RGK Exhibiting at the Telluride Gallery of Fine Art

As many of you know from my previous postings, I will be teaching my final workshop of 2010 during the inaugural Telluride Photo Festival starting September 20th and running through the week. During the festival I will have a small exhibit of my Bristol Bay work at the Telluride Gallery of Fine Art.

On Friday evening, I will also lecture about the way I use my work to serve conservation purposes highlighting my current efforts to protect the wild salmon fishery of Bristol Bay from the disruption of the Pebble mine.

Because several of you have asked, the Telluride Gallery of Fine Art will also have a small inventory of my 16-color, lustrous silk scarf whose design has been derived from photographic imagery. There were only 200 of these scarves and shawls printed and they are nearly sold out, so remember, Christmas is just around the corner!

Telluride Gallery of Fine Art
130 East Colorado Avenue
PO Box 1900
Telluride, Colorado 81435
info@telluridegallery.com

AMERICAN PHOTO Magazine, Mar/Apr 2010 : MASTER SERIES NO. 5: ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM "A Voice in the Wilderness", by Russell Hart

Just updated part of my blog with the actual .pdfs of my American Photo magazine Master Series No. 5 article. Thanks again Russell!

http://rbtglennketchum.blogspot.com/p/american-photo-magazine-marapr-2010.html

AMERICAN PHOTO Magazine MASTER SERIES NO. 5: ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM 'A Voice in the Wilderness,' by Russell Hart Publication Date: Mar / Apr 2010 Photograph © 2010 Robert Glenn Ketchum 

 

#rgk 

#art #lbp

 

TIES and ESTC

Downtown Portland at Nightfall, taken from my iPhone...

 Recently I returned from Portland, OR where I attended The International Ecotourism Society's  (TIES) conference, 'Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference' or 'ESTC10' for short.  Founded in 1990, TIES has been in the forefront of the development of ecotourism, providing guidelines and standards, training, technical assistance, research and publications. TIES' global network of ecotourism professionals and travelers is leading the efforts to make tourism a viable tool for conservation, protection of bio-cultural diversity, and sustainable community development.

The ESTC is North America’s largest and only conference focusing on sustainability in the tourism industry.   My longtime friend and colleague, Hunter McIntosh, of The Boat Company, got me involved in a panel discussion at this year's ESTC.  

We participated in a panel discussion consisting of Hunter McIntosh of The Boat Company, Dave Parker or Orvis Travel, myself (Robert Glenn Ketchum) and Larry Edwards from Greenpeace USA.  The topic of the panel was 'How To Build Win-Win Partnerships For Your Business and Community'.

Specifically, I was at the conference to speak about my relationship with The Boat Company which goes back nearly 25-years. They supported my work in the Tongass and the distribution of the Tongass book on Capitol Hill as well as an exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History. Our working relationship is an example of a sustainable tourism business partnering with an individual through many different ways, but purposefully to protect the geographic area in which they were running their tourism business. Our partnership had many significant effects, not the least of which was helping to pass the largest timber reform bill in American history.

Oh, and by the way, The Boat Company is a non-profit educational organization offering luxury eco-cruises through Southeast Alaska. They specialize in treating the needs and wishes of each guest effortlessly. Hikers, fishermen, sightseers, and all sorts of outdoor adventurers are in heaven with The Boat Company.  I have been on their boats many times.  They are without a doubt one of the very best  ways you might ever see the Tongass. The dining, especially fresh catch is AWESOME.  The guides know all the secret trails and coves.  And... they can deal with your kids!  At 8  and 11, my two children did their first trip.  Now they are whining to go back.

#rgk

Join Robert Glenn Ketchum at the inaugural Telluride Photo Festival, September 20-26, 2010

The world's most renowned outdoor and adventure photographers will share their art and their passion at Telluride's first ever annual Photo Festival September 20 - 26, 2010. The weeklong event, geared toward professional and experienced amateur photographers, features photography workshops, seminars, symposiums, portfolio reviews and exhibits. Workshops will be conducted by iLCP Fellows Robert Glenn Ketchum,Jack Dykinga, Wendy Shatil, and Bob Rozinski. iLCP President, Cristina Mittermeier will be speaking at the festival, and an iLCP RAVE Retrospective exhibit will be on display.

 3-Day Workshop

Robert Glenn Ketchum - Scale And Color In The Landscape

The artist activist, Robert Glenn Ketchum, will take you beyond the mechanics of photography and into the mind's eye. He will show you how to better visualize to create more dramatic and impactful images of the natural world. Geared not just for the fine art photographer, this workshop can aid anyone looking to make better nature photos.

When: September 21-23, 2010

Photographer: Robert Glenn Ketchum

Workshop Title: Scale and Color In The Landscape

Length: 3 days

Attendees: 5 min/10 max

Location(s): Telluride Photo Festival

Price: $600* Receive a 10% discount off by booking thru ILCP

Description: Join Robert Glenn Ketchum, renowned conservation advocate and landscape photographer for his workshop, 'Scale and Color In The Landscape'. Robert will work with students, one-on-one, to assist you in creating dramatic images of the natural world. This class will help you understand the ideas and techniques of capturing the scale and size of large-scale landscapes through the lens. The grandeur of the landscapes around Telluride makes it the perfect place to do just this. Geared not just for the fine art photographer, this workshop can aid anyone looking to make better nature photographs. Robert will work with you to understand what you are trying to create with your images and what your personal photographic goals are. Students are encouraged to bring in portfolios of your work. During critique, Robert will help students understand better techniques of photographing, editing, and application to reach personal goals. Students should bring their portfolios, DSLR camera, tripod, laptop and the corresponding digital software and cables to download for critique.

about the Telluride Photo Festival, September 20-26, 2010

Telluride presents its first Photo Festival. It's an inspiring event to culminate the vibrant Telluride Colorado festival season.

The world's most renowned outdoor and adventure photographers will share their art and their passion at Telluride's inaugural Photography Festival September 20 - 26, 2010. The weeklong event, geared toward professional and experienced amateur photographers, features photography workshops, seminars, symposiums, portfolio reviews and exhibits.

The photo festival also seeks to foster the next generation of photographers by offering programs geared toward young people, as well as amateur and intermediate photographers.

Additionally, the public is invited to view and enjoy the many outdoor photography exhibits in and around Telluride and Mountain Village. The photo festival has something for every level of aptitude and appreciation. The photography festival is timed just right for photographers to capture the changing fall light and the aspens turning gold and blaze orange.

The Photography Festival is teaming up with the Ah Haa School for the Arts. The Ah Haa School is a community center of learning and culture and a Telluride icon for nearly two decades. Ah Haa will help promote the Festival and host a number of Festival events as well as the opening reception and gallery shows at the School's historic Depot building.

There is just no better place for a Photo Festival than Telluride. Tucked in a high mountain valley, Telluride is a dream playground for the adventurer and the photographer. Majestic peaks surround the town, once home to silver and gold prospectors. Weathered ruins of old mining operations dot the hillsides. Telluride is also home to a world-class ski resort. The area attracts mountain bikers, hang gliders, kayakers and climbers. Telluride is known worldwide for its summer festivals: the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Mountain Film, Blues and Brews, Wine Festival and the Telluride Film Festival.

Also it should be mentioned that the festival is within a half day trip of four National Parks--Mesa Verde, Arches, Canyonlands, and Capitol Reef--as well as several notable National Monuments and State Parks such as Hovenweep, Dead Horse Point, and The Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

#rgk

BBC Wildlife, September 2010, "THE PHOTOGRAPHS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD."

Be sure to pick-up a copy of this month's BBC Wildlife (September 2010).  They are featuring an article entitled, "THE PHOTOGRAPHS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD.  The International League of Conservation Photographers chooses 10 images that have really made a difference."

I'm honored to be included as one of the 10 photographers for this shot of mine taken in 1998.  This image is of Katmai National Park (Naknek Lake). Katmai is home to some of the most photographed bears in the world because of the famous falls viewing area where dozens of grizzlies congregate during salmon runs. Katmai park, and particularly its air and water quality will be impacted by the nearby development of the Pebble mine, proposed to be the largest open-pit copper and cyanide gold-leach mining complex in the world.:

The Iliuk Arm of Naknek Lake Katmai 1998  
Photograph © 2010 Robert Glenn Ketchum For Display Use Only, No Permission to Reproduce in Any Form

"Katmai National Park, where Ketchum took this picture, lies in southwest Alaska, a vast wilderness that once supported the richest, most productive salmon fishery in the history of the world.  Today, it is at risk from offshore oil drilling and a proposed gold mine in the headwater of Bristol Bay.

Earlier in Ketchum’s career, his landscape photos brought he plight of Alaska’s Tongass temperate rainforest, which was threatened by logging, to the attention of the US Congress.  Now conservationists hope that his images of Katmai National Park will be equally successful in protecting one of North America’s most pristine wild places from the ravages of industrial development."

#rgk

#no-pebble

Sustainable Seafood

Thanks to Ashley Koff Approved (AKA) for the nod on Good Morning America & HuffPost!
http://ht.ly/2kyS5 #rgk #no-pebble:

* * * * * * *

AKA Talks Sustainable Seafood on Good Morning America (VIDEO)
by Ashley Koff, Dietitian, AshleyKoffApproved, AOL Wellness Expert, GMA Health, Best LA nutritionists 3 years (Posted: August 3, 2010 04:44pm)

This spring, a confluence of events has exponentially increased my passion for saving our oceans, and those that inhabit them. I was invited to Monterrey Bay Aquarium (if you've never been, run there ASAP!) for their annual media conference on Sustainable Seafood (Cooking Solutions). 

I learned so much about the innovative and intensive efforts that chefs, food companies and farmers are doing to save and improve our waters. In April, I held a panel for the media on Fish Oil/Omega 3 supplementation as a means to explore what's good (purity), what's different (wild Alaskan salmon oil versus Peruvian anchovy and sardines) and how should we define "sustainable."

Did you know that 30 percent of fish caught today goes to making fish meal/fish oil -- which largely goes to feeding farmed fish and livestock. In May, I attended an evening at the NRDC where I met and listened to greats such as lawyer Robert Kennedy Jr., photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum, and a native Alaskan gentlemen speak on the threats to Alaskan waters, all the salmon, and even American liberties presented by the impending Pebble (gold/copper) Mine seeking to open at the top of Bristol Bay. Last month, I had the trip of a lifetime to Bristol Bay, Alaska (the Royal Coachman Lodge specifically) to see the wild salmon run. I've become an avid fly fisherwoman (this bespeaks nothing of my talent, but that's why I like fly fishing, it's not something one does to "get good"). Catching, holding and releasing these fish, watching the bears, moose, eagles and flies all vie for Mother Nature's attention -- well it's impactful on the psyche and in my case, the profession.

Which leads me to Seafood Watch and my generous teachers at Monterrey Bay Aquarium (remember, I said run there soon!). They've worked so hard to give us a great gift -- not only to help raise awareness of what sustainable seafood is, but give us tools to "walk the walk" or better said "buy the right catch." Today, in my segment on GMA Health, I attempted to synthesize their information and tools to show you how, like me, if you choose to eat seafood, you can make the sustainable choice.

Buying and eating the right seafood does make a difference, as does telling chefs and local markets about the Seafood Watch program (Trout Unlimited calls this "voting with your fork.") Another great way to support sustainable seafood is to join me in signing on to a letter to our government imploring them to intervene and stop Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska -- unlike the Gulf "spill" -- letting this happen would be no accident and the resulting dumping of waste/toxins, habitat destruction, and long-term job losses for Alaskans will be epic. Learn more at:  www.whywild.org and www.savebristolbay.org

Thanks to AKA for the nod on Good Morning America & HuffPost! http://ht.ly/2kyS5 #rgk #no-pebble

Congrats to the Black Eyed Peas!

I would like to congratulate the Black Eyed Peas and their fans for making their song, "I Gotta Feeling", the first song to reach 6-MILLION digital downloads!

The Peas are songwriters that represent a hope for the future that I share and few other bands address, "One World", and they rock-the-house with good vibes preaching their words.

For me, it is about time someone parties-on with positive energy instead of self-preening, misogyny, eminent doom, or bondage/lingerie videos. I honor the fans also because they not only respond to the band and the message, they BOUGHT the download and honored the artists with their purchase. One World, indeed, I hope that includes our planet.

Go Black Eyed Peas!

#rgk

James Balog & the Extreme Ice Survey (EIS)

As the accompanying article explains, in Greenland on July 6-7, satellite imagery revealed one of the largest glacial calvings ever documented. A 2.7-square-mile chunk of Greenland’s Jakobshavn Isbrae glacier, one-eighth the size of New York’s Manhattan Island, broke off into the ocean!

At the risk of being called an alarmist frightened by the unknown aspects and scale of potential climate change, I think this event might be related. But rather than digress into whether this is 'natural' or not, it is the perfect opportunity to introduce you to another friend and iLCP Fellow, Jim Balog. Jim has worked for years as a photojournalist reporting on natural disasters such as the tsunami in Indonesia and global climate change. He has also done remarkable portrait work of animals and great trees, published as the books ANIMAL and TREE.

In Jim's words, however, he has always been frustrated that global warming is a difficult thing to depict. Then he had a truly genius idea. Working with many sponsors and help from tech staff at National Geographic, Jim developed digital camera systems that drew solar power into a weather-protected housing where a perpetually-charged camera was shooting still imagery every so many designated hours of each day. These boxed camera systems were then bolted onto the fiord walls of significant retreating glaciers all over the world as part of an ongoing project called the Extreme Ice Survey (EIS). Several times a year the digital file card is collected from each of the cameras and all of the single images are 'morphed' into flickering motion films of the glaciers 'in action', so to speak. You need to see these images.  See Jim's Extreme Ice Survey (EIS) video and time-lapse gallery here.  Be patient. They load slowly because there is SO much information. Watch them several times. After seeing the obvious back-and-forth of the ice and the calving, spend time watching the 'flow' of ice in the field behind the calving walls. In this particular Greenland glacier timelapse video you can see the entire icecap pouring over the top of the fiord and descending down onto the glacier, pushing it forward.

GL-05 Ilulissat Glacier from Extreme Ice Survey on Vimeo.

There before your eyes, the icecap/icefield is feeding the glacier, which in turn is calving immense amounts of ice into the Atlantic.

Freaking Amazing!!!!!! This is not my definition of the term 'glacial' - suggesting something moving slowly.

Jim has cameras in the fiord of the glacier that is featured above. He probably has some amazing images from this event that have not yet been collected and posted, but he does add new things all of the time and his site NEVER ceases to startle me about the REALITIES of climate change. If you don¹' believe things are changing RAPIDLY, this might cause you to reconsider. Please enjoy the visual journey of my Fellow iLCP photographer, Jim Balog, and check out his books as well.

#rgk

Save Bristol Bay - Say 'NO' to the Pebble mine!

More than 9,000 cubic meters of waste water penetrated a sewage tank and flowed through a drainage culvert into the Tingjiang River. Photograph © 2010 What's On Xiamen, Inc.

SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE BY SIGNING THIS NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL (NRDC) PETITION!

Understandably, Americans are currently focused on the Gulf oil spill and the damage it is doing to one of our most productive fisheries. Less noticed by our media, in Fujian province in China the countries largest copper plant leaked 2.4 million gallons of acidic copper waste into the Ting river threatening that fishery and killing enough fish to feed 72,000 people for one year.

The polluted water devastated fish farms near the river. 
 Photograph © 2010 /CFP   
SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE BY SIGNING THIS NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL (NRDC) PETITION!

There are only so many wild, clean fisheries and supportive habitats left.  We seem to be damaging or outright destroying them on a very large, global scale. In North America, Bristol Bay and southwest Alaska remain one of the most productive, bio-diverse and intact systems on the planet and it is ours to nurture or destroy. The Obama administration has taken Bristol Bay out of consideration for oil and gas exploration, but a Canadian mining consortium that includes Mitsubishi and is backed by European gold and copper speculators plans to build the Pebble. Proposed to be the largest open-pit copper and cyanide gold-leach mine in the world, it would create a mega-mine complex or roads, structures and tailings ponds in the middle of the most important headwaters in the southwest Alaska fishery habitat and directly between two national parks.

Shanghang county workers collecting water samples.  
Photograph © 2010 /CFP  
SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE BY SIGNING THIS NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL (NRDC) PETITION!

Why would we compromise this extraordinary American food resource for foreign profiteering? Who will pay to clean the site after it closes? The copper acid and cyanide slurry lake left after the mine leaves will have to be 'perpetually impounded' by a dam larger then Three Rivers Gorge in China. As southwest and the Alaska Range are one of the most seismically active areas of the world and it also rains a lot, how long before this lake is breached or overflows becoming yet another news story like the Ting river? Don't let this happen to our American food resources, they grow more precious every day!

Photograph © 2010 Robert Glenn Ketchum

SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE BY SIGNING THIS NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL (NRDC) PETITION!

#rgk

Photo of the Week

Photograph © 2010 Robert Glenn Ketchum 

From the book, Robert Glenn Ketchum, 'The Legacy of Wildness', Preface by Robert Redford

Just Say 'No'... to the Pebble mine

Photograph © 2010 Robert Glenn Ketchum

Finally the public may get some chance to have an opinion about this use of THEIR resources!

Opponents of proposed Alaska (Pebble) mine score in court:
http://ht.ly/2b35G

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Opponents of a huge copper and gold mine being developed in Alaska near some of the world's most productive wild salmon streams have scored a court victory.

An Anchorage Superior Court judge issued a decision Monday clearing the way for a trial to challenge state permits for the Pebble Mine being developed by Canada's Northern Dynasty Minerals and London-based Anglo American.

The lawsuit alleges that the state issued the permits in July 2009 without looking at the harm that could be done to public resources, and it claims that's a violation of the Alaska Constitution.

Judge Eric A. Aarseth found that the Department of Environmental Resources should have considered certain constitutional issues before issuing the permits.

The trial is scheduled for Dec. 6.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

#rgk #earth

Photo of the Week

Photograph © 2010 Robert Glenn Ketchum

The Art of Caring: A Look at Life Through Photography (Exhibit)

"Care For Earth" Photograph © 2010 Robert Glenn Ketchum

July 9 - September 19, 2010
Group Exhibition:  "The Art of Caring: A Look at Life Through Photography"
Cincinnati Museum Center

Like love, catastrophe can unite hearts—as the New Orleans Museum of Art discovered when it reached out to willing friends, local and national, to help produce its most powerfully ambitious photo exhibition since Hurricane Katrina. 

This traveling group exhibit  is comprised of more than 200 works exploring the moments that shape our being, from intimate memories to historic tragedies. It shows the healing, motivating power of connection at every stage of life (Children and Family, Love, Wellness, Disaster, Caregiving and Healing, Aging and Remembering), through intensely moving images by artists as diverse as  myself, Robert Glenn Ketchum, Tina Barney and Sebastião Salgado, Dorothea Lange and Annie Leibovitz, Lee Friedlander and Sally Mann.

Visit cincymuseum.org for a schedule of events and details. Admission to the exhibit is included with the purchase of a ticket to the Cincinnati History Museum.

July 9 - September 19, 2010
Group Exhibition:  "The Art of Caring: A Look at Life Through Photography"
Cincinnati Museum Center
1301 Western Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45203
+1.513.287.7043
www.library.cincymuseum.org
http://www.cincymuseum.org/explore_our_sites/special_exhibits_events/coming_soon/

#rgk

Congratulations Daniel Beltrá On A Meaningful Life!

Photograph © Daniel Beltrá

Most of you know that I helped to found the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP). We created ourselves to drive forward issues our works address. By working together we have greater strength, a larger audience -- and hopefully -- more immediate results. My Fellows are not just ‘other’ photographers working as I do, they are some of the most inventive, articulate artists I have met, and most importantly, these artists are doing their work in hopes of changing the human condition, not just to have a private conversation with a few museum curators and a handful of collectors.

Photograph © Daniel Beltrá

I am going to introduce you to some of them through this blog, so I hope you will enjoy these friends as much as I do. The first is Daniel Beltrá. Daniel has been on the frontlines of many topical issues – he was just in the gulf – but the work he has done on the burning and deforestation of tropical rainforests is signature.

Photograph © Daniel Beltrá

Daniel is being featured this month in Photo Media magazine, "Daniel Beltrá: A Meaningful Life" by Hermon Joyner with some excellent reproductions.  In addition, Daniel  has work and links at the iLCP website, and you may also peruse his own interactive website, Daniel Beltrá. Be sure to look at some of the equally interesting video. His images of forest destruction, to me, are some of the most iconic ever created.

Photograph © Daniel Beltrá

Photograph © Daniel Beltrá

#rgk