Happy 2015 from Robert Glenn Ketchum!

I want to wish everyone Health, Happiness, and Prosperity for the New Year.  2015 is the Chinese year of The Sheep!   My Xmas / New Year's present came early and in a big package - PRESIDENT OBAMA PROTECTED BRISTOL BAY FROM ALL OIL AND GAS LEASING. I hope to ultimately see Bristol Bay have status as a protected commercial fishing reserve, yet this is a GREAT first step! GRAND AS THIS IS, HOWEVER, IT DOES NOT END THE PLANNED DEVELOPMENT OF THE HUGE OPEN PIT MINE IN THE BRISTOL BAY HEADWATERS, SO PLEASE CONTINUE TO BE VOCAL AND SAY "NO" TO THE PEBBLE MINE. No Pebble Mine! 2014-2015 also celebrates the 50th Anniversary of The Wilderness Act, and I participated in several events you will read about further in this mailing. In keeping with the idea of Xmas / New Year gifts from our President, I would also point out that while working on many other issues, President Obama has created 13 national monuments, and 6 new wilderness areas protecting more than 1.1 million acres of land. THESE ARE MY KINDS OF GIFTS, thank you VERY much Mr. President !!! Going forward into 2015, I know many of you are aware of my website (www.robertglennketchum.com) yet you may not be as familiar with my blog (www.rbtglennketchum.blogspot.com). If you enjoy my photography, you may also be curious about the background stories that created the pictures. Currently I'm posting 8 weekly story lines on my blog. In some cases I am revisiting old books and republishing them with an expanded selection of images. In other cases, I have built extended stories around major environmental campaigns in which I have been involved. One blog deals with the current NO PEBBLE MINE campaign, and 4 of the blogs cover my 30-years of travel in China. One of those is dedicated exclusively to the embroidery pieces I have created in Suzhou, and it features unique and previously unpublished detail images of the individual embroideries, as well as a discussion about the creation of each piece and what I / we were trying to accomplish. Below is my BLOG HOME PAGE where you will see all 8 of the stories unfolding. If you go to the TEXT TITLE of any one story and click on that title, it will take you to that story's SPECIFIC blog page. Scroll to the BOTTOM to start with the 1st image and story and read by scrolling up. Some of these blogs have been running for two years and have more than 120 images in them. I hope you will follow them occasionally, I try to infuse the stories with a good mix of camera / light / color discussions, travel journalism that is both advice and humorous, historical information about the subject, and a bit of my state-of-mind while doing the work... So please enjoy!    Happy New Year to you all!    ~RGK