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Friday, December 25, 2015

Weekly Post: CHINA Travels Since 1985 by Robert Glenn Ketchum

Traveling in CHINA Since 1985 by Robert Glenn Ketchum

During the reign of Mao (1949-1976), China was a closed country. China in the 1980’s was 80% rural, with no outside visitors, particularly from the West. When China opened to travelers, the Chinese government placed severe limitations on who was allowed to enter the country. Earthwatch was one organization that allowed foreigners to visit China without going through too much red-tape. These photographs are a first glimpse into China in the mid-1980’s by world-renowned Conservation Photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum. 



Friday, December 25, 2015

Traveling in China Since 1985, #163
CHINA #163:   Where once there were rural farming communes, there were now destination resorts. This is the lobby of the hotel in which we had lunch. You are looking at some corporate scale art here: the carved marble on the wall clearly represents waves. That other "stuff" - the "little brown things" - those are individually carved fish on fine strings hanging from the ceiling in front of the wall. When doors open in various parts of the vast lobby, breezes cause the fish to change direction and "swim in schools." The meal was equally over-the-top. You will see many modern and exotic hotels and other architecture in my two blog posts:  Shanghai - Oz of the Orient and Suzhou - 1985 to Present, so I will go no further here. In fact, I am ending this particular blog which I hope you have enjoyed AND I am launching a new blog to replace this - not about China, but about the beginnings of my career. LIMEKILN CREEK: Where It All Began will drop the first Tuesday of 2016. The story starts with a drive home from the @MontereyPopFest in 1967 that includes a camping trip in the redwoods, and a life changing realization about myself and my work. It is a story about nature, photography, AND self-discovery. I hope you will follow this blog.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd #China #Suzhou

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Monday, October 19, 2015

What Would Defense Secretary Cohen Have Done With His "Independent" Pebble Mine Report? by Joel Reynolds


What Would Defense Secretary Cohen Have Done With His "Independent" Pebble Mine Report?

In the latest installment in the saga of the embattled Pebble Mine, there is inescapable irony in last week's release of The Pebble Partnership-funded "independent" report by former Defense Secretary William Cohen and his firm The Cohen Group. Based on a brief, undefined investigation, Secretary Cohen concluded to no one's surprise that his client has been unfairly treated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in its federal Clean Water Act review of the mining project - just as his client has argued for years.

Monday, October 12, 2015

Pebble Mine's William Cohen PR Stunt: Follow the Money


Pebble Mine's William Cohen PR Stunt: Follow the Money
by Joel Reynolds
Western Director and Senior attorney, NRDC, Los Angeles
Posted: 10/07/2015 5:55 pm EDT Updated: 10/07/2015 7:59 pm EDT

It's easy to understand why the cash-starved Pebble Partnership, now just a single small Canadian exploration company called Northern Dynasty Minerals, would hire former Defense Secretary William Cohen to review EPA's proposed restriction of Pebble's planned massive copper and gold mine in Alaska's Bristol Bay region -- and then try to pass that review off as "independent." Pebble wants to prolong the life of its all but dead mining scheme in the hope that it can turn its shareholders' virtually worthless shares into something valuable enough to sell -- and salvage some kind of return on their investment.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Mandalac Gardens by Robert Glenn Ketchum



From August 11 - September 27, I will be exhibiting new work, MANDALAC GARDENS, at The G2 Gallery in Venice, California. This Constant Contact is background information about my color print-making history in general. and how it has lead me to this new series of "prints." I have also included all 9 of the images that will be in the exhibit, so please give this a read and enjoy the "show."

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Cont., Tatshenshini by Robert Glenn Ketchum

TATSHENSHINI:  Saving a River Wild by Robert Glenn Ketchum

In 1990, I was invited on a 10-day float down the Tatshenshini, a huge river system flowing from Western Canada to the Pacific Ocean that literally divides two of North America's largest national parks, Canada's Kluane National Park and Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park. A gold mine was being proposed mid-river. I broke the story in LIFE magazine. There were many other articles and a book. The mine was never developed and the river is now a wilderness corridor. This is a conservation SUCCESS story!


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Due to the size and quality of the photos included in this blog, and as too many photos tend to slow a blog down, we have opted to host these previous entries on a separate post in order to best optimize your reading experience. Enjoy!

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Wednesday, August 5, 2015

TATSHENSHINI:  Saving a River Wild, #61
TATSHENSHINI:  Saving a River Wild, #61:  @Pentax had become a sponsor of my work and they continued their support by sending me their new medium format 645 camera when it was first introduced. Since I used the larger 6x7 successfully in the field, initially I saw no reason to work with that smaller camera, BUT on this trip I knew I would be in motion on the river and up in the plane, and the 6x7 really demanded working from a tripod. For this trip, I would need a hand-held camera, so it became time to field-tested the #Pentax645. The results of the shoot were BEAUTIFUL (as I hope you agree), so immediately I took the work to New York seeking a “big story” picture magazine spread in a REALLY national publication. @Audubon published a great number of extended photo features, but oddly showed NO interest. @LIFE magazine, on the other hand, responded immediately and in their May, 1991, issue ran a 4-page/5-picture story entitled, "Lost Horizons," that helped create interest from other numerous publications, and A LOT of momentum for a campaign to prevent the mine.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd #Tatshenshini @glacierbaynps @Life @Wilderness #WeAreTheWild @nature_AK

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Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Cont., Tracy Arm by Robert Glenn Ketchum

Continued,
TRACY ARM WILDERNESS - An Alaskan Kayak "Trip" Through Time by Robert Glenn Ketchum

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act (#Wilderness), this new blog focuses on a wilderness area in the #Tongass rainforest of southeast Alaska. This is the tale of a 10-day kayak trip - a testament to WHY wilderness is important, by world-renowned Conservation Photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum.





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Due to the size and quality of the photos included in this blog, and as too many photos tend to slow a blog down, we have opted to host these previous entries on a separate post in order to best optimize your reading experience. Enjoy!
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Tuesday, August 4, 2015

TRACY ARM Wilderness - An Alaskan Kayak "Trip" Through Time, #50
TRACY ARM Wilderness - An Alaskan Kayak "Trip" Through Time, #50:  The only remaining part of camp you have not seen is the tent-site for myself and Carey. Russell’s tent was situated above the tideline between large rocks and the hillside (see post #48), which caused him to be angled slightly upslope, BUT out of the reach of the water. There was little else useable around that part of camp because the boulders were so large, SO Carey and I went, literally, OUT INTO THE RIVER! The powerful waterfall coming out of the valley and down to the tideline had built a sandbar/boulder “dome” in the middle of the river at peak flood. It was safely above the tideline, and at it’s highest point was quite sandy with just a few smaller rocks. Carey and I cleared enough of them to create a comfortable, tent-sized platform. The one drawback to our location was that the river split and went around both sides of our dome of boulders, so we had to navigate several stream crossings to get to the kitchen and our gear.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd @Wilderness #Wilderness #Tongass

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Monday, August 10, 2015

Cont., Hudson River by Robert Glenn Ketchum

by Robert Glenn Ketchum


This is the story of my first major commission and book, THE HUDSON RIVER AND THE HIGHLANDS (Aperture, 1985). In 1984, #StephenShore, #WilliamClift, and I received a 2-year commission from the Lila Acheson Wallace Fund to photograph the #HudsonRiverValley. This blog tells the tale of the book, with many photos not seen before. Enjoy!


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Due to the size and quality of the photos included in this blog, and as too many photos tend to slow a blog down, we have opted to host these previous entries on a separate post in order to best optimize your reading experience. Enjoy!
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Monday, July 6, 2015

THE HUDSON RIVER AND THE HIGHLANDS #144:
HUDSON RIVER #144:   #Harriman State Park, in particular, is a spectacle of Eastern, deciduous woodlands. Challenging topography, swamps, bogs, lakes everywhere, and dense forests make Harriman a wonderful place to wander, but as with the not-too-well marked dirt roads, one can easily get lost walking. Even in the winter when most of the trees are leafless, line-of-sight in any direction may only be a few hundred feet. When the trees leaf-out even the sky disappears. As a photographer, I loved this environment but it gave me a whole new respect for navigation with a compass. I suppose if I were on this #HudsonRiver commission today, I would be using the GPS on my #iPhone6+. Hell, I would be using the iPhone6+camera as well! Toss the medium format, the tripod, and those rolls of film that often had to be changed in the pouring rain.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd @Wallacefdn @Aperturefnd @PentaxOnline
SOCIAL MEDIA by #LittleBearProd: http://www.LittleBearProd.com
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Friday, August 7, 2015

Cont., China by Robert Glenn Ketchum

Continued,
Traveling in CHINA Since 1985 by Robert Glenn Ketchum

During the reign of Mao (1949-1976), China was a closed country. China in the 1980’s was 80% rural, with no outside visitors, particularly from the West. When China opened to travelers, the Chinese government placed severe limitations on who was allowed to enter the country. Earthwatch was one organization that allowed foreigners to visit China without going through too much red-tape. These photographs are a first glimpse into China in the mid-1980’s by world-renowned Conservation Photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum. 


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Due to the size and quality of the photos included in this blog, and as too many photos tend to slow a blog down, we have opted to host these previous entries on a separate post in order to best optimize your reading experience. Enjoy! *******


Friday, May 29, 2015

Traveling in China Since 1985, #133
CHINA #133:   I've used the term “compound” to describe the #ZhuangyanMansion because it WAS a complex house of interconnected rooms, staircases, terraces surrounded by gardens, and a considerable outer wall. Because it was designed to protect the wealth, and family, of the owner -- besides the hidden room for valued objects and the escape passage to the lake -- the house itself was like a maze, and intentionally confusing to navigate. This #architecture was NOT random. Every twist-and-turn had some purpose, and best of all, every terrace had a view, and a breeze. One could watch for approaching enemies, while cooling off, and having tea!

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Cont., Shanghai by Robert Glenn Ketchum

Continued,
SHANGHAI, OZ of the Orient by Robert Glenn Ketchum

During the reign of Mao (1949-1976), China was a closed country. China in the 1980’s was 80% rural, with no outside visitors, particularly from the West. When China opened to travelers, the Chinese government placed severe limitations on who was allowed to enter the country. These photographs are a continuation of other ongoing blog threads of the first glimpses into China in the mid-1980’s by world-renowned Conservation Photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum.

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Due to the size and quality of the photos included in this blog, and as too many photos tend to slow a blog down, we have opted to host these previous entries on a separate post in order to best optimize your reading experience. Enjoy!
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Friday, May 29, 2015


SHANGHAI, OZ of the Orient, #66
SHANGHAI, OZ of the Orient #66 - 1985 to the Present:  In post #19, I photographed school children in bright uniforms walking down a city street in #Shanghai, circa 1986. As I have said before, as much as things change, some things remain the same. Here in 2002, under the shadow of the #PearlTower, are hordes of school children in bright uniforms.  They are enjoying the sun and river views from the new #Pudong shoreline esplanade, while eating their lunch in this pleasant river park. In case you are curious, different colors in the same school define classes/ages. Different -- more colorful -- combinations in the uniform indicate completely different schools. Apparently it's helpful when there are as many as one hundred VERY energetic children you are trying to organize!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd #China #Shanghai

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Thursday, August 6, 2015

Cont., Suzhou by Robert Glenn Ketchum

Welcome to Suzhou, 1985 - to the present by Robert Glenn Ketchum

During the reign of Mao (1949-1976), China was a closed country. China in the 1980’s was 80% rural, with no outside visitors, particularly from the West. When China opened to travelers, the Chinese government placed severe limitations on who was allowed to enter the country. These photographs are a continuation of other ongoing blog threads of the first glimpses into China in the mid-1980’s by world-renowned Conservation Photographer 
Robert Glenn Ketchum.


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Due to the size and quality of the photos included in this blog, and as too many photos tend to slow a blog down, we have opted to host these previous entries on a separate post in order to best optimize your reading experience. Enjoy! *******


Thursday, May 28, 2015


Welcome to Suzhou, 1985 - to the present, #67
Suzhou #67:   In the emergence of the New #China, the government was very careful to “manage” the national image; BOTH as seen from outside, AND as seen by the #Chinese themselves. Given the exhibit's expansive view of recent Chinese history, pictures that were politically objectionable to the new Chinese government were inevitable. There were numerous “historical” photos of #Mao, some of them very casual, such as him swimming with a group of friends, that drew no attention at all. However, other images, like this one from Robert Capa in 1938 were seen as moments and relationships the government preferred NOT to acknowledge in such a public exhibition.
ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd #China #Suzhou

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Cont., SILK ROAD Embroideries (#1-123) of Robert Glenn Ketchum

Continued... Embroideries #1-123

Silk Road - Embroideries of Robert Glenn Ketchum

The city of Suzhou, China, produced China's most beautiful silk and silk embroidery practiced by generational families for 3,000 years. My purpose in going to China starting in the mid-1980's was to turn my photographs into textiles, and this is my story. 
~Robert Glenn Ketchum


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Due to the size and quality of the photos included in this blog, and as too many photos tend to slow a blog down, we have opted to host these previous entries on a separate post in order to best optimize your reading experience. Enjoy!
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Thursday, May 28, 2015


Silk Road - Embroideries #123
SILK ROAD #123:   So, here are 2-of-the-4 panels of “Emperor Kangxi’s Inspection Tour of Southern China.” What you are looking at is about 10-1/2-feet long, and 2-feet tall; all stitched with human hair! What you saw in previous posts were details from these two panels. Post #120 (of the bridge) can be located in the middle, right of the right-hand panel. Post #122 is in the lower-right of the left-hand panel. As you can see, the detail sections I presented are barely 20% of their overall panel. Now extrapolate those minutiae of stitches across this entire piece: OMG!!! EVEN MORE AMAZINGLY, this “aerial” view is architecturally accurate. In 1986, I could still recognize bridges, historic gates, and walls, and the layout of certain neighborhoods! More than likely, the artist commissioned by the court to create this work in 1689 was in a pagoda tower, or on a hill above the city in order to correctly represent this POV.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd #Embroidery @WesCFA @RSSDesigns
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Thursday, July 2, 2015

TELL THE PEBBLE PARTNERSHIP TO CALL IT QUITS

The fight to stop the Pebble Mine goes on -- but the battlefront has moved from the U.S. EPA to the courtroom and beyond as we escalate massive nationwide pressure on Northern Dynasty Minerals, the last company standing behind the disastrous venture, to call it quits.

Over the last two weeks, NRDC ran a series of hard-hitting, full-page print ads in Washington urging the Pebble Partnership -- Northern Dynasty's legal entity -- to walk away from Pebble Mine. The EPA has confirmed that this gargantuan open-pit, gold and copper operation -- along with its estimated 10 billion tons of toxic mining waste -- carries catastrophic risk for Bristol Bay, its world-class salmon fishery, its pristine environment and its people.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Saying Goodbye to Bobby Andrew, Defender of Bristol Bay by Joel Reynolds

Saying Goodbye to Bobby Andrew, Defender of Bristol

Bay
by Joel Reynolds, Western Director and Senior attorney, NRDC, Los Angeles

I didn't expect the Pebble Mine would outlast Bobby Andrew. He was a fighter who never seemed to get tired. Over 70 years old, and he was always willing to make the trip - whatever the trip, wherever it took him -- to talk, to testify, to tell the terrible story of the uniquely reckless scheme by international mining giants to poison the communities and wild salmon fisheries of Alaska's Bristol Bay with a gigantic copper and gold mine.

photograph © copyright, Natural Resources Defense Council 2015 @NRDC @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd 
At the age of 72, Bobby died last month, and the traditional Russian Orthodox 40th Day service occurs this week, when his soul is released from the Earth. When he talked, people listened, because there was no denying his personal stake, his authenticity, his legitimacy in representing the people of Bristol Bay. He was a Yupik elder and a member of the Ekwok Tribe, longtime spokesperson for Nunamta Aulukestai, a life-time subsistence and commercial fisherman, born in Alegnagik, near Dillingham -- and he looked the part. The determined and immovable opposition of Alaska Natives to the Pebble Mine was reflected in his face -- serious, resolute, even angry - and he was repeatedly featured in full page ads around the world as the face of the regional coalition against the Pebble Mine.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

National Wilderness Conference

The other recent event celebrating the 50th Anniversary of The Wilderness Act I participated in was National Wilderness Conference in Albuquerque, NM. Organized by all of the collective federal agencies that manage wilderness lands, this was a multi-day event featuring numerous presentations and distinguished speakers such as Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, author Terry Tempest Williams, and Senator Tom Udall. I was asked to be an "inspirational" closing keynote speaker, along with my old friend, Dave Foreman, author of Ecodefense: A Field Guide to Monkeywrenching, and co-founder of Earth First!, the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and  most recently, the Rewilding Institute

Dave Foreman, EcoWarrior, and Robert Glenn Ketchum, Conservation Photographer
Dave Foreman, Environmentalist, and Robert Glenn Ketchum, Conservation Photographer, 2014

Monday, January 26, 2015

50th Anniversary of The Wilderness Act

As I mentioned previously, 2014-2015 is the 50th Anniversary of The Wilderness Act. There were many celebrations of this, and I took part in two of them which have some interesting links I have provided here for you to enjoy. 




The Crary Gallery in Philadelphia is in Warren County, near to Tionesta township and the Allegheny River. Tionesta was the home of Howard Zahniser who wrote the original Wilderness Act, so the Crary Gallery honored him by having a large exhibit of photographers whose work would show the breadth of wilderness in North America. Among them, I am the only photographer whose work has ever actually helped to create wilderness, so the curator honored the special nature of those images and included brief text / stories with the display. 

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!

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.

Monday, January 5, 2015

Pebble Mine 2014 Year in Review: "And Then There Were Lawyers . . . ."

Pebble Mine 2014 Year in Review: "And Then There Were Lawyers . . . ."
by Joel Reynolds
Western Director and Senior attorney, NRDC, Los Angeles
published in Huffington Post, Posted: 01/05/2015 1:58 pm EST

When someday the story of the Pebble Mine is told, 2014 may be best remembered as the year when all that remained of the once formidable Pebble Partnership was a bunch of lawyers for hire. By the end of 2014, all of the mining giants and their funding - Mitsubishi, Anglo American, and Rio Tinto - were gone, leaving only Northern Dynasty Minerals to keep the reckless vision of the Pebble Mine alive. The Partnership's new CEO is a lawyer from the Washington, D.C. law firm of Steptoe and Johnson, and mining activities have ground to a halt.

Orvis Supports No Pebble Mine

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