unload emotions on, or just to entertain me on a long drive. This is a thank you to the people who make me smile, who challenge me, and who remind me of who I am at the core of my soul.

So many people have touched my life, some only briefly, and some who have anchored themselves with roots that will continue to grow as the years go on. My mom has been my biggest supporter since the moment I came to be, and my adopted family in New Hampshire make a state I’ve lived in for only a couple of years feel like home. While biking across the United States in 2009, strangers took me in, fed me, and gave me a warm shower and a clean bed. I get messages and emails from kind strangers offering words of encouragement and support, and sometimes glowing compliments from people I’ve known only briefly, but whose comments touch me deeply.

I don’t know if it’s possible to adequately express the gratitude I feel towards all of you using words and the limitations of the English language, particularly via such impersonal and electronic means as a blog post. I mean to say thank you, and I mean it to mean something, but I’m imperfect and I don’t always know how. The truth is, you all make a difference, and I know that part of who I am is just because that’s who I am, and part of who I am is because of who you have allowed and enabled me to be.

A quick note

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything. I’ve been living life – teaching, going rock climbing, and doing other things that keep me plenty busy. Photography went on the back burner for a while because I needed it to, but now I’m having fun with it again.

I’m currently in Acadia leading a regional event for NANPA, and I’m really enjoying myself. My co-leaders, Jerry Monkman, Paul Rezendes, and Tom Blagden, are all amazing and the participants and others involved are a blast. It’s so refreshing to be around photographers so passionate about photography and nature itself. While the weather hasn’t been cooperating all that much, I’m having such a good time that I’m hardly aware of how few shots I’ve taken, and since I’ve eliminated the pressure on myself to produce good material, I’m genuinely just enjoying being here. It’s not hard to love being in Acadia, but the good company and being able to help other people explore and enjoy this amazing place has made this trip special in its own way.

For me, this is part of what photography is about. Sure, to me photography is personal and often private. I usually like shooting alone, and I probably do my best work when I’m not distracted by talking to others or competing for a good spot. But I’m a social person, and I like sharing the things I’m passionate about with others. Particularly when the shooting isn’t all that good, it’s a lot of fun to be with other like minded people.

Fun is important! I like being out in the field. I like scrambling on rocks and seeing the sun rise. I like early mornings and long days of being in nature. Sometimes I like exploring alone, but sometimes I like having others to share my adventures with. The recipe isn’t always the same for fun on an given day, but as long as photography is fun, I’ll keep doing it.

Patience is a Virtue

I’ve spent most of the past week up in Acadia National Park, scouting for the NANPA Regional Event I’ll be co-leading there this fall. Jerry Monkman, one of the other leaders and NANPA president-elect, invited me to tag along for one of his photo workshops so I could get a better feel of the place and check out some of the locations I was unfamiliar with prior to the workshop.

One of the locations I’ll be taking a group to is the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, and it was one of the spots I had never been before. So I made it a point to visit the lighthouse one gray and rainy morning to scout it out, making sure I knew the terrain, noted any safety concerns, and found where to best direct participants.

On my last evening in Acadia, I had planned to shoot at Jordan Pond, but it was windy, I was tired, and I didn’t feel like getting to bed late. The next day, I planned to wake up for a sunrise shoot at 4:30AM and then drive the six hours home. I was on my own at that point – the workshop was over and the other photographers whose company I had enjoyed had mostly headed home – so I changed my plans and decided to shoot at Bass Harbor Head instead, as the lighthouse was much closer to where I was camping at Seawall.

I got to the lighthouse around 6:30 or so, more than an hour before sunset, to set up and get a good spot on the rocks. When I arrived, I was met by no less than a dozen people already at the lighthouse, perched in various spots I would have preferred they not be. I frowned on the inside a bit. I chatted briefly with another photographer on a nice flat rock and scrambled to a nearby sharp and pointy rock where I was sure I wouldn’t be in his way. I set up my tripod and wedged my bag in a nice safe spot in the rocks. Then I waited.

And more people came. Photographers – there were at least a dozen with DSLRs, more with point-and-shoots, and at least six tripods, including mine. Spectators, many who wanted their photos taken in front of a completely backlit lighthouse obscured by trees. People who climbed on the rocks right below the lighthouse. Why? I have no idea, you couldn’t possibly get a good look from that angle. A bird watcher with binoculars. Families with kids. More people came, some people left, and of course no one was sitting still enough to make it possible to include any of the sightseers in my composition. I was irritated.

Patience is a virtue, I thought to myself, so I waited. I was pretty sure if I waited long enough I would get my shot. While I waited a bald eagle hunted for fish and some porpoises swam offshore. At least they made the waiting a slightly less frustrating experience.

As the sun started to set, most people cleared away from right in front of the lighthouse, so photographers could get their shots. If I had felt like using a different lens, that probably would have been ok with me too, but I envisioned a wide angle shot, with jagged rocks leading the viewers’ eye into the frame, towards the lighthouse, rimmed in the colors of the setting sun. People were still in my way. So I took a couple boring frames and kept waiting.

From experience, I know that the colors at sunset and sunrise are often the most intense when the sun is about 20 minutes under the horizon. So for sunrise shoots, I always try to get to my location and be set up a half hour before sunrise. During sunset, I stay even when most think the show is over.

And if I’m smarter than the other photographers, and willing to wait longer and work harder for my shots, I can get the place all to myself. I often do. And then, I can reap the rewards.

Once the sun set, people dissipated quickly. One photographer even said “Well I got what I came here for” and left just as the colors were getting more intense – obviously more pink and more saturated – right before his eyes. Others began wrapping up and started to complain about the mosquitos, swatting at invisible demons I hadn’t even noticed yet. Within 15 minutes of the sun setting, I was the only one left.

Bass Harbor Head, bass harbor head lighthouse, lighthouse, sunset

And I got the shot because of it.

This is a hand blended combination of seven different frames. I don’t like HDRs, so I bracket my exposures and then combine them in PhotoShop using layer masks. Just processing this shot took at least a couple of hours, but the waiting game was really won in the field. This photograph is the result of being a smarter photographer, one who knows the subject, and who is willing to work harder and shoot longer than the others, not to mention better tolerate uncomfortable rocks and pesky bugs. Mostly it’s because sometimes the one who plays the waiting game best wins.

 

END NOTES:

1) Jerry probably knows more about Acadia than just about any other photographer currently shooting. In fact he and his wife Marcy wrote the bible of it, The Photographer’s Guide to Acadia National Park, along with two other books about Acadia and other titles of interest to New England area nature and landscape photographers. Jerry is also a super stand up guy who does great work as a photographer working on various conservation issues in New England. I recommend Jerry and Marcy’s books (I own three now) and suggest you buy direct from them, as they get a slightly higher cut of the proceeds that way: http://ecophotography.com/books/.

2) The NANPA Regional Event in Acadia National Park is being held October 4-7, 2012. Myself, Jerry, and two other photographers will be leading groups to various photography hotspots throughout the park, and it’s sure to be a fun event. Spots are still available, so please visit the NANPA site to learn more about the event and register. I hope to see you in Acadia this fall!

The Clock Always Wins

eastern redbud, redbud, blossom, bud, spring, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

I haven’t posted much lately, because as usual, I’m crazy busy. Between traveling, school, work, and trying to stay healthy (which includes things like getting the proper amount of sleep, eating right, daily exercise, and maintaining my sanity with healthy doses of nature), there seems to be little no time for anything else. But a lot has been going on, so I thought I’d take one half hour out of my busy as heck life to tell you about it. Here’s the news (in less than eloquent terms, because I don’t really have enough time to be critical of how I am writing at the moment):

1. I was featured this month on NatureScapes.Net. Sure I work for NatureScapes, but we’ve been showcasing our moderators in monthly features, and the crew decided it was my turn. So, that means I’ve got the monthly cover, an interview, and a few other features in April’s newsletter. I’m also going to be featured later this month on photographer Andrew Marsten’s blog The Unframed World and Antioch University New England’s website. I’ll be sure to post links to those profiles when they go up.

2. I’m heading back to St. Augustine, FL for Florida’s Birding and Photo Fest later this month. I’ll be behind the NatureScapes.Net booth in the exhibitor’s hall and also helping with some of the festival workshops. Immediately following Photo Fest, I’ll also be assisting Greg Downing with a technical workshop at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm.

3. A number of photographer friends have started Kickstarter projects within the past couple weeks. For those of you that don’t know, Kickstarter is a website for crowd-funding creative projects. My friends Neil Losin and Nathan Dappen of Day’s Edge Productions just started a campaign to create and publish a book about the Ibiza Wall Lizard, called The Symbol: Wall Lizards of the Pityusic Archipelago. The lizards were the subject of Nate’s doctoral research, and he has gotten some amazing photographs and footage of the lizards in his five years of working on the islands where they live. (Nate also just successfully defended his dissertation, way to go Dr. Dappen!) Check out their Kickstarter page to learn more about this super cool project.

Paul Marcellini is another talented photographer who just launched a Kickstarter campaign. Paul has been shooting for a project called Meet Your Neighbours which was started by Clay Bolt and Niall Benvie to raise awareness about nature in people’s own backyards. Paul is based in Florida and works heavily in the Everglades, and since joining on with Meet Your Neighbours, he produced some amazing photographs of Everglades wildlife on pure white backgrounds in the MYN style. He’s planning to launch an exhibit of his work in national parks throughout Florida and you can help by supporting his work via a simple donation through Kickstarter.

I’ve pledged to back both these projects with small contributions. The way Kickstarter works is that backers don’t pay unless the full amount of the project gets funded, so it’s important that others, like you, step in and show your support. Every little bit counts!

4. Speaking of Meet Your Neighbours, Clay Bolt, one of the founders, just stepped out with a brand new program called Backyard Naturalists, aimed directly at getting kids involved with nature. A pilot program just started in North Carolina last month, so stay tuned for updates from this cool and exciting new project.

5. Before heading to Florida later this month, I’ll be at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, NH for a NANPA Road Show event with Jerry Monkman on April 14. Jerry is doing a one day workshop on Lightroom, and I’m helping with a few logistical things, like signing in attendees, so Jerry can really focus on running a great program. Registration closes April 9, and there are still spaces available, so photographers hoping to improve their post processing skills can still sign up.

6. Jerry has also invited me to be a contributor to his brand new website at MonkmanPhoto.com. For those of you who don’t know Jerry, let me precede my introduction of him by telling you he’s awesome. Jerry is a New Hampshire based outdoor photographer who has written a bunch of wonderful photography how to books and guide books, many specific to New England. He also offers workshops and is on the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) board. But the best thing about Jerry is that he’s really just genuinely a good guy – he likes to share his knowledge and help people learn, and he wholeheartedly cares about conservation issues and using his photography to help environmental causes. So I’m super psyched for this opportunity to work more with Jerry. Expect to see some posts from me on MonkmanPhoto in the near future.

7. That brings us to NANPA news. You might have caught that I volunteer with NANPA as a regional ambassador for the New England area as well as a committee member for the College Scholarship Program. Well, I caught up with some other committee members  last week, and we’ve started to plan our program for the 2013 summit in Jacksonville, Florida. We’re currently looking for a conservation issue to have our student participants focus on; last year our project “Reconnecting the Rio Grande” was used by the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge and US Fish and Wildlife Service to help raise awareness and garner support for a wildlife corridor project that connects areas of habitat along the Rio Grande River that borders Mexico. So, if you are familiar with the Jacksonville, Florida area and know of any good environmental stories that need telling, please let me know.

8. And last, but certainly not least, I have to tell you about this awesome new program in Environmental Visual Communications at Fleming College in Ontario. The program, started by conservation photographer Neil Ever Osborne is geared towards college graduates and provides a post-grad certificate. It is one of a kind; there is no other program like this offered anywhere, and the course and instructor line up is stacked. I just spoke with Neil a bit about it on the phone today, and he informed me that they are still accepting applications for the program, slated to start next month. Check it out and send in an application if this is anything that interests you. If I wasn’t at the tail end of my Master’s degree (which overlaps with the start of the new program), I would probably sign up myself!

And with that, the half hour I committed to spend writing this blog post turned into an hour of my day, gone and lost forever to social media and world wide web. Hopefully you found it useful and all my writing has not been in vain. Catch you later, alligator!