30 Seasons

Last year my wife and daughter went to California to visit friends and family (I went to Montana.) While they were there they searched for things to do and stumbled onto the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach California. It is a small facility that is used to house and rehabilitate injured seals and sea lions so they can be released back into the wild.

This year we were all going back to California for vacation and we decided to visit the PMCC again.

In the last year they have grown and added several new enclosures. Sadly the population at the facility has grown as well. Many of the animals that are at the facility were either abandoned at a young age, were injured, or had forms of a cancer that are becoming common to the sea lions in the area.

In the Spring 2001 issue of The Newsletter of The Marine Mammal Center, Sue Spong reported that The Marine Mammal Center has found a high rate of cancer among California sea lions. 18% of those examined post-mortem were found to have cancer, most commonly in the urinary and genital tracts. This incredibly high rate of cancer could be due to high concentrations of PCBs and organochlorinated pesticides that run off of land and work its way up the food chain to the sea lion. While the California sea lion population is not endangered, this species could serve as a indicator species on the overall general health of the coastal food chains. [ sealwfy ]

We arrived just in time for the feeding and the volunteer was very eager to show us around. When we visited we saw elephant seals and harbor seals. The baby harbor seals were very young and needed to be taught how to catch fish in the water.

They also had some baby elephant seals that were a couple of months old and they already looked big. The adult male elephant seals can weigh up to 5,000 lbs.

It is a small facility and would make a good stop on your way to or from Laguna if you are visiting from out of town. They started to run summer day camps this year and my daughter was sad we don't have something like this near our home.

You can find out more about the PMMC and also make donations so they can continue the expansion via their website: www.pacificmmc.org

Here is a video of two of the young male elephant seals as they learn how show dominance (often called play fighting.)

Tomorrow night I will be attending a memorial service for a fellow photographer that passed away last week. He was a member of the National Zoo FONZ Photoclub and an active member in the Flickr community. About a month ago Takuma and I carpooled together to the Gettysburg Photowalk and it was a shock to learn about his death last week. He will be missed.

When someone that you know dies, you start to think about your own situation. My wife and I started working on the legal documents for an estate plan at the start of the year and it is about 90% done. It has been sitting there waiting to be completed and this was another reminder that we need to finish them. If you don't have any type of estate plan in place, I recommend that you work on that first before you even think of creating a Photography estate plan.

I also recently listened to George Jardine's podcast with Jay Maisel, Greg Gorman, and Seth Resnick (episode #42) and they briefly touched on some ideas of what happens to your photography when you die.

This got me to thinking that I need to create an estate plan for my photography. It maybe the case that when I die, nobody cares about my photography. However,  as a photographer that cares a great deal about my work, I feel it is important that when I leave this life my family would know where to find my work and also more importantly where to find what I consider is my best work. This is the same concept that Jay Maisel mentions in the podcast interview.

Well known photographers (the Jay Maisel's of the world) are represented by agencies and have staff with a knowledge base about the work and how to find it. These same people have worked with them for years and have come to understand their wants, needs and wishes. They understand the photographers' aesthetic and can continue to maintain these works after they are gone.

However, I would estimate that 99% of the photographers in the world don't have this type of support infrastructure. Basically we are sitting out there alone creating tons of work (some of it may actually be good work.) When we die, does it just sit there waiting for the eventual bit bucket or can it continue to live on for the people that care about it.

In the world of your finances, when you pass your family should know how to access all your various financial accounts.  Does your family know how to find all your photos? Have you taken the time to document where you are storing the gigabytes (or terabytes) of photo files you have created in your lifetime? Do they know how to find your best works? As I type this I know my wife wouldn't have a clue to where to find my photos.

After Takuma's death one of his co-workers contacted me to find out how to get the photos off his work laptop so he can burn them to a CD for his family. He was stumped since he had no idea how to open an NEF file (Nikon RAW file) or if that was really a photo file.

I can imagine this will become a common occurrence in the future. As we photographers have moved away from the photos and negatives in a shoebox to a world of bits and bytes our heirs may not know how to deal with our files. These digital files have become our legacy. When someone stops by to look at your computer in the future, if they can't open a file, does it just get trashed or forgotten?

What about another practical application? What if your wife wants to find the photos you took of your newborn child that were taken 10 years ago so she can make prints? Would she know how to find those photos and open them?

This brings me back to my need to create an estate plan for my photographs. I don't have an egotistical idea that my work will be valuable after my death by the world at large. However, it will be valuable on a personal level to my friends and family. The photography estate plan doesn't have to be a formal legal document. It just has to be a letter that documents the following:

• Where the photos are located.
• How to open the photo files.
• How to find photos in your catalog.
• How you mark, rank, or tag your best work.

This letter could be stored with your other estate planning documents. It could also be a READ ME file on your computer, or even a blog post. The key is whoever is in control of your estate needs to know where to find that document.

Since you are creating this document, you may also want to list where you have your photos posted on the internet (i.e. Flickr, iStockPhoto, etc.) and how to access those accounts as well.

Once you are done with the document, it would also be a good idea to walk through it with your family and show them where files are stored, how to open files, how to search, etc.

You should also review and update the document on a regular basis as well (maybe yearly.)

You never know when your time will come up and it is best to be prepared.

I can't believe that it is almost the end of May already. I did such a good job promoting this event on Flickr and other venues, I forgot to mention it here on my own blog. This will be the second photowalk I have hosted and will get me half way to my goal of four this year. So if you have the time, head on out to Gettysburg tomorrow and join fellow photographers on a photowalk of the streets of Gettysburg PA. We will be meeting at the tour bus parking lot on Baltimore Street (across from the Gettysburg National Cemetery.) We will be meeting at 10:00AM and the walk should take about two hours.

The route is about 2 miles long and we will be walking downtown Gettysburg and a loop through the National Cemetery. After the walk we will meet at Spiritfield's Irish pub for lunch and a chance to share some photos.

Here is the upcoming link: upcoming.yahoo.com/event/466081/

The editors of Celebrate Gettysburg will be writing a story about the event and photos from the walk may be used in an upcoming issue of the magazine.

Here is a map of the route.

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On Easter weekend the family traveled down to North Carolina to visit some friends that recently moved to the Charlotte area. Whenever I travel I like to visit the regional zoos to photograph the animals. This trip we went to the North Carolina Zoo.

The NC zoo is a nice location and has several species of animals that are not seen at the local National Zoo. Some of the highlights are the Polar bears, chimps, and a large African savanna area.

The zoo is laid out nicely and you walk along a 5 mile trail from one end of the park to the other. At the far end they have a shuttle bus to take you back to the front.

My biggest complaint is the hours of operation. They open at 9AM and you only have an hour or so before the animals sack out to sleep for the rest of the day. I have a similar complaint for most zoos and is one reason why I like the National Zoo so much. When I go to the Nat Zoo I'm usually there at 7AM and leave before noon.

Several of the animals are behind glass, which makes it difficult to photograph. The key is to try and shoot straight through the glass rather than at an angle. It also helps to block out reflected light by draping your jacket around the lens. A selection of photos from this trip have been put up on my flickr site.

A couple of weeks ago I went to the National Zoo with the FONZ Photoclub. We had early access to the bird house to take photos of the birds (just one of the advantages of being a member.) I have finally gotten around to processing some of the photos and have posted them as a set on my flickr site.

It only happens every couple of years and it definitely fits my theme of 30 seasons. Last night I photographed the lunar eclipse. It had snowed during the day and there were some fairly thick clouds during the day. At night it looked like any type of photography would be a bust.

However, at 10 minutes to 8:00 the clouds parted and I had a perfect view of the eclipse for the next 4 hours.



Here is a link to a large version of the photo above. Warning, it is over 9,000 pixels wide.

I stood in the cold 20 degree weather taking photos every couple of minutes or so. I used my 500mm lens with a 1.4 extender which gave me a effective focal length of 700mm. It was amazing how fast the moon actually moves in the sky as I had to adjust my camera every minute or so to stay on target. I also went through several batteries since the cold just sucks the life out of batteries.

Despite the cold I still enjoyed my time alone outside taking photos. Just two more years until the next opportunity.

I just returned from a trip to the National Cathedral. I went with a group of photographers from the National Zoo photo club on a guided photo tour that was lead by Christopher Budny. Chris has been a docent with the National Cathedral for over 13 years and has extensive knowledge about the history of this remarkable building. He is also an accomplished photographer and makes an ideal guide for a bunch of photographers.

He only leads about 5 trips a year for photographers and you are granted access to the Cathedral an hour before it opens. This is the ideal time for photography in the cathedral since the crowds are gone and the sunrise streams light through the stained glass.

We also had access to the upper balcony which gives you a different perspective you can't normally get from the ground floor.

I typically don't photograph architecture and prefer to find small details that I can explore. Some of my favorite photos from this recent trip are closeups of carved sculptures in the alters or stained glass. I have posted a selection of photos on flickr in a National Cathedral set.

 

That must mean someone is talking about me.

Well the Digital Photography Show Podcast spent the first part of their normal chit-chat session talking about the Bethesda Photowalk on their recent podcast. Scott had some good feedback on the event and how to make future ones even better. It sounds like Scott had a great time on the outing. You can listen and also subscribe to the show here. I regularly listen to about 20 different podcasts and the majority of them are photo related. I have been listening to the DPS for over a year now and they are a welcome addition to my iPod once a week.

Since this was the first event photowalking event I attended (and planned as well) any tips and tricks about future events are well received. I'm already thinking about new locations for the next one I want to organize.

But there is no need to wait. Another photowalking event is already in the planning stages and is being organized by Jeff Revell at PhotoWalk Pro. The tentative date is March 8th and I already told him I will be attending. It's great to see the momentum building on the DC photowalking front.

The Bethesda photowalk group had a great time walking the streets of Bethesda on a sunny afternoon. All week we had threats of rain and chances of snow, but the weather turned out great. We had 26 people who came from throughout the DC metro area, and one visiting from New York. The group was comprised of people from the Gaithersburg Camera Club, National Zoo Photo Club, and various members of Flickr.

The photowalk started at the plaza level of the Bethesda Metro stop and we walked a 2 mile loop around the city. After the walk a small group had dinner at the Daily Grill to swap stories.

Here is a selection of photos my daughter and I took while on the walk. Additional photos from others in the group can be found with with the following Flickr Tag searches. Flickr1, Flickr2

Thanks to all that were able to attend. Here is the list of participants, please let me know if I'm missing anyone or if you want some links updated.

• Gene Han (from New York) - Flickr
• Jeff Pai
• Dan Miller - Flickr, Website
• Katie Staines
• Sara Staines
• Tim George
• Tom Statas - Website
• Barbara Statas
• Carol Gregoire - Flickr
• Rob Allegar - Flickr
• Geoff Green - Flickr
• Shawn Duffy - Flickr, Website
• Saule Allen
• Raoul Pop - Flickr, Website
• Ligia Pop
• Russel Williard
• Marcelina - Flickr
• Adan I
• Adan II - Flickr
• Scott Sherman - Host of the Digital Photography Show podcast, Flickr
• Jenna Duffy - Flickr, Website
• Gyuri Grell - Flickr
• James Vasak - Flickr
• Mark Anderson - Flickr, Website
• Emma Anderson - Flickr, Website
• Michele Anderson

With my first organized photowalk already on the books, I just need to plan three more for the rest of the year.

One of my goals for this year was to organize a local photowalk. Well I'm off to a good start. The first photowalk has been scheduled for February 9th.

Several photographers in the DC Metro area will be meeting on February 9th at 2:00 PM for a photowalk of Bethesda Maryland. We will meet at the street level plaza of the Bethesda Metro station.

The route is about 2 miles long. The road along Woodmont offers back ally shooting (in a safe environment) and also some older buildings and store fronts. Wisconsin road is your typical restaurant row with newer modern store fronts that can give you chances for street shooting and neon/light trails in the evening.

Additional information can be found at the following links:
Upcoming
Photowalking.org

Here is a map of the route.


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