Happy New Year Folks! I decided to continue the calendars as they were fun to do and I liked the monthly check in. Here’s a quick post of the January 2014 desktop image – free to use as a desktop all you’d like. I think I may try to add in non-distracting calendar “elements” at some point but January is so mixed up I’m not sure a calendar with days and things like holidays would help. Here’s the image for download.
Tag Archives: California
December Desktop Calendar & January 4 DSLR Workshop
I’ll be kicking off this December with a double-decker banana Sunday type blog post thingy… The December desktop calendar – celebrating family and the outdoors AND a formal announcement for a SF photography workshop for 5 people who want to learn how to get really great photos out of their DSLR.
Conservation Photography Workshop: A Day in Review
Stefan taking in the scrub and grassland interface.
We completed our 8 hour intensive conservation photography workshop hosted by the California Native Grasslands Association and I’m very happy to report that it was an absolutely wonderful day spent with inspired and interesting people (who love photography too!). Here are a few pics from the day and even one or two items about post processing that we went over. Thanks to everyone for such a great day. Continue reading
Photography Workshop Registration Closes Today
I’m very excited to be teaching a workshop on photography that is being sponsored by the California Native Grasslands Association.
The workshop is a full 8-hour engagement with myself and photographer Jim Coleman of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center. We will be catering specifically to thinking about outdoors photography with an eye on conservation and site documentation. That doesn’t mean we won’t offer some basic ideas, themes and concepts to improve anyone’s photography (and if I remembered half the things I teach, I’d be a better photographer too!). We only have a limited number of spots remaining (in keeping with our class size of less than 15)!
Northern Coast Portrait Bike Tour
I’m very lucky to have ambitious and inspired friends like Ryan. He constantly pushes all around him to make people more conscious, more involved, more informed, and more fit. Yes, more fit, might be the best description for a buddy who now has a term that describes the process wherein one begins a cursory run or bike ride only to realize that the perfunctory nature of the workout slowly morphs into a point-of-no-return epic endurance event.
Continue reading
My 100th post: Thoughts on Rain, Boundaries, Inspiration
A tribute to another photographer who sometimes had rain and sometimes sun. Either way he created amazing images from embracing nature. Into Yosemite Valley – circa 2010.
Rain is the force of life in Mediterranean climates. It’s not simply a thing that happens here or there – rather it defines wet and dry seasons. It creates possibilities for birds, worms and salmon alike. Today it’s raining here. It’s quite a surprise for the end of June, but I wanted to embrace it. It’s a beautiful caesura in the parching season of the hot, dry summer which is forecast for 2013. Enjoy the rain, the anomalous rain and all the life it brings at the most unpredictable moments. Continue reading
Celebrating Point Molate Through Art
I am very blessed to be taking part in a very unique conservation art show. This event is dedicated to celebrating an environment that was nearly lost to a poorly planned development. A citizens group from Richmond was one of the few advocates for protecting the Richmond shoreline. In what I would call the Golden Age of conservation in the Bay Area, most conservation organizations either supported developing the shoreline into a casino or quietly refused to comment. Conservation as a greater entity failed. I was angry, sad, and broken as I worked on this project as both a photographer and a conservation biologist.
The Biological Things Lech Does
My biological field experience is what eventually led me to pick up a camera and use it as a tool for conservation and awareness. I was first attracted to the idea of creating National Geographic style images. You know, eye candy (for plant nerds). Grand, sweeping landscapes that sing of feelings of vastness and purity. Those classic photos oftentimes are thought to create a feeling of wilderness – a landscape untouched by humankind.
As I work more and more as a restoration ecologist, I have come to realize that the hand of humankind is critical in maintaining so many species and landscapes we might perfunctorily believe are “liberated” or protected from humans. It is our hands that help protect these places. And I’m not talking about raising fences and locking gates, I’m talking managing invasive plants, rewarding sensitive ranching practices, and leading hikes to get more people hooked on nature. Continue reading
Cara and Zach – Napa Style Done Right!
I was recommended to Cara and Zach through mutual friends and it’s been nothing but fun from day 1 at Ben and Nicks. We shared a beverage and talked about the idea of a wedding, the role of photography and realized we would be a good match. These two are enviros to the core and I can’t tell you how great it was to be a part of their big day. They are both doing great things with their lives, spreading good will and advancing science. Congrats to them on throwing an amazing celebration with some of the kindest, warmest people I’ve ever interacted with.
Here is a brief spin through their amazing day at the Robert Young Estate Winery in Healdsburg. This venue was incredibly storybook-like with grapes, mountains and white picket fences. The staff was wonderfully warm and I enjoyed my time there greatly!
Pics after the jump – Continue reading
Conserving Natives – Both Plants and Knowledge
I was recently approached by a naturopathic physician about art for her healing space. I was immediately excited about the idea since she was also very interested in my ties to local botany and ecology. A match made in heaven – healing, botany, conservation. Yeah, sign me up!
Lech Naumovich Photography 