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MOTION // The Only Demon is Yourself

2011-10-20T12:22:00.001-07:00

SMITH ROCK SHOT

2011-10-13T18:47:00.000-07:00

Found this in the shuffle. A little out take from shooting One Hundred & Sixty Acres.

One Hundred & Sixty Acres

2011-10-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

A good few hours sat in the saddle for this one. One Hundred & Sixty Acres is my first short film project. Check out the trailer over at the website 160Film.com or click the image below.

COLD CALLING: The Numbers are Real

2011-07-20T14:31:00.000-07:00

I was reading and commenting over at AphotoEditor.com yesterday, and the subject of Cold Calling got my attention.

I think we all hate cold calling and most likely we hate it almost as much as we hate being cold called ourselves. But love it or hate it, it is worth doing and here is why... it will get you work!

I wanted to share two simple, real life experiences where cold calling has been instrumental to my business.

1. EDITORIAL
I was making a trip to New York for portfolio viewings and consequently cold calling a long list of folks who I wanted to see. I picked up the phone, made the call, got through and introduced myself. The photo editor I spoke with mentioned that she knew of my work (bonus point), had been on my site recently (sweet my email marketing is working) and actually had an assignment I might be interested in (this can't be real). 15 minutes later we were emailing backwards and forwards over the details for a shoot. I have since shot two other assignments for her including most recently a stills + motion assignment and I love working for her.

2. COMMERCIAL
Similar story. I was making a portfolio trip to San Francisco and again I created a list of art directors and art buyers who I wanted to see. I made a call to one of them and secured a meeting to show my book. When I visited her she was super quick, efficient and polite and had me in and out of the office in under 25 minutes. Six months later I shot a multi-day, 8 image ad campaign for a great client.

The numbers are real. If you cold call you will get your work in front of people, you will put a real person to your emails, your mailers and your brand. If you cold call chances are you will get work.

Of course, it is important to note that cold calling alone will not get you work necessarily. You need to have your marketing program in place so that your cold calls are part of a comprehensive campaign to build your brand. Despite the digital world that we all live and work in we still crave human contact and we always will. Cold calling is the best way to get in front of someone with your book, shake their hand and let them know that you are a passionate, hard working artist.

Behind the Scenes

2011-07-17T12:42:00.000-07:00

A few behind the scenes pictures of June's project: My first film making odyssey in Oregon's wild high desert steppe.

Keeping It Fresh

2011-05-24T13:29:00.000-07:00

I had a beer the other night with a dear friend and fellow photographer. One of the things we touched on was personal work, the importance of it and how much it has helped both of us grow as artists. Check out this posting for more on the Importance of Personal Work. Expanding on the theme of personal work I want to talk about something that I struggle with as a photographer - The idea of constantly keeping my work fresh.

I go crazy if I don't have personal projects in the pipeline. And I panic at the idea of not constantly producing new work. As a photographer I think it is essential to consistently be producing new work, not least for ones own sense of creative well-being but to demonstrate, as I have said before, that you are a thriving artist. I get nervous when I look at my images and they have been on my website for too long. In response to those nerves I grab a piece of paper and start listing out all the shoots I want to do in the next two months. It makes me feel better....for a while. But it can be a struggle turning the list of ideas in to actual productions. One has to find the right location. Then there's the models or athletes. Scheduling dates. Monitoring the weather. The list goes on and on.

When I voiced these concerns to my friend over beer, he said "That's important. You should write about those concerns and frustrations." So in an attempt to provide some useful information I want to share four tips and a little insight into how I create my personal projects.

1. PEN & PAPER:
I've just about fallen asleep, conscious only of my coming rest and slumber when BAM! An idea comes out of no where and its amazing, I love it. I say to my self "Ok thats awesome, I'll deal with the details in the morning." If only. I spend the next hour trying to sleep but the idea is like a wet eel, slipping between all of my tired attempts to shut down my brain. I rise and I put pen to paper. I never forget a good idea, but I sure as hell can't get a winks sleep when my brain is on fire. So I write it down. And so should you. Make a list and keep it safe. I read once that if you write down your goals, hand write that is not tapping into a computer, that you are far more likely to achieve them. Seems stupid but deep down you know its true!

GEEKERY: I keep a spreadsheet of my ideas with categories like 'Creative Concept', 'Potential Talent', 'Locations' etc. It allows me to keep adding details and notes to the ideas as they evolve and it keeps my ideas organised so my brain can be freed of such administrative tasks. More room for being creative.

2. TIMING & SCHEDULES:
A lot of the projects I come up with are seasonal and require certain weather/climatic conditions to achieve. I can't shoot an endurance runner up in the alpine in May (even though it feels like spring at sea-level) because the snowpack is still solid. I can however shoot that cyclist video project. Timing is everything. But the ideas must be written down save forgetting them come July and the snow has melted!

Once you have your ideas you need to find your talent and more importantly find dates and schedules that align. This can be a nightmare. We are all busy people and personal work often relies upon those who are generous enough to donate their time. Patience, persistence and praise goes a long way. It is the little things in life that make a difference. Always treating your team with the utmost respect and consideration is so important.

It can be tough to keep on top of, especially when balancing personal projects with work, but I have a pretty consistent stream of personal projects in the pipeline. I keep the ideas on simmer so that when the time comes or the opportunity rises I turn up the heat and I can can quickly get them into production mode. This requires constantly ticking over on admin tasks like location scouting, monitoring schedules, developing the creative concepts so that you are ready to roll when conditions are right.

GEEKERY: I have a big, BIG calendar on my desk. It never closes and the sections for each day are big enough for me to make plenty of notes. It also shows me an entire month at a time. Seeing a month's worth of weeks is so helpful and again this is great for my brain.

3. PRE-, PRE- and PRE-

a). PRECONCEPTING
I dedicate a lot of time, pencil power and recycled paper to sketches and doodles. I like to preconceptualise a variety of images that I want from a shoot. I might not shoot all of them, circumstances during the shoot will certainly change them and others will end up looking shit once they move from my head to my sensor. But, having a series of sketches and doodles gives me a really solid frame work to enter any shoot with. I have mile markers I can check off and I have a sense of accomplishment as I move through the shoot.

b). PRESCOUTING
I am always looking for potential shoot locations. The old, cliche that photographers see the world with a nice little frame around the edges. Well take that idea and every time your out think about the locations you find yourself in and how you could us that location for a shoot. Maybe its a heist shoot in an alley behind a bank, a great forest location for a child/parent moment or a gorgeous landscape. Keep a list!

c). PREPRODUCTION
It is really easy to get complacent with your preproduction and preparation for personal shoots. There is no client and you are the master of your shoot's destiny. Thing is, personal shoots are a great way to refine your craft and that also means refining your production skills. Being organised is not easy for many of us, practice makes perfect, so I use these shoots to nail down my skills and stay in good production-shape.

GEEKERY: Personal work is hands down the most important part of my creative process. PRE-, is so important for the success of any project. I'm sinking my own money, sometimes large sums of it, into these shoots and I can't afford to throw it away because I wasn't prepared.

4. BITE THE BULLET
Sometimes I procrastinate over the execution of my ideas because I am scared to death that after investing in all of the above it is going to hail stones the size of hedgehogs or rain all over my lighting gear. So I wait, and wait, and wait until the conditions are "perfect". Someone once said to me that there is never a perfect time to have a child. But once you do you wondered what an earth you were waiting for. There is never a perfect moment for anything in life, and even if there was such a thing most likely it would have been down to things way beyond our control.

GEEKERY: If you have a problem biting the bullet, find someone who you can be accountable to. A friend, a marketing consultant, a fellow photographer, your mum. Make yourself accountable to someone and stop the excuses.

Bite the bullet! You won't regret it, I promise.

Seasons of Subsistence // Bristol Bay Portraits

2011-05-05T13:52:00.000-07:00

Back in March I traveled up to Bristol Bay, Alaska again as part of my ongoing personal project SEASONS OF SUBSISTENCE. Typically I travel light when I shoot for this project. But after some great results with location lighting last summer I decided to go fully loaded with Profoto 7b packs and a bunch of heads.

Bristol Bay in Alaska is a very special place, not only is it home to the world's largest sockeye salmon run but the Native People of the region live a remarkable lifestyle. Hunting, fishing and gathering are second nature to them. They know how to track animals with their eyes closed and the intimacy they share with the landscape is staggering. Every time I go up there I am blown away by my experiences from the kindness and warmth I am always greeted with to the quite extraordinary things that happen.

While we were up there this time the village of New Stuyahok ran out of fuel. No gas in the whole village. Not one drop. It meant we and everyone else in the village were homebound. No hunting, no fishing. During the winter snowmachine is the preferred method of transport, you'll even see 10 year olds driving them, so without fuel things quickly come to a stand still. For three days we waited for some to turn up. The constant chitter-chatter of conversation across the VHF radio's was dominated by speculation on when the fuel might turn up. In the end 5,000 gallons of it was flown in from Kodiak on a vintage DC-6. Yours truly below along with my partner in crime Wade F. Jackson sitting in the cockpit geeking out hard!

We also shot a short documentary piece while we were up in Bristol Bay, and I am super excited to share it here when its completed in a few weeks time. We are calling it Yuuyuraq and it delves into the nut and bolts, blood and heart of this project I have been working on for the past couple of years. Stay tuned!

Sneak Peek

2011-05-04T10:54:00.000-07:00

A little sneak peek of a new project I am working one. Lots more of these to come!

Marketing // How? What? When? Where?

2011-05-02T15:58:00.000-07:00

Recently, I downloaded and read a white paper from Photoshelter, "WHAT BUYERS WANT FROM PHOTOGRAPHERS" (Click to download it yourself).

A few things I found surprising and then interesting:

- 37% of buyers said email was the best method for capturing their attention, compared to just 10% who said direct mail was the best approach,

- Only 33% of buyers use social media to find photographers

- 74% of buyers DO NOT follow any photographer's blogs

First off, while I think these reports are super useful and insightful, one must digest with a pinch of salt. Tastes vary wildly in this magical world of photography and art buying and so must our recipes for marketing.

1. Lets start off by looking at the first point. Just 10% of buyers think direct mail is the best way of reaching them. I have to say I felt a little disheartened by this. Not only do I love designing, producing and mailing my print promos but I definitely prefer it as the method that my audience consumes my imagery. Don't get me wrong, I love the iPad and big screens but there is something a little more evocative and sensory about touching, smelling and seeing the printed piece.

I have read on countless blogs and heard from buyers that many still LOVE receiving printed promos. My guess, email when on target and done well is super convenient and quick. You can view it, check out the website with one click, bookmark it if you like it, delete and move on if you don't. Email is quick and easy. That said print promos have a chance to stand out, make a much bigger statement and leave a lasting impression. Print still has a place in my marketing toolbox.

WHAT TO DO: I'm not going to change a thing. I think email and print promo's have their place. They both need to be used strategically and they both serve a unique function. Any marketing plan would be weaker if you removed print promos.

MOVING FORWARD: I am going to be even more diligent about refining my print promo mailing lists. Print promos are expensive so it is vital that they reach the right people.

2. Number two, only 33% of buyers use social media to find new photographers. This surprised me a little at first. My first thought was that perhaps this represents a generational gap of some sort. What would these number look like in 5 years as younger buyers rise through the ranks? Another thought I had relates to the supermarket shopper. Finding photographers via social media is a little like going shopping on the highstreet. You know what you want but you have to search past loads of irrelevant shops to get it. The supermarket on the other hand has everything you want in one convenient place. As a buyer if you know your are looking for new talent then heading somewhere dedicated to photographers, well that's just way more convenient.

WHAT TO DO: I think it is important to recognize that social media is complex and subtle. It is not going to make or break ones business. That depends on whether we make good images. But, social media is powerful if we wield it strategically. Ultimately, social media thrives when we share, talk and engage on things we are passionate about.

MOVING FORWARD: 33% or 100% social media has a place in the marketing toolbox.

3. 74% of buyers do not follow any photographers' blogs. What!? Now this really did surprise me. Again it also made me think about a possible generational gap...? But without demographic data from the report it would be hard to verify this. On the other hand it also important to note that Art Buyers have a million and one things to do, one of which is keep a breast of new talent. Perhaps it is not surprising then they aren't spending most of their time following our blog postings, as much as we would like to think the opposite.

WHAT TO DO: Writing a blog is more than just marketing. It provides an outlet, a chance to share, a platform to express ones self and try new things. Blogs build community, support networks and a chance to engage with people who would otherwise remain unknown to each other. I love writing my blog and I love reading other people's blogs. It is a little disheartening to read that so few buyers follow photographer blogs, but...

MOVING FORWARD:...that doesn't mean I'm going to stop blogging.

Lastly, here is a BLOG POSTING from a "buyer" actually a Creative Director at REI, Jason Sutherland who has just started a cool blog theme on photographer print promos. I was thrilled that he included one of my promos as his first posting on the theme and even more thrilled to see that my promo's are getting noticed. Its nice to know that they are going out into the world and meeting friends.

There are no distractions

2011-03-28T12:56:00.001-07:00

I am super excited to get this up on the blog! Back in January I teamed up with a fellow Englishman, Wade Jackson, to create this motion piece, my first foray into the world of motion video. Wade and I have since collaborated on a few other projects and have a string of motion pieces in the pipeline for 2011.

The star of the show is Falesha Ankton, professional hurdler extraordinaire and a cosmic example of a dedicated athlete. Falesha is sponsored by Brooks Sports. She braved frigid temperatures, high winds, a super late night and still looked great on camera. Massive thanks to Falesha for being so brave and so utterly awesome.

Press play, I hope you enjoy!

From Alaska

2011-03-11T11:31:00.000-08:00

I'm currently shooting up in New Stuyahok Village, Alaska. We came up here to photograph a Caribou hunt but upon our arrival we found out that the village has run out of petrol, not a drop in town. Everyone is stuck in the village and without means of transport we can't head out on our planned adventures. Nevertheless we are busy shooting portraits about the village and also shooting a short documentary piece on Yup'ik subsistence life in New Stuyahok.

While we wait for a fuel plane to fly in we are enjoying a rare treat in Bristol Bay Alaska, bright sunshine and clear blue skies, rather chilly of course! Below are a few snaps I captured on my iPhone on the way up here.

PDN's 30 2011

2011-02-28T13:05:00.000-08:00

Very excited to have made the cut for PDN's 30 this year. I found out on Christmas Day while I was Down Under with family, maybe Father Christmas is true after all.

I thought I would pay tribute to my fellow countrymen, or at least those of us who were born in the UK, and who also made PDN's 30 this year.

ADAM DEAN (www.adamdean.net)
Adam is a seriously impressive photojournalist/action man.

LIZ HINGLEY (www.lizhingley.com)
Liz's work is super distinct, thoughtful and she is only 25! Very exciting.

JODY ROGAC (www.jodyrogac.com)
Jody's work is gorgeous, elegant and intimate. I also love what she said with regards to Persistence: "It would have been so easy for me to quit a million times. But I love photography too much. Nothing that's worth doing is going to come easily! I've fallen down and gotten back up on the horse countless times." WOW! That seriously resonates and is so true. Just got to keep getting back up.

BARTHOLOMEW COOKE (www.bartholomewcooke.com)
Bartholomew's work will rock your still-life-world!

Great to see so many UK born photographers representing this year! Thanks PDN.

From Space!

2011-02-18T13:30:00.000-08:00

Wow! I would love to shoot from space. This image came from a blog posting at the end of last year via my good friend and Ironman Triathlete Adrian Santic.

A Wee Discovery

2011-01-27T17:28:00.000-08:00

Ploughing through images getting my entries ready for the Center Awards, deadline tonight, and found these little gems.

2011 Mailers

2011-01-19T13:27:00.000-08:00

I just brought my 2011 mailers back to the office. Very excited! Thanks to Girlie Press for bashing these out super fast and super perfect. The best colour reproduction experience I have ever had, amazing.

Of course the official approval of the artwork was conducted my Sir Sausage. Apart from a rather foul stink coming from the off-gassing mailers, Sir Sausage was thoroughly impressed.

I have printed 5 different mailers. They are 17"x 11" posters that contain three images each and all my contact info. These will slip into some custom envelopes that I am currently having printed and head off into the world.

At the end of last year I changed my list service provider over to Agency Access and I have been using their database service to generate contact lists. I then supplement my Agency Access lists with my own ones which have previous clients and other handpicked peeps who I would love to work with. Combined the lists total 500 select contacts.

Here are some awesome blogs and blog postings that I have found invaluable in helping me develop this years mailers:

blog.noplasticsleeves.com
Jasmine DeFoore, Pt. One
Jasmine DeFoore, Pt. Two
Jasmine DeFoore, Pt. Three
APhotoEditor

Bandon Dunes for Men's Journal

2011-01-18T07:33:00.000-08:00

Last October we shot a quick story for Men's Journal's Best of 2010. The lead for the article was Bandon Dunes Golf course, which is an amazing traditional links style golf course on the coast of Oregon. I'm not a golfer but this course was utterly spectacular and clearly challenging. The wind howls off the ocean most days, rain should be expected and the course is wiley, tricky and unforgiving. Apparently the head coach at Bandon Dunes can play the course with just a putter. I thought that was rather impressive.

Below are some out takes from the shoot that didn't make the magazine. And a link to photographer, Wood Sabold who has spent a great deal of time photographing the course in stunning style: www.woodsabold.com

New Zealand & the Year Ahead

2011-01-10T14:16:00.000-08:00

Happy New!
I spent the holidays Down Under this year with family and friends. What special places Australia and New Zealand are, WOW! We hiked the Abel Tasman Coastal Track in New Zealand for five days with our 14 month old scamp of a lad strapped to my back. Celebrated Christmas with my first ever glass of sparkling red wine (Sparkling Shiraz). Visited one of my best buddies in Sydney for three days. And introduced my son to his Great Uncle Herbert in Wellington. Its been a jam packed holiday. Below are a couple of moody landscapes from New Zealand. I took these during the ferry crossing from Picton on the South Isle to Wellington on the North.

Over the past few weeks I have tuned into some really fabulous new music ranging from bad DnB beats to juicy deep House and lots of ragga, reggae and dancehall in between. Music is hands down my biggest source of inspiration and I have lots of exciting new personal projects in the pipeline for this year. 2011 is going to be all about pushing the envelope!

Welcome to the New Year!

A Year in the Life of Google

2010-12-10T18:13:00.001-08:00

Thought this was worth a quick viewing! What a year it has been...

Best Video - UK DnB Awards

2010-12-08T10:56:00.000-08:00

I am a massive fan of Drum and Bass music. DnB music is big back home in the UK where it comes from and just recently the Drum and Bass awards were held. Below is the video that won Best DnB Video of 2010. The video is for a tune by DJ Fresh who is actually a US based artist. Love it!!

Remembering Our Talent

2010-11-10T14:21:00.000-08:00

I am reading a fabulous book at the moment, City of Thieves by David Benioff, it is about the lives of two young Russian men during the German blockade of Lennigrad (St. Petersburg) in the Second World War. I thought it timely to mention this book and in particular a short passage from it since today is Rememberance Day, I think Americans call it Veterans Day, and the passage I want to share describes talent, something us photographers and all artists a like for that matter seek to harness and develop. Benioff personifies talent as a woman, saying:

"Talent must be a fanatical mistress. She's beautiful; when you're with her, people watch you, they notice. But she bangs on your door at odd hours, and she disappears for long stretches, and she has no patience for the rest of your existence: your wife, your children, your friends. She is the most thrilling evening of your week, but some day she will leave you for good. One night, after she's been gone for years, you will see her on the arm of a younger man, and she will pretend not to recognise you."

I feel like there is so much for us to take away from this little passage. Does our talent really slip away? Here one minute and gone the next? Or can we remain in a constant state of evolution, harnessing our talent as it shifts and turns with our personal growth, our journey through life? Perhaps it is good to have a sense of fear, that our talent could leave us at some point in the future, so that we seize every moment to create exceptional work. In the same moment this passage is both terrifying and exciting, motivating and depressing. But for some reason I feel empowered by it. I can't quite believe that talent simply slips away and instead have to believe that some how we can always keep it close to us, forging a new relationship with our talent as we age and evolve as artists. And therein I think lies some sort of truth. Our relationship with our talent is mysterious and difficult. Every person in the world has talent, everyone. But finding it, tuning in to it and having a healthy relationship with it is perhaps one of the hardest and most challenging relationships of all. Talent then can slip away, but it is up to us to maintain our relationship with it, to continue to learn, and remain open minded. The moment we stagnate, she'll find a better lover.

So while we take a moment to remember, perhaps we should also take a moment to listen to ourselves, tune in to that which we do best and do something exceptional. We owe it to those who died for us and we owe it to our mistresses.

Finalist in PDN's Digital Pix Contest

2010-11-04T16:50:00.000-07:00

Very excited to post that a series of images I entered into PDN's Digital Pix Contest came in as a finalist in the New Talent category. Below is the image that appeared in PDN this month and further down the rest of the images from the series.

Blaine Lints Part 1

2010-10-18T16:57:00.001-07:00

Blaine Lints can run! Earlier this year he ran for 24 hours solid, his aim was to cover the distance of four marathons, he made it 3.5 because his body temperature dropped too low. Blaine is one of the youngest seriously accomplished triathletes out there. And as if that isn't impressive enough he has already qualified for preliminary Navy seal's training. He is just 17 years old. I had the good fortune of spending a few hours with him on Saturday morning. Below is Part 1 of the shoot. Part 2 includes a bunch of imagery we shot with location lighting.

Red Monster - Finalist in PDN's Great Outdoors Competition

2010-08-25T00:19:00.000-07:00

From a tiny stream to the big open ocean and then all the way back again. No wonder they look so ugly at the end of their long journey. Amazing creatures I bow before wild salmon. Their commitment and determination is unparalleled. Very excited to have this image in PDN's Great Outdoors Competition.

Fish & Tradition for the Nature Conservancy Magazine

2010-08-18T19:01:00.000-07:00

I have been dying to get these images up on my website and blog. Last November the Nature Conservancy set me to the Island of Pohnpei in Micronesia to shoot a story about subsistence spearfishermen and how community conservation initiatives are helping to save Pohnpei's ailing reef fisheries. You can check out the story online over at nature.org

Hands down one of the best assignments I have ever done. The highlights included free diving with some of the best speafishermen in the world, flying in a 1960's Hughes MD 500 helicopter over a remote island atoll and eating dog for the first time...eeek!

I plan to do a breakdown of the assignment and delve into some of the practical and technical issues I ran in to while on assignment, including dealing with shooting in salty wet places, from the air and developing narrative. So stay tuned there is more to come from Pohnpei!

In the meantime below are some of my favourites that didn't make the edit and here is a link to the full story on my website.

The Importance of Personal Work

2010-07-19T16:33:00.000-07:00

A year ago I started a personal project called Seasons of Subsistence after visiting a Yup'ik summer fishing camp up here in Bristol Bay, Alaska. After a year of shooting for this project I want to take a moment to reflect on the importance of personal work.

I don't know about you but I'm constantly making up long term projects in my head, whether its a story about the lives of my backyard chickens or the solitary existence of Indonesian raft fishermen. But making these projects become a reality requires a lot more determination, commitment, time, resources and planning than simply dreaming about them. Being able to filter out the crazy ideas from the realistic ones is key to your success and involves being totally honest with yourself. I'm all about dreaming big, don't get me wrong, but executing a long-term, or short term, personal project requires that you get your all of your eggs in just the right baskets.

THE IDEA
Coming up with an idea can often be a real challenge, especially if you haven't quite decided what kind of photographer you are yet and the focus you want to take. I spent many dark hours mulling over a multitude of ideas as I began my photographic journey, many of them completely overambitious. Being realistic with yourself is critical.

So make a list. Put it into three sections: Dream Projects, Realistic Projects, Backyard Projects. Work out what you are really passionate about and what you can realistically achieve within a given time frame, 1 month, 6 months, 1 year. Your backyard projects are ones that you can be working on all the time. Hopefully they don't require huge amounts of resources and they allow you to begin right away. For example at the beginning of the this year I began a project photographing adventure athletes in Seattle. Its a project that I work on all the time, I shoot every month or so and it doesn't require huge amounts of time and money. Your Dream Projects are at the opposite end of the scale. They are big, ambitious, and support your overarching vision as a photographer. Whether they are realistic or not, feasible or something you hope to do "one day" it doesn't matter. More importantly they give you a focus point and set the bar for your creative endeavours. While your Realistic Projects are the ones you start to put into the research phase.

THE RESEARCH
So you have a backyard project or two that you are rolling with and your Dream Projects are providing you with inspiration and a guiding force. Now you have to be really realistic with your self and begin researching for a project that you can pull off, your Realistic Project. Your research needs to be thorough. It is essential that you know as much as possible about the people, issue, location etc of your chosen project. Whenever I get an assignment I begin a very careful research process that involves gathering as much information on the geography, economics, culture, language, climate, current affairs, ecology and infrastructure of where I'm going. Of course my research process for editorial assignments differs from my commercial assignments and your research process will differ from mine. You need to find a process that fits your style. But find a process and take a systematic approach to it so that you cover all the essentials. Careful planning will save you time, money and ensure you do the best job you can.

FUNDRAISING
Fundraising is really important, really difficult and really beyond the scope of this posting. Fortunately there are some great resources out there and the Blue Earth Alliance is the best place to start: www.blueearth.org and a great handbook all about getting projects off the ground: http://www.blueearth.org/downloads/SFTH-Web-Jan08.pdf

EXECUTION
The way you actually end up shooting your project will vary widely depending on the type of photographer you are and the nature of your project. Regardless of these variables, however, are a few things that are universal to executing your project.

Access
Whether you are heading out to document great white shark attack victims or shooting a project on Parisian barristers getting access to the right subject matter is vital to the success of your project. It takes time and commitment to forge these necessary relationships so you'll need to draw upon all of your resources, friends, and contacts.

Resources
Money. Whether you are planning a small backyard shoot or a longterm international project you are going to need money to cover your expenses. Think about all of your possible expenses ranging from rent and office supplies to airplane tickets and special equipment. Then make a budget so you know how much your ideas are going to cost and how much fundraising you have to do. There is lots of great information on budgeting in the Blue Earth Alliance handbook, link above.

Collaborate
Collaboration is one of your most important skills and assets. There will often be other organisations and non-profits working on similar issues to your work. Sharing your ideas with these groups and letting them know what you are trying to achieve can be instrumental in helping your project become a reality. After working with Trout Unlimited Alaska (TU Alaska) in 2008 I came to them with my Seasons of Subsistence project. TU is now one of the fiscal sponsors for the project helping me to fundraise. They also support the project by producing gallery exhibitions and promoting the project through their marketing outlets.

KEEP DOING IT
At first personal projects can seem daunting. Lack of money, lack of focus, making contacts, where to start...? The list goes on. But if you are passionate you will stick at it and while getting a project off the ground can be challenging, the benefits far outweigh the hard graft. Get creative and follow your crazy dreams, as Goethe said, "Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men.”

Here are a few reasons to persevere, stick with it and produce thoughtful and innovative personal work.

Refine your vision
You have complete creative control over your personal projects. No one telling you they want it done a certain way. You can do whatever you want. And this is why personal work is so important, because it is your own personal expression as an artist. When people look at your personal work they peer directly into your creative vision and bear witness to your purest form. Doing personal work then is essential for your personal growth as an artist and a space for you to experiment, make mistakes, grow, evolve and refine your vision.

Hone your skills
Experimenting, making mistakes and evolving are all ways in which we craft new skills. Every time I shoot personal work I discover new ways of shooting, develop new skill sets and make big leaps in my creative thinking. Its just like exercising and training for a sport. We have to flex our creativity!

Prove your worth
Personal work demonstrates artistic initiative and a thirst for creativity. People who hire photographers like to see that the person they are going to hire does more than just fulfill a creative brief and instead brings a unique set of ideas to the table. Your personal work is an important part of your creative toolbox and critical to demonstrating that you are a thriving artist.

Coming down the mountain

2010-07-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

Just before I headed up to Alaska for the summer we took a trip up to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic Mountains/N.P. Our mission was to shoot cyclist Jimmy Anderson hoooning down the mountain with gorgeous scenery behind him - pace, energy and a bit of motion blur! If you are ever in Washington State, Hurricane Ridge should definitely be on your "to visit" list, beautiful place.

A few key objectives for the shoot:
1. High energy, which means I needed to be shooting some where around 1/80th-1/100th to get that lovely ground rush. Which reminds me of a quick note. Jimmy is such a powerful and uber fit cyclist that we were able to get ground rush in the images even when he was cycling UPHILL!!! Amazing!

2. Lighting Jimmy with a 27" beauty dish from above camera left and a bare profoto strobe behind Jimmy on a boom for some back light. See the sketch. 30mph means lots of drag and we ran into a few technical issues with the set-up, broke a magic-arm and bent some aluminium. Luckily nothing a bit of creative thinking and duct tape couldn't fix...Phew!

Sorry about the scribble above! I do my best.

3. Probably the two most important things for me to consider were composition and ambient light. Traveling at 30 mph down a mountain with winding roads meant the direction of the sun was constantly changing, as was my background scenery and the shape of the road. The sun was also going in and out of the clouds. So with this many variables to manage I needed to be pretty organised.

We limited our run to just a two mile stretch of the road. That way Jimmy, our cyclist could familiarise himself with the road and its bends. It also meant that we could get set up for specific points along the route where we knew we had good scenery, a nice bend and the sun would be in the right place. Jimmy was able to position himself a mere two feet from the back of our pace car at times making working a specific shot a breeze. We then systematically worked through a series of compositions and lighting adjustments until we found shots that worked.

I think it is important to go into a shoot like this with loads of fine-tuned ideas. Over the weeks even months leading up to this shoot I sketched dozens of image ideas and compostions as part of my preproduction. These ideas/sketches provided me with a visual backbone from which to explore. Previsualising definitely helps me to quickly and efficiently shoot the images I'm looking for. It also gives me the comfort level I need to then start experimenting and that's the best thing about being prepared...you can confidently explore the unknown.

All postproduction by the ever impressive Janko Williams

Related posting: Urban Triathlete

Latest work from Alaska + Behind the Scenes

2010-07-10T10:53:00.000-07:00

My family and I migrate to Alaska every summer and live in a small town called Naknek in the Bristol Bay region. As an outsider and also a Brit Naknek, Alaska is a world away from anything I have ever experienced and even though this is my third year coming here the place still feels wild and wonderful. I can only describe it as Mad Max meets Little House on the Prairie or in this case Little House on the Tundra.

Bristol Bay is a pretty unique place. It is home to the largest wild salmon fishery on Earth and also home to a group of Yup'ik Eskimos who lead a vibrant subsistence lifestyle. While I'm up here I shoot for a few environmental groups like Trout Unlimited and Nunamta Aulukestai and also have a personal project ongoing called Seasons of Subsistence.

Last summer I went to a Yup'ik summer fishing camp called Lewis Point to shoot a story for Geographical magazine. Lewis Point is a rustic camp on the banks of the Nushagak River and every summer five Yup'ik families migrate downstream from their village to catch and smoke king salmon. I went back this year to make some more photographs and then on to a few other locations, the results are below.

Sadly the whole of this region is threatened by a proposed open pit mine called Pebble Mine, potentially North America's largest open pit mine. And a good chunk of my work up here involves creating imagery for the campaign fighting to stop the mine. These new images are part of an effort to photograph some of the key individuals who call this place home and depend on Bristol Bay for their livelihood. I chucked in a couple of behind the scenes images as well.

Below is a little sketch of the set-up we used. This work was shot lean and mean due to power limitations (no electricity) and what we could pack into these remote locations. I also want to point out the use of neutral density graduated filters. I use these little puppies a lot in my work and these images are great examples of when they work their magic. Of course you can always pull the skies back in Lightroom using the graduated filter tool, but nothing beats capturing the data on camera. Bristol Bay has incredible skies, something about being far north just makes them so moody and intense, and I wanted to capture this so grads were a must. Since the images are also going to be used in campaigns to raise awareness about Pebble Mine, a serious and important issue for Bristol Bay people, I wanted to generate a sense of power and moodiness in the imagery that accentuates the seriousness of the issue.

If any of you have any cool shots where you used grads I would love to hear how and why you used them...send them along!

Satisfaction is fleeting

2010-06-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

I dream an idea
It takes form
It inspires me
I plan, prepare and research
I sketch, produce, and conquer
I love it, I'm proud of it, I'm pleased with myself
I hate it!
I start again
But most importantly I grow...

Satisfaction with my images is fleeting. It comes on strong and seduces me with euphoric satisfaction and pride only to peak in the realisation that it could be better. I'm not talking about simply wishing I made something better upon analysing it to death. Of course, we can always find weakness in something we have made and find ways to improve upon it. More so I'm talking about the fragility of our own satisfaction in our creations. Is it boredom? We look at it so much that its appeal dissipates with the waxing tide of its originality. Or is it something to do with the concept that every answer leads to a new question? The moment of creating something that was once an idea or a moment of inspiration leaves a void or a vacuum and a new idea must fill the space in our creative bank. We may not know what that idea is yet but there in lies the elegance of our fleeting satisfaction. It drives us to create again, to seek out inspiration, and improve on our previous invention. So in creating our newest work we also create our next idea. And isn't that exciting? A never-ending engine of creativity. As long as we keep ourselves well oiled, inspired and open to new ideas the potential is infinite!

Bigmacs won't increase your creativity

2010-06-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

I just read a great blog post by a photographer I greatly admire, Nick Onken, called Expanding Your Default. In it he talks about the place we fall back to as artists when under pressure. That place where we know we can perform to a certain level. Where we feel comfortable and confident. It’s the Bigmac spot. You know exactly what it will taste (look) like and they’ll be no surprises (no creative boundaries pushed). We all need that space because without it we have no platform from which to advance and improve. But in the same way as an athlete uses his or her fitness baseline as a platform to push it to the next level. So to do we as artists need to be aware of a our creative baseline so that every time we embark on a new creative venture we know we have to push beyond that point, work harder and improve.

I’ve been shooting a lot of new imagery for my portfolio over the past few months. The shoots have all been completely different ranging from cycling down mountains to shooting in lakes and swimming pools. Sometimes I feel like I defaulted, resorting to my Bigmac spot. That's in part because the challenges of using new lightening techniques or shooting in demanding locations mean that I was already pushing my creative skills to the limit. But I don’t like to default. I don’t like to keep composing images in the same way, use the same lighting technique, interact with my models in the same way. I’m relying on what I know is tried and tested rather than pushing myself. And that won't increase my creativity.

So what to do? Whenever I hit this space I need an intervention, something that can inspire me, or shift my gears and in doing so empower me to a new way of seeing. Sometimes I go and find new photographers work to look at or more often the work of designers and illustrators. I love cartoonists like Justin Bilicki. Whatever it is it’s a process and its rejuvenating. Its part of the magical journey of being an artist and a professional. We can always improve and refine our vision and that is the most important thing – being aware of the process, the journey and being willing to continually evolve.

One Weekend

2010-05-26T12:28:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was hectic. Saturday morning we plunged into the freezing waters of Lake Washington with Adrian Santic, my good friend and Ironman triathlete. And then Sunday we hit the road and dashed up to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National park for a running shoot, with marathon runner Nancy Blakey. A lot of fun was had, I drank too much tea, our lunch was stolen by some alpine crows, and we made some great imagery. The results are below.

There is something so profoundly exhilarating about working with athletes that I love. Something about the total commitment it requires to put in 30+ hours of training a week and maintain a full-time job. Or perhaps the 5am swimming sessions. Or perhaps the mental strength required to run a marathon, then swim 2 miles and then cycle 100 miles all in one sitting. Whatever it is these guys have more determination that a rhino in heat and are prepared to do all that it takes to get the job done. When on a photoshoot that translates into some seriously committed individuals who, much to my delight, are 110% committed to getting just the right shot.

Massive thank yous to Adrian and Nancy for being such warriors last weekend!

SEASONS OF SUBSISTENCE: New Story is Up!

2010-05-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

The Nushagak River in Bristol Bay, Alaska, takes no prisoners! Cold, fast flowing and determined springtime on the river is certainly thrilling. I spent the weekend navigating the dendritic tentacles of this enormous meandering river with three generations of Yup'ik Eskimos. Mr. Wonhola, one of New Stuyahok Village's eminent hunters, his Grandson Master Trenton Wonhola (6 years of age) and their family friend and emerging hunter, Wassillie (18 years of age). We saw beluga's feeding on salmon smolt, went hunting for geese, ducks, even crane and set subsistence fishing nets for whitefish and pike. A truly remarkable trip!

Images are up over at the Seasons of Subsistence website: The River Awakens

SEASONS OF SUBSISTENCE: Spring Hunting

2010-05-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

Heading up to Bristol Bay today and up to New Stuyahok village. Then heading down the mighty Nushagak River to document a Yup'ik goose hunt. I'll have some images up next week, so be sure to check out the Seasons of Subsistence website

Olympic Hopeful

2010-05-06T15:40:00.001-07:00

Some images from a recent shoot with Seattle's infamous Pocock Rowing Center. Big and special thanks to Michelle and Jimmy! Some more images from the shoot here.

Preparing for Pocock

2010-04-06T11:54:00.000-07:00

This morning, very early this morning, I went out with Olympic Gold medalist Bryan Volpenhein to scout for an upcoming shoot. Bryan won gold at Athens in the double skull. It was my first time in the presence of a Gold Medal Olympian - awesome!

Below is a picture taken this morning. looking forward to rolling out the big guns when we shoot this for real.

Nick Goes OUTSIDE

2010-04-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

Last summer a great friend of mine, Sam Keam and I flew into the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes in Katmai National Park, Alaska for some adventures. It turned out to be an epic exploration of an incredible landscape. You can see the images from the trip over on nickhallphotography.com

Outside Magazine used a few pictures from the trip for their Adventure Issue this month and an article on Alaskan adventures - "Go Big or Go Home".

A Pool Session

2010-03-26T15:46:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the good fortune of working with Adrian Santic again. Adrian is an Iron-man triathlete in the making and on top of working a full-time job puts in 30 hours of training a week! Amazing. We spent a few hours in the pool shooting. Wrinkled and exhausted I just about managed to keep up with Adrian as he darted about the pool like a sea otter.

You can check out the rest of the images at nickhallphotography.com

CHASING PERFECTION: Wilderness Systems Kayaks 2010

2010-03-11T12:02:00.001-08:00

Wilderness Systems recently came out with their 2010 catalog with some imagery we shot for them back at the end of 2008. Looks great! Big ups to Mr. Hessman for his vision and art direction.

EXHIBITION: Lewis Point Goes to Juneau

2010-03-04T11:27:00.000-08:00

Lewis Point: A Yup'ik Summer Fishing Camp opens at the Silverbow Inn in Juneau, Alaska tomorrow (Friday 5th March) at 4.30pm. Sadly I won't be able to make for the "First Friday" opening but I will be up there on the 18th for a reception with the supermen and ladies from Trout Unlimited.

Massive thank you to Tim, Lindsey and Elizabeth for being so generous and supportive with this project. For more info be sure to check out my new website dedicated to Seasons of Subsistence a new personal project of mine documenting Native Life in Bristol Bay, season by season.

Seasons of Subsistence Website Update

2010-03-03T18:59:00.000-08:00

New story is up over at Seasonsofsubsistence.com

WEBSITE UPDATES

2010-03-03T09:25:00.000-08:00

I updated my website today with a few new images and a reshuffle. Please take a roll through the site and the introduction. March is going to be a solid month of activity and so I hope to have more work up on the site soon!

Marketability

2010-03-02T13:25:00.000-08:00

"Some people naively think the photographer adapts to what the client wants. That’s not the case. The photographer is actually overlaying their style over what the client wants. They’re internalizing what the client wants and presenting it back through their own filter. Being able to do that is the key to success.”

Maureen Martel (of kingpin agency Stockland Martel) via Heather Morton

LEGENDS: In Need of Some Sunshine?

2010-02-23T15:20:00.000-08:00

I forgot I had this photo from Hawaii and thought to dig it out and let the sun shine, it certainly ain't shinning here in Seattle. I have a few up coming shoots in the pipeline but I'm searching for a little ray of inspiration to get my juices flowing.

In the meantime here is a "legend" that I came across recently and who's work I think is fabulous. Lots of good sunshine!

Christopher Wilson:
Before Christopher established his photography business he worked as an art director for clients including Audi. Not only do I love Audi and their "Vorsprung durch Technik", but their imagery is certainly some of the finest out there and Chris was at the forefront of establishing that vision; it shows in his work.

www.christopherwilsonphotography.com

Round Up from New Stuyahok

2010-02-20T11:00:00.000-08:00

I'm just about to hop on a plane out of here and back to Seattle today. Sadly the weather turned warm and all the snow has melted. The rivers are like sad, derelict ice rinks and a little difficult to travel on. As a result subsistence life here is on pause.

Still this trip has been very illuminating and loads of fun. Fingers-crossed the weather might cool again and dump a load of snow, and I'll back up here as quick as a March hare. It is an el nino year this year after all as Father Ivan pointed out to me last night, which explains the warm weather. Below is a round up of images from the trip.

See you back in Seattle!

Urban Triathlete

2010-02-11T08:22:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago I spent the weekend working with a triathlete called Adrian Santic. Adrian was a photographers dream model/athlete: totally into making cool photographs and dedicated to getting the job done. We had him running up stairs, running around dirty truck yards, cycling up and down under a bridge and all in the rain and cold of night. I was blown away by his commitment and fitness level, and reminded how much I love working with athletes! Thanks to Adrian and the rest of the crew for making the weekend so productive. We had a blast. Below are a few of the cycling images. A great new pal of mine Janko Williams did the postproduction.

Flying to Alaska

2010-02-10T20:25:00.000-08:00

I'm writing from Dillingham, Alaska on my way up to a remote village called New Stuyahok. I'm heading up to photograph the winter lifestyle of Yup'ik Eskimos and create the next story for a new personal project I am working on called Seasons of Subsistence. This should be a great trip with dog sledge racing, ice-fishing and New Stuyahok's winter festival, I can't wait. Flying into Dillingham this afternoon was wild! I have never been up here in the winter and seeing the vast tundra frozen and covered with ice was breathtaking; even the great Nushagak River was frozen solid. So a winter adventure ahead. I hope to be blogging semi-regularly (when internet access permits) so stay-tuned to the blog or check-out the news section of Seasonsofsubsistence.com

The iPhone photo was taken just before making our decent into Dillingham - crazy how the blades from the prop have appeared in the image!

Seasons of Subsistence Online

2010-02-08T13:15:00.000-08:00

What better way to start the week than by launching a new website: www.seasonsofsubsistence.com

Seasons of Subsistence is a new project in which I am documenting the lives of Native Alaskans living in Bristol Bay. The project all started in the summer of 2009 when I was invited to photograph a group of Yup'ik Eskimos at their summer fishing camp on the banks of the Nushagak River. Every summer five families migrate 160 miles down river to a place called Lewis Point where they set up camp and wait for the returning king salmon. Three generations work side-by-side, catching and smoking fish in much the same way as their ancestors hundreds of years before.

Over the course of my time at Lewis Point I learned more about Yup'ik life and the subsistence lifestyle they lead. Living season to season, the families of Lewis Point hunt and gather up to 80% of their calories from the land. Inspired by these families and their ability to lead a subsistence lifestyle in North America despite mounting social and environmental shifts, I committed myself to telling their story of life on the tundra.

So, a new website and the beginning of a two year initiative to document Native Life in Bristol Bay through a series of multimedia stories. From the king salmon harvest at Lewis Point to the last walrus hunters of Togiak Village, Seasons of Subsistence captures a remarkable culture and a disappearing way of life. Please join me here on my blog or over at seasonsosubsistence.com for up to date info and to follow my adventures in Bristol Bay.

Catch-up

2009-11-05T17:14:00.000-08:00

Wow! Its been a while since anything has appeared here. The past two months have been hectic with Alaska salmon, Seasons of Subsistence, organizing a shoot in the South Pacific and the arrival of a new family member.

So here's the catch-up!

- In September the great folks over at Geographical magazine published a spread of my work from June this year covering subsistence salmon fishing in Bristol Bay, Alaska (some tears below). Big thanks to the the Geographical team for getting this work out there.

- Right now I'm writing from my hotel room in Honolulu on my way to Micronesia to shoot a story for the next three weeks. Its gonna be a wild ride with underwater work and some aerial too. More to come on this when I can.

- September was one of those dreaded desk-job months slogging through about 8 grant proposals for a new personal project I'm working on called Seasons of Subsistence. I don't wanna say too much about here since I'm going to be announcing the project properly at the start of 2010 including the launch of a dedicated website. But last week I got news that the project has been awarded its first grant from the Alaska Humanities Forum. Massive thank you to the Forum for supporting this project. The grant will ensure the project gets the kick-start it needs including essential components like the website and some preliminary production costs. Seasons of Subsistence is a personal documentary project that explores the subsistence culture of Native Alaskans in Bristol Bay, season by season. So stay tuned for more on this at the beginning of next year!

- And finally the end of October was crazed waiting for our baby to arrive. Fashionably late at 13 days overdue, but perfectly cooked at 9lbs 7oz I'm the proud father of a baby boy called Finnley. Wow!

Postcard from Time

2009-08-24T10:54:00.000-07:00

Back in July Time magazine published a punchy piece about Bristol Bay and Pebble Mine. They used an image of mine taken on the back-deck of the fishing vessel Curragh, captained by Daniel Blakey.

LAX Magazine Highlights Bristol Bay

2009-08-24T09:06:00.000-07:00

Nice little piece in LAX magazine covering Bristol Bay and the clear reasons to prevent Pebble Mine, potentially North America's largest open-pit mine, from being placed slap in the middle of the world's greatest salmon habitat!

Amazing Bubbles

2009-08-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

A friend just sent me a link to these awesome bubble burst shots by Richard Heeks. They are incredible! How many of us can say we have seen a bubble bursting like this? No explosion, no projectile bubble remains flying into outer air. But, instead a gentle whispering of hairy bubble remains that shimmer into nothingness. Oh to see something new everyday...

(Thanks BONBI and Natalie for the intro)

Check out more of Richard's bubble work on his Flickr pages, they're awesome!

Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes

2009-07-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

We spent the last few days getting very cold and very wet. But, what a landscape! The Valley of Ten Thousands of Smokes in Katmai National Park is a visually menacing place. It dominates you from start to finish and serves as an instant reminder of our small place in nature. In 1912 Novarupta exploded some 20 cubic km of volcanic debris in the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th Century, covering the valley in 100m of ash and pumice. As the ash settled to the valley floor the existing rivers boiled and the water turned to steam. The steam found its way to the surface and gave the valley its name. Fortunately the mountains seem a little calmer these days and offer some outstanding trekking and mountaineering. I'm itching to go back!

STORY: Back to Lewis Point

2009-07-09T13:01:00.001-07:00

After a long day in the production room we just finished this little project. Its a photostory with some great words by Lewis Point fishers Timmy Wonhola, Anna Andrew and Moxie Andrew Jnr. Sit back, turn the pace of life down a little on your speed dial and enjoy.

Fishin's Hot in Bristol Bay

2009-07-04T13:39:00.001-07:00

Two helicopter rides, a big processing ship and 24 hours on a driftboat catching wild sockeye salmon. A little snapshot below.

Upcoming shootings while I'm in Alaska include a sportfishing lodge, hiking into the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes including an attempt to summit Mount Katmai and then the usual kayak trip along the Savanoski Loop.

WAITING FOR KING SALMON: A Yup'ik summer fishing camp

2009-06-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

I just returned from Lewis Point, a Yup'ik summer fishing camp up the Nushagak River in Alaska. Catching, splitting, drying and smoking fish defines the summer months for the Yup'ik peoples of Bristol Bay. Each day begins with happy chatter of the nights catch - "twelve kings...fif teen reds...eight dogs" - and ends with the hottest steam bath you could ever imagine!

Sadly, the entire Bristol Bay watershed is under threat from a mining prospect called Pebble Mine (savebristolbay.org). Its an open pit mine that could potentially pollute the water in the region and threaten the freshwater habitat for some 31 million salmon that return to the 'Bay' each year. If the salmon disappear then so will the happy chatter and a massive part of the Yup'ik way of life.

TAKING THE HEAT

The Native Alaskans up here are predominantly Yup'ik and subsistence fishing plays a major part of their lifestyle during the summer months. I lived in a little wooden hut along with two anthropologists from the Department of Fish and Game. The days were very long 5am-1am, but slow and patient waiting for the nets to fill with fish on each tide. In the evenings we would all take a steam/sauna men first and then women, rustic is an understatement, but they were funny as hell all sitting naked, an Englishman among Eskimos. Manhood is earnt by being able to withstand the hottest steam bath session and oh my god they like it hot. If you think you have ever been in a hot sauna think again, and then again.

The hut is big enough to squeeze five guys into. Too low to stand, only kneel or sit. There is a big, ragging oil barrel fire in the corner covered with stones and a bowl of water for splashing and rinsing. The temperature rises rapidly once the door is closed and then ladle by ladle of water splashed over the rocks the elder rises the temperature. As the temperature rises your ears begin to burn hot. The end of your nose scalding, the top of you shoulders and shins sting. Then more ladles of water, splashes turn instantly to boiling bubbles and scalding steam. The younger Yup'ik men fold down into the fetal position on the floor lowering their bodies to avoid the heat. More ladles of water, more steam, more heat, temperature rising like he's baking use for dinner. I finally have to collapse to the floor as well and adopt the fetal position. Its hot now, so hot that I'm beginning to get worried that I could get trapped in side forever. I focus, keep still, breath calm and deep, try to use my special mental powers to withstand the heat-waves as ladle by ladle the room turns from a happy washing experience into a dark, burning hell-hut on the Alaskan tundra. And then, one ladle more sends us plunging into a delirious state of exhaustion, I'm finished, I'm scalding all over my body from my toes to my eyelids. Do I even have any hair left? Will I have blisters on my skin when I come out? Will I ever even get out of here alive. I let out a fearful giggle and a screech as if my silly noises could persuade the elder to be compassionate and allow just a little pause in the ladle, ladle, splash, splash, ahhh, ahhh regime that he has subjected us to for the past 8 minutes. But no! I'm wishful and not in luck. Looking down at me, ravines of sweat racing down his face, his skin red, horns growing from his skull, he screams "you know where the door is Nick, leave if you can't handle it!!!!!". And with that he grabs the ladle........"nooooh!" and pours the final one. It singes across the rocks, pillows of steam zoom into the cramped space and milliseconds later engulf my entire body in biting pain like a shark attack of sulphuric acid. I'm done, I'm spent, my mental powers sapped, my manhood destroyed. Without even thinking I rise and dash out the little wooden half-door and dance like a crazed billy goat into the Alaskan rain.

I did steam again, in fact I only missed two steams during my stay there. They were certainly less intense, but still took much of my mental powers to endure. The steam baths were perhaps some of my favourite moments in the village, making jokes, and sharing stories all with a view out the door, down the valley and towards the mountains in the distance. They were sublime times that I will remember for many days to come.

Wonderful Machine Represents

2009-06-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

I just recently signed on with Wonderful Machine. Here is a little coverage on the agency from Photoshelter and APhotoEditor.

Geographical Magazine - May Issue

2009-05-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

Geographical Magazine back home in the UK printed a story of ours on Indonesian bird keeping and the conservation efforts going on there to protect songbirds from extinction.

Ever been to a songbird competition? Crazy! Its like being at a football or rugby match with throngs of people screaming and waving their arms, judges meander under 50 bird cages while the stars of the show, tiny songbirds, sing their little hearts out trying to impress the judges and win their owners the grand prize - perhaps a trophy, some times a motorbike and at the national finals $22,500!

Dr. Paul Jepson at the Oxford University Centre for the Environment has been conducting research out there trying to shift the whole birdkeeping and competing industry, which is valued at around $60 million, away from wild capture birds and instead use captive bred birds. And the preliminary results after three years of Darwin funded research suggest that the conservation strategy is working, which is encouraging especially considering this news.

I Love Tofino

2009-05-04T13:49:00.000-07:00

A wonderful weekend spent in Tofino, BC relaxing before we head up to Alaska at the end of this month. We stayed at the Gold Coast Retreat a sublime, beautiful hideaway just off Chesterman Beach and we just can't wait to go back.

Carbon Caps = Hard Hats

2009-04-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

Love this! Check out these video ads.

From the great minds at Environmental Defense and the Blue Green Alliance

Alaska Magazine

2009-03-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

The gals over at Alaska Magazine called me a few weeks back to let me know that they had used one of my recent Bristol Bay salmon fishing images for the cover. They also decided to use another picture to open the feature article for their 2009 fishing issue. Exciting stuff! Its fantastic to see this image being put to great use when it comes from such an important fishery - long live salmon, not Pebble Mine!

Paddling Adverts

2009-03-17T04:38:00.000-07:00

A couple of adverts for Wilderness Systems below. Go paddle!

Wilderness Systems

2009-03-17T04:13:00.000-07:00

Wilderness Systems kayaks launched their new website recently. It has some great new features on the site like a Community section and Resources page to find out cool places to go paddling. I also worked with Wilderness Systems at the end of last year to create some new imagery, so check out the photos as you navigate the site!

Darwin's Birthday

2009-02-12T22:09:00.000-08:00

Darwin would have been 200 years old today. Tip of the hat and gracious salutations to one of the most important scientists to of walked the earth. Two articles/postings below. Definitely worth a read whether your a photographer, scientist, human being or just eager to evolve.

1. Chase Jarvis' usual great stuff in this post

2. One of the most impressive and eloquent scientists currently walking the earth Dr. Carl Safina wrote a fascinating and progressive essay in the New York Times - Darwin Must Die So That Evolution May Live

Moments in Baja

2009-02-11T09:42:00.000-08:00

A round up of a recent trip to Baja, Mexico. We peddled our way down 450 miles of the southern Baja Peninsula, slept under millions of bright stars at night, among cactus galore and ate fresh, delicious food the whole way! And, we didn't get run over by any trucks... just.

The Future is Bright! The Future is Green: 20 ECOVATIONS

2009-01-11T10:22:00.000-08:00

A very interesting article on the Guardian Newspaper website - "20 Big Green Ideas"

There are some very cool and exciting ideas listed in Lucy Siegels article and I included a couple of my favourites below:

8. The world community grid

In a nutshell: Your computer does ethical stuff in the background.

The clever bit: The considerable spare capacity of our home computers is used to make lighter work of some of humanity's most important calculations. The idea is simple: while you use a fraction of your machine's capacity to go about mundane stuff, IBM's World Community Grid runs calculations in the background pertaining to molecular mechanics in order to find the next generation of solar cells for Harvard University. Alone, it is estimated, it would take Harvard's department of chemistry and molecular biology computers some 22 years to do the necessary calculations for the Clean Energy Project, but using our spare computer capacity, researchers hope this can be reduced to a matter of two years. Already nearly half a million users have installed the simple software and signed up (worldcommunitygrid.org) to perform calculations that their owners could never understand.

I love this next one, pure innovation, an power back in the hands of us, the public.

10. Carrotmobbing

In a nutshell: Don't boycott – procott instead.

The clever bit: "The problem is that businesses will do anything for money," says 27-year-old US environmentalist Brent Schulkin. "But what if that's also the solution?" In order to find out, Schulkin approached 23 liquor and grocery stores in his San Francisco neighbourhood and asked what percentage of a day's takings each was prepared to invest in energy-efficiency improvements in return for him organising a "mob" of shoppers to visit the store. The rather unprepossessing K&D Market won the bidding with 22%. Using the internet, Schulkin publicised the scheme, then nervously waited to see if any shoppers would turn up. They did. A huge K&D carrotmob spent about $9,000 in two hours, breathing life into the old corporate-social-responsibility adage that corporations with values can translate this into cold, hard cash. Schulkin appears to have hit on a form of activism that could have mass appeal. Ultimately he wants to create carrotmobs so big that they can negotiate with some of the globe's biggest corporations.

You can read the rest of the article here.

WINTER WONDERLAND

2008-12-20T21:12:00.000-08:00

A wee jaunt this afternoon in the hills. Amazing!

The Wrath of Poseidon & Chocolate Cherries

2008-10-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

I traveled to the coast of Olympic National Park recently on assignment for Wilderness Systems. I have to say I was nervous for this one, of course the area is notoriously moist - "mostly cloudy and overcast with a strong chance of rain" - but we also had storm alerts, 45mph gusting winds and a 12ft swell building...nice. We certainly got our fair share of nasty weather. And just when things couldn't have got much worse one of our team capsized and then turned green with sea-sickness. Despite the set backs and being at the complete mercy of Poseidon's wrath we persevered and for our cheery spirits were blessed with a fabulous last shoot day. During intense ups and downs on shoots like this there is one thing that keeps me and my team sane and happy:

The Chocolate Cherry!

These little things carry a huge punch of instant euphoria. A succulent semi dried cherry smothered in two layers of milk chocolate that seems to send sunbeams swirling around your gob - pure loveliness. A huge thank you to the guys and gals over at Confluence Watersports for making the shoot such a success. These images are all about team work!

Exhibition: Alaska's Red Gold

2008-09-18T10:04:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working with the wonderful folks over at Trout Unlimited to put together an exhibition of my images from this summers assignment in Bristol Bay, Alaska. If you are in the Seattle area in November then be sure to drop by the Tashiro Kaplan Center, 312 South Washington Street.

Tell a friend or ten and lets get some more momentum to stop Pebble Mine.

Red Monsters

2008-08-08T20:14:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhhhhh! The red monster.

From ocean silver to river red (and green) these little monsters navigate their way along an epic journey to spawn, spread their genes, propagate and then die a very noble death. But not without a fight! Hence this male has elongated his jaws so he can bite his opponents out of the way and tend to his beautiful princess monsters.

Check out those teeth! I was inches away from this beautiful fish and feared for the my little fingers. Luckily I snapped and he shuffled and our confrontation was over as quickly as it began. Bravo and Respect to the infamous sockeye salmon!

Where Paddling Takes Us

2008-08-02T11:56:00.000-07:00

This picture is one of a series of images from Katmai National Park, Alaska. Five days of kayaking through pristine wilderness full of salmon, bears, eagles, and LOTS of biting insects! Its a majestic wonderland that reaffirms in me the need to look after our wild places.

Wolves OFF the menu....Thank goodness!

2008-07-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

Here is a note from the Centre for Biological Diversity on the recent ruling to re-instate endangered species status for the Wolf. If only they could huff and puff and blow those hunters houses down. Come on....a little respect please! Just because a species suddenly comes off the endangered species list isn't an excuse to go on an all out rampage against the wolf.

"In response to a lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice and eleven other conservation groups, a federal judge today reinstated Endangered Species Act protection for wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. The decision brings an immediate halt to the slaughter of over 100 wolves since the Bush administration stripped Endangered Species Act protection for Northern Rocky Mountain wolves in February 2008.

The judge reinstated wolf protection because he agreed that 1) the wolf had not met its federal recovery plan goals before being declared "recovered", and 2) the state of Wyoming, in its rush to kill wolves, had not committed to maintaining enough wolves to sustain a viable population.

Calling the Bush administration's arguments "disingenuous," Judge Molloy noted that the administration had "flip-flopped without explanation" on critical wolf conservation policies.

The killing has stopped, but the battle isn't over. This preliminary injunction only holds until a final ruling in the case is issued later this year. And anticipating that it's weak argument for removing wolves from the endangered species list would fail, the Bush administration established a separate decision allowing the killing of wolves even if they are returned to the federal endangered species list. We're in court fighting that rule, also."

The Science Behind the Salmon

2008-07-21T21:34:00.000-07:00

Some images from a recent trip up the Wood River to Aleknagik. Aleknagik is at the base of seven lakes known as the Chain of Lakes. Its one of the most stunning landscapes I have been. I was warmly welcomed at the Washington University Fisheries Research station. Its all about the salmon there. With passion and purpose a great team of scientists and conservationists, grad students and undergrads yomp around the lake, up streams, and over tundra all in the name of salmon science.

Plus a cheeky view of the lake from the research station's dock. This was taken at midnight. The light is simply lush up here, I love it!

FRESH TO FROZEN

2008-07-10T23:20:00.000-07:00

I Just returned from a few days on board a floating salmon processing ship. An unreal experience!

Fishing the Naknek

2008-07-04T01:55:00.000-07:00

A snapshot from life on board the F/V Curragh, Bristol Bay, Alaska.

Egigik

2008-06-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

Blooming on the Tundra

2008-06-21T19:47:00.000-07:00

Summer is finally hear on the tundra. The sky is a patch work of fluffy clouds and endless blue. The leaves on the trees have undone themselves in united worship of the sun. Insects buzz. Slowly, slowly life is blooming.

Solstice on the Tundra

2008-06-21T13:24:00.000-07:00

Twelve midnight next to a tundra pond Naknek, Alaska

Dave Panruk

2008-06-13T07:47:00.000-07:00

Dave Panruk a native Alaskan fisherman hanging his nets in South Naknek. Below His grandson Bradley helps his grandfather by loading up a hanging needle with cork line. The needle holds the cork line which Dave uses to tie his webbing to the lead line and white corks (plastic buoys).

RED GOLD MOVIE - Trailer

2008-06-13T01:05:00.000-07:00

The amazing Soul Felt Media team made this movie coming out soon! It won two awards at the Telluride Film Festival and is hopefully going on to win more in the coming year. Its a must see for anyone interested in the Pebble Mine issue. But, its also a must see for anyone interested in protecting this worlds few remaining wilderness areas. The movie captures the essence of Alaska and the emotion of the people who have been so captivated by the last frontier state. Its full of rich and powerful character profiles and laced with inspirational wildlife and nature footage.

Smashing job gents! Smashing!

You don't make them, you hang them!

2008-06-13T00:06:00.000-07:00

Vlatko Kolega is fondly known by his friends as Woly. He's croatian born and lives in the San Juan Islands of Puget Sound, Washington. Woly's been fishing for Bristol Bay sockeye for over 40 years! I watched amazed as he weaved his fingers around the blue lead line, secured his floats and zipped his knots tight before moving swiftly on to the next section. I keep having to remind myself that you don't MAKE nets.......you hang them. Gets me every time.

The kindness of strangers is ubiquitous in Naknek. I spent several hours with Woly and his friend, and fellow countryman, Nick, on board his boat the Seafire. He'd just served a huge bowl of spaghetti to a group of fishermen when I found him. After viewing postcards of his home town in Croatia we spoke about his time up in Alaska fishing for red gold and of course the mine. He's eager to get in the water and start fishing, but its still cold up here and the fish are not showing up in the usual numbers for this time of year - plenty of time for hanging more nets for when they do.

Yesterdays Catch

2008-06-11T12:20:00.000-07:00

Daniel (left) and Ben Blakey, Naknek fishermen who spend their winters in land locked Boulder CO introducing people to their delicious and sustainable seafood. Check out www.ecoalaskaseafoods.com

Kevin (above), captain of F/V Deborah and his crew mate and brother-in-law Mark.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

2008-06-11T11:46:00.000-07:00

This little chap has decided to pop round the offices where I'm based. He's been around a couple of times now, scrounging for food. Looks like his winter coat is shedding and he's certainly in need of a little summer fattening. A curious fella he comes up very close and peers intelligently with his beautiful eyes. I'm referring to him as a male, but I'm not too sure what sex it is. He appears and then disappears like magic blending with the ever changing colours of the tundra.

Waiting for Salmon

2008-06-06T21:47:00.000-07:00

Its cold up here. Not cold, cold, but colder than usual. In fact so colder-than-usual that even the local fishery biologist has said that this is unusually cold weather for this time of year. The standard greeting between fishermen and friends is "I've never seen the tundra so brown this time of year" or "I've been coming up here for 20 years and never seen..." We even had a snow flurry one morning this week! What does this all mean?

The salmon will likely be late. The infamous Copper River Salmon, so cherished for their 'unique' flavour haven't turned up yet, at least not in the numbers expected and the salmon down south on the Columbia river only just turned up, weeks late and to the joy of fishermen and fisheries managers alike. Late in Bristol Bay means the boats will remain in dry land for a while yet giving fishermen a few days grace to finalise any last minute repairs or projects on their boats and give me a little extra time to meander round photographing them. Here's a couple of mug shots I took today on my travels. Tomorrow I hope to shoot some women in Naknek who hang nets.

The Alaskan Summer Assignment

2008-05-27T11:30:00.005-07:00

I am currently in Dillingham, Alaska on my way to King Salmon, Alaska. I'll be on assignment until early August for one of my conservation NGO clients. The assignment is a long one but its going to be fascinating. We are photographing the Bristol Bay Salmon fishery, the largest wild salmon resource in the world and all of the fishermen and processors who fish up here. Like the salmon many of these folks migrate each summer from various places around the USA, united in one common cause - fish'in for salmon.

However, there is one other common cause which unites many of the fishermen and why I have been commissioned to photograph this particular fishery and thats the proposed Pebble Mine Project. Just like Bristol Bay has the largest salmon resource in the world, Pebble Mine could, potentially, be the largest open pit mine in the world. My client, along with many other organisations, is working hard to prevent this mine from going ahead, not least because it threatens the future viability of the Bristol Bay Salmon fishery.

I'll be writing regularly over the next two months about my time up here so check back for updates and some introductions to interesting characters. In the meantime here is some background reading on the issues if your interested:

1. The Renewable Resources Coalition

2. The Pebble Partnership

3. Journeys Into the Pebble Mine Region

4. Truth About pebble

5. Save Bristol Bay

I have tried to give a balanced overview of attitudes towards the mine, if you take a look at all of these you'll notice that there are very mixed feelings.

More to come.......

Talking with Chefs

2008-05-27T10:03:00.003-07:00

I spent last weekend at Monterey Bay Aquarium's "Cooking for Solutions" event. Its three days of culinary indulgence as leading chefs prepare delicious food, wineries from up and down the west coast seduce you with their nectare and all the time surrounded by the magical underwater life of the aquarium. Sounds like a regular session of good old indulgence? Nearly, but there's more.

Cooking for Solutions brings together not only great chefs, foodies and the media but also a powerful assembly of conservationists and environmental scientists. The mission of the gathering is to emphasize that eating food and caring about the environment doesn't mean you have to be a vegetarian, or just eat lentils, far from it. In fact 'food' and 'sustainability' find a harmony that only makes food, real food that is, taste even more delicious and down right wholesome and fulfilling. When a chef is inspired by his or her ingredients' taste as much as by its sustainability, then you know you are in for a veritable extravaganza!

I was sent to the event by one of my NGO clients to video interview two chefs Barton Seaver, Executive Chef and Owner of Hook in Washington, DC and Rick Moonen of RM Seafood in Las Vegas. Both Barton and Rick are dedicated to sourcing and serving the most sustainable seafood they can get their hands on. Both Chefs are passionate about why they choose to serve sustainable seafood and more importantly why they are prepared to go the extra 100 miles to do so. The video interviews are full of inspiring messages and fascinating insights.....I'll be posting some of the footage in the coming weeks.

In the meantime check out these resources if your interested in eating seafood for the environment as much as for taste:

Blue Ocean Institute produces a guide to sustainable seafood. Its packed full of interesting information and will help you make healthier seafood choices, download it here

Blue Ocean also provides a great text messaging service for when your out and about called FISHPHONE. Text 'FISH' and the name of the species your about to eat to 30644 and within seconds you will receive a text message back with information on the species sustainability.

Environmental Defense has a great webpage on seafood contaminants and how much of each species you can safely eat per month, check it out here

Monterey Bay Aquarium has a great website to search for sustainable seafood options. Its comprehensive and easy to use, take a look here

And for all the culinary creatives Rick Moonen has a new book out this spring called "Fish Without a Doubt: The Cooks Essential Companion". Gourmet Magazine - Rick Moonen and Roy Finamore's book is inspiring, informative, and user-friendly—which is why we made it the first selection of the Gourmet Cookbook Club.

An Alaskan Wedding

2008-05-02T16:12:00.006-07:00

I shot a beautiful wedding a few weeks back up in Alaska, about an hour north of Anchorage in Wasila (see slideshow below). It was for some friends of ours, so I was both guest and shooter - a fun position to be in! I don't usually shoot weddings, but this one was a joy to photograph and even more of a joy to be part of. The sense of community and friendship was overwhelming. Brother-in-law tended the bbq and cooked the Alaska King Crab legs and steaks to perfection, whilst the best men shoveled hay onto the ground to soak up any melting snow. A best friend from down the road came a long with the sound system, his guitar and some incredible bear hunting stories - don't eat bear when the salmons running, you'll throw-up hardcore, so I'm told. Mums and dads prepared salads and tended to adventurous children. And a continual stream of people with stories like "I live just down the street by the fallen tree on the right, went ice fishing with Eric [the groom] a few weeks back" or "yeah me an Eric have been working tugboats together for a while now". They are folk that I can only imagine are some of Alaska's finest. In a state where so many of its inhabitants still have to fall back on the 'kindness of strangers' and who depend so intimately upon the close bonds of community it was an experience I shall never forget and a reminder of the 'good life'!

Some technical stuff:
I played around with a great piece of software to make the slide show below called Live Slideshow 3.0 (http://www.liveslideshow.com/) made by Totally Hip. Its an excellent application and both user and photographer friendly.

I don't know about anyone else but I have found trying to make slideshows of photographs hard. Not necessarily the putting together of them but making the image quality even remotely acceptable. Well here is one great solution (http://www.liveslideshow.com/) and its reasonably priced at $69.95, a nice find.

TUNA TIME: Greenpeace & the Conservation Toolbox

2008-05-02T15:02:00.005-07:00

Last night I was asked what I thought of Greenpeace. Simple question...? Yeah, simple question one might think, but a complex answer followed and an interesting discussion ensued.

The question is complex, for me however, because my wife and her families livelihood is based upon Alaska Salmon and my mother-in-law was at the Brussels seafood show this year, where an 80 person Greenpeace team caused quite a stir.

© Greenpeace / Philip Reynaers

So what do I think of Greenpeace? I've read a lot of negative press (mainly from fishery, industry based sources) and heard a lot of annoyed comments and frustrated remarks about Greenpeace's action last week. I'd like to raise two points:

1. We mustn't take Greenpeace out of conservation context!
There are many marine conservation organisations, Greenpeace included, who are working to save the oceans and the life that lives under and in it. Together those organisations make up a highly complex and interlinked 'toolbox'. Much like a mechanic can use many tools to solve a problem so too do environmental movements. For example, sometimes the mechanic gets out a mallet and whacks the stuck bolt as hard as hell to get it loose and get it to do what he wants. Other times he gets up close and personal with the stuck bolt and gently caresses it with some WD40 and then carefully selects the right wrench to work the nut on a one to one basis.

Conservation work, in my opinion, is exactly the same. Each conservation organisation has different ways of carrying out its work and reaching its goals. Each organisation represents a different tool in the toolbox or a different strategy for the mechanic. So when Greepeace desides to make a stirr, cause some havoc, gain media attention, annoy people, they aren't just trying to be vocal and draw attention to the cause, there is something deeper and more strategic in play. Greenpeace opens doors, heightens the intensity of dialogues and paves new ground for environmetal conciousness. The void that is left behind them is then open to other environmental groups, ones that will actually sit down and talk with industry and build partnerships to improve, as in this case, global fisheries. The environmental issues that span the globe are diverse and ubiquitous and require a diverse array of environmental groups to deal with them. Each with different strategies to suit the type of problem, the objective - desired outcome, and the locale - its socio-cultural and economic needs. The moment we take Greenpeace out of conservation context we've totally lost the point.

2. Evolving and adapting to environmental consciousness.
Is Greenpeace in tune with the evolving and increasing public environmental consciousness? Thats a question that I would love to discuss with someone. So if anyone finds this posting feel free to chip in.

I go backwards and forwards on this question. Greenpeace's activity serves a truly vital role in conservation by raising the issues and drawing attention to them, without such, many environmental issues would slip under the clamour of international media.

But at what cost? The past five years has seen huge advancements for the environment. Environmental issues now feature daily in mainstream media and discussion. Businesses and industry are slowly waking up to smell the 'bacon' and rightly or wrongly hopping on the band-wagon of 'greenism' (a discussion for another day - The Sustainability of 'Greenism': fashion, fade or paradigm?). The level of environmental awarness or perhaps the level of sophistication with which the average person or company now views environmental issues is increasing. Along with that hightened sense of the environment, our ecological footprint, and our understanding of planet earth comes an increased understanding of what needs to be done to over come these challenges.....and there in lies my point. Is Greenpeace keeping up with this level of understanding? Or by using environmental activist tactics of the 1980's alienating itself from people and industry? And what impact could such alienation have upon its legitimacy as a pioneering and progressive organisation?

I love Greenpeace and the work it has achieved over the years. But survival of the fittest is irrevocably tied to adaptation and evolution.

Who needs wisdom anyways...?

2008-05-02T13:40:00.005-07:00

Had my wisdom teeth taken out today, finally. I have had them since I was, well born I suppose, but visible and up to mischief since I was about 19. Seven years later they are out and good riddens to them.

I don't want to get into a rant about the health care system, but I am nothing but amazingly impressed by health care in the US. In England it would have taken about 9 months to have them taken out. Seeing dentists, waiting for referrals, waiting to see a consultant and then waiting for an available slot to have them extracted. All said it took two weeks in the US. It ain't free mind and can be extremely expensive, especially compared to our free but decrepit NHS.

Here's a picture of me wearing a strap-on cheek-chill system I rigged up to keep the doctor happy!

Edible Brooklyn & Edible Eastend Magazines

2008-04-19T19:47:00.014-07:00

Its mid-April and the spring issue Edible Magazines are out. This quarter I shot 5 articles, two for Edible Eastend and three for Edible Brooklyn. The magazines explore the deeper meaning of food and our food systems, and shed light on the green, sustainable, healthy (for us as well as the earth) aspects of good grub, definitely worth picking up a copy! And the great thing is the Edible Community spans America, if you haven't already you'll probably find an Edible .............. Magazine for your area.

Click here to find out where the nearest Edible Magazine is to you.

Grey Wolves No Longer Endangered

2008-04-19T18:35:00.009-07:00

I'm a little late to get to this one. But its a great story to start off this blog! The Grey Wolf is no longer endangered in the United States. What an achievement for conservation!

Wolves were once ubiquitous in the American West, but settlers and homesteaders who traveled west in search of they're own 160 acres made short work of the keystone species. By 1923 there were no wolves left in the Yellowstone region and in 1973 when the Endangered Species Act came into law only a handful of wolves remained in in Northern Michigan and Minnesota. What ensued was a series of intense debates in the struggle to re-introduce wolves. It wasn't until 1995 that the first wolves were re-introduced to Yellowstone and Idaho.

Today the situation is very different. "The wolf population is doing great. The ESA [Endangered Species Act] worked. We've got a lot of wolves in a lot of places," said Ed Bangs, the wolf recovery co-ordinator for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. At the moment there are an estimated 1,500 wolves in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

Unfortunately the story doesn't end with a simple pat on the back for conservation and government intervention. No longer endangered means that the Grey Wolf can now legally be hunted. As a result some conservation groups are not happy, some even plan to sue the government, fearing that farmers and cattlement will once again make short work of a predator they feel threatens their livestock. Interestingly Ed Bangs feels otherwise and is quoted in Time Magazine saying, "Those states [Idaho, Montana, Wyoming] have done a superb job of managing their deer, elk and bear. I expect they'll do the same for wolves. If they don't we'll take it back."

We are entering some new and exciting territory for conservation science here. We have managed to prevent a species from going extinct and are now faced with a new challenge, the challenge, I suppose, of post-endangered species management. How do we re-envision our relationship to a species once threatened and now 'saved'? Will Grey Wolves be forgotten until they are once again endangered? Or can humans live in relative harmony with a deeply mysterious and often misunderstood species? I'd love to know the answer to these questions because they lay at the heart of the human-nature relationship. Endangered or not it is essential that we live with instead of against the biodiversity that sustains us.