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Photography Collection From All Over The World
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BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is facing a cliffhanger vote next month that will test its global climate and environmental credentials, after its parliament was again deadlocked on pushing a nature restoration bill onwards on Tuesday.
The legislature’s environment committee emerged deadlocked at 44-44 on the plan to beef up the restoration of nature in the 27-nation bloc that was damaged during decades of industrial expansion. It means the full parliament will be asked to reject it.
“The fight is not over. We will do our utmost to rally forces throughout the hemicycle behind an ambitious law to the benefit of people and the planet,” said socialist S&D legislator Mohammed Chahim.
Tony Estanguet won gold medals for canoeing in the 2000, 2004 and 2012 Olympic Games. Now, the trim 45-year-old is the face and chief organizer of the 2024 Paris Games.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is insisting that right-wing populism won’t gain the upper hand in his country, days after a far-right party won control of a county administration for the first time since the Nazi era.
The U.K. government’s climate advisers have slammed officials for their slow pace in meeting their net zero target and backtracking on fossil fuel commitments.
Maltese lawmakers have unanimously approved legislation to ease the the strictest abortion laws in the European Union.
The parliament’s biggest group, the Christian Democrat EPP, has turned against the plan, arguing it is bad for embattled farmers and puts food security at risk at a time when the war in Ukraine has shown that strategic autonomy on foodstuffs can be essential.
The bill is a key part of the EU’s vaunted European Green Deal that seeks to set the globe’s best climate and biodiversity targets and make the bloc the point of reference on all climate issues. The plans proposed by the EU’s executive commission set binding restoration targets for specific habitats and species, with the aim by 2030 to cover at least 20% of the region’s land and sea areas.
The EU’s executive commission wants the nature restoration law to be a key part of the system since it is necessary for the overall deal to have the maximum input. Others also say that if the EU fails on the nature restoration law, it will be indicative of an overall fatigue when it comes to climate issues.
The Green Deal includes a wide range of measures, from reducing energy consumption to sharply cutting transportation emissions and reforming the EU’s trading system for greenhouse gases.
Last week, the EU governments already backed the plan but if the parliament rejects it at its June 101-13 plenary session, the bill would have to be fully reworked, and in essence, diluted at a time when scientists and international institutions like the United Nations call for extra efforts, not fewer.
Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
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One of my photography goals this spring was to capture a mother goose on her nest the day the goslings were hatched. It was not an easy task as the nest had to be in a location that was close enough to the road for me to use my vehicle as a blind. This would also allow me to condition the goose to my presence and she would become comfortable with me nearby in the vehicle. The other hard part was that goslings leave the nest about 24 hours after hatching, making timing a critical factor.
Geese usually nest on an “island” in the water, such as a muskrat house, where it is easier to defend and protect from predators. They usually hatch out in 28 days and after one day abandon the nest, never to return.
I spotted three nests near the road, and they were pretty much free of vegetation that would obstruct a good, clear shot. Two of the nests hatched and the geese left before I could try to photograph them.
The third nest was not too far from my house, so I could check it more often. Sometimes I parked nearby for awhile just so the goose would get used to my presence and act naturally. After a time she recognized me and would actually fall asleep with her head up while I was there. The gander also quieted down and quit honking and threatening me whenever I stopped by.
I had just returned from some errands and drove down to check the nest. Bang! There were three cute little yellow goslings next to the mother goose on the nest.
The lighting conditions were not good — I had to shoot into the evening light, which switched from overcast to sun constantly — but this was my chance.
The goslings quickly scooted back under mom for warmth and to snooze. The gander stood guard next to the muskrat house upon which the nest was made, and neither parent showed any alarm at my close presence.
Knowing the goslings would periodically come out from underneath mom and romp around her, I settled in for the wait. My hope was to eventually catch one of them poking his head out from between her body and wing.
As I sat in the comfort of my car (no hard seat or cramped blind today!) I thought about some other good shots I got from this spot while preparing the parent geese for my appearance. One morning as I pulled up to the spot, a little green heron flushed from the cattails and landed in a nearby tree. He stayed long enough to allow me a few good images. The next day he did the same thing and I got better shots.
Another day while “training” the geese, I saw a yellow flash in a bushy red maple tree between the goose nest and me. It was a yellow warbler looking for food in the tree. He darted around, making it almost impossible to get a good shot, but patience won out, eventually.
Then, suddenly, another bird showed up and the yellow warbler chased it off. Lucky for me it came back and turned out to be a yellow-rumped warbler, a bird I had not previous seen. It too eventually gave me a few good shots.
Other birds such as turkey vultures, ospreys, red-winged blackbirds and great blue herons also gave me good shots from this spot.
The morning after I photographed the goslings, I returned to that spot hoping to catch them again before they left, but with better lighting. As it turns out, I did, and I got better shots.
There was one egg left that I could see when the mother goose got up. The three goslings got very active and wanted to explore and so she covered that last egg (which I think was not fertile) and they left the nest that was on the muskrat house.
The parents brought the goslings up to the road edge, by me, to let them pick at insects and dirt. I felt privileged to witness this with the parents acting like I was not there. That is what makes nature photography so worthwhile for those of us who enjoy it and its challenges.
• • •
The snapping turtles are finishing their egg laying process, which has been ongoing since the beginning of the month. I have never seen so many snapping turtles in the Alabama Swamps, and their average size is much bigger, too. I believe the state needs to adjust its management plan on these guys soon or our local waterfowl production is going to take a big hit. Snapping turtles take a lot of young waterfowl and even the adults.
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One of my photography goals this spring was to capture a mother goose on her nest the day the goslings were hatched. It was not an easy task as the nest had to be in a location that was close enough to the road for me to use my vehicle as a blind. This would also allow me to condition the goose to my presence and she would become comfortable with me nearby in the vehicle. The other hard part was that goslings leave the nest about 24 hours after hatching, making timing a critical factor.
Geese usually nest on an “island” in the water, such as a muskrat house, where it is easier to defend and protect from predators. They usually hatch out in 28 days and after one day abandon the nest.
I spotted three nests near the road, and they were pretty much free of vegetation that would obstruct a good, clear shot. Two of the nests hatched and the geese left before I could try to photograph them.
The third nest was not too far from my house, so I could check it more often. Sometimes I parked nearby for awhile just so the goose would get used to my presence and act naturally. After a time she recognized me and would actually fall asleep with her head up while I was there. The gander also quieted down and quit honking and threatening me whenever I stopped by.
I had just returned from some errands and drove down to check the nest. Bang! There were three cute little yellow goslings next to the mother goose on the nest.
The lighting conditions were not good — I had to shoot into the evening light, which switched from overcast to sun constantly — but this was my chance.
Knowing the goslings would periodically come out from underneath mom and romp around her, I settled in for the wait. My hope was to eventually catch one of them poking his head out from between her body and wing.
As I sat in the comfort of my car I thought about some other good shots I got from this spot while preparing the parent geese for my appearance. One morning as I pulled up to the spot, a little green heron flushed from the cattails and landed in a nearby tree. He stayed long enough to allow me a few good images. The next day he did the same thing and I got better shots.
Another day while “training” the geese, I saw a yellow flash in a bushy red maple tree between the goose nest and me. It was a yellow warbler looking for food in the tree. He darted around, making it almost impossible to get a good shot, but patience won out, eventually.
Then, suddenly, another bird showed up and the yellow warbler chased it off. Lucky for me it came back and turned out to be a yellow-rumped warbler, a bird I had not previous seen. It too eventually gave me a few good shots.
Other birds such as turkey vultures, ospreys, red-winged blackbirds and great blue herons also gave me good shots from this spot.
The morning after I photographed the goslings, I returned to that spot hoping to catch them again before they left, but with better lighting. As it turns out, I did, and I got better shots.
There was one egg left that I could see when the mother goose got up. The three goslings got very active and wanted to explore and so she covered that last egg (which I think was not fertile) and they left the nest that was on the muskrat house.
The parents brought the goslings up to the road edge, by me, to let them pick at insects and dirt. I felt privileged to witness this with the parents acting like I was not there. That is what makes nature photography so worthwhile for those of us who enjoy it and its challenges.
Doug Domedion, outdoorsman and nature photographer, resides in Medina. Contact him at 585-798-4022 or [email protected].
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National parks are some of the most awe-inspiring places on
Earth. Whether you’re a nature lover or just looking for a break
from the hustle and bustle of daily life, resting in the lap of
nature is sure to leave you feeling inspired and refreshed.
With its breathtaking views, the national parks in Azerbaijan
and Hungary draw the attention of photographers, who want to
preserve these stunning landscapes and majestic creatures forever,
so that we may experience their beauty and wonder again and
again.
Azerbaijani-Hungarian nature photography showcases some of the
most spectacular sceneries.
Speaking with AZERNEWS, President of the Hungarian
Association of Nature Photographers (naturArt) Péter Fáth, gave a
brief on the association’s activities and shared the details of the
nature photography exhibition organized in Baku.
Q: Can you tell us about the history and main mission of
the Hungarian Nature Photographers’ Association? How has the
organization evolved over time?
A: Hungarian Association of Nature
Photographers (naturArt) has a long history, which spans 31 years.
The association includes 70 members. It is open for everyone, who
can take high-quality pictures and can join us.
Q: How did you come up with the idea to organize a
nature photography exhibition dedicated to national parks of
Azerbaijan and Hungary?
A: This initiative came from the Hungarian
Embassy in Baku, which enjoys strong cooperation with Azerbaijani
partners. The nature is beautiful both in Azerbaijan and Hungary.
You can see it through these photos.
Q: What can you say about any particularly striking or
memorable photos in the exhibition?
A: Well, it is very difficult to choose the
best one. We have been organizing the Nature Photographer of the
Year photo competition for almost 31 year. The exhibition includes
some of the best photo works presented at this competition. If I
had to pick one photo, it would be Csaba Daróczi’s War and Peace.
In 2019, this photo won CEWE Photo Award, known as the world’s
largest photo competition. The photo War and Peace was selected
from over 400,000 photos submitted to the contest.
Q: How do you hope the exhibition will raise awareness
about the importance of protecting national parks and the natural
world?
A: If people see the beauty of nature, then
there will be more people who want to visit national parks. Through
the exhibition, they will be able to see more natural wonders.
—
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
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Joel Sartore celebrated two very visible milestones last month.
The Lincoln-based National Geographic photographer added his 14,000th species to the National Geographic Photo Ark, a project he founded in 2005 to document Earth’s biodiversity. The stunning Indochinese green magpie named Jolie, now at the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, was one of only eight birds — out of 93 — to survive a flight from Vietnam in a wildlife trafficker’s suitcases in 2017.
Twenty of Sartore’s photos of endangered species from the Photo Ark were featured on a panel of U.S. postage stamps released to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. One, a piping plover, was photographed near Fremont, Nebraska.
But Sartore and his wife, Kathy, also have been quietly working on a less visible conservation project.
Over about the past dozen years, the couple have purchased about 5,700 acres of what Joel Sartore called “conservation land” — pastureland dotted with marshes, lakes and native grasses that are home to thousands of birds in warm months — in southern Sheridan County in Nebraska’s Sandhills.
They partner with a local ranch family with a similar conservation ethos. Jaclyn and Blaine Wilson, the daughter-father pair who operate the nearby Wilson Flying Diamond Ranch, and another family member lease and run cattle on the grazeable acres. The Wilson ranch was awarded Nebraska’s first-ever Leopold Conservation Award by the Sand County Foundation in 2006.
“It’s a lovely place, and it’s something I feel like I can do for conservation in a way that Photo Ark doesn’t do,” Sartore said. “This is real on-the-ground stuff.”
He and his wife, he said, have financed the purchases themselves by working hard and saving their money over the years. Sartore is known for his frugality and hard work; as a youth in Ralston, he worked at gas stations and a record store, mowed lawns and cleaned aquariums. Early in their marriage, he said, the couple bought, fixed up and sold two small farms in the Lincoln area, doing much of the work themselves.
The couple plan to put the land in trust so it’s maintained at its current level of use by people who have been there for generations, Sartore said. They also want to protect its abundant water from people who might come calling from drier regions.
“It’s a lifetime of work, and this is what we ended up with,” he said. “If we can afford it, we’d love to do it again.”
They also have purchased a couple of smaller conservation properties in eastern Nebraska — two small farms, one near Bennet and the other near Ceresco, as well as a pasture near Valparaiso. They’ve implemented conservation measures on all three, instituting rotational grazing on the pasture, as well as restoring ponds and planting native grasses and wildflowers for birds and pollinating insects.
But the bulk of their conservation purchases, he said, have been in Sheridan County. They bought their first pasture in the area in about 2011. They added larger parcels in 2019 and 2022, according to Sheridan County Assessor’s Office records, purchasing a total of about 4,400 acres for approximately $3.56 million.
Sartore said the couple focuses on wet ground — land a rancher can’t make much of a living on but that yields big conservation returns, land that provides habitat for waterfowl and upland ground for long-billed curlews, a species in decline. It’s also less costly acre-for-acre than farmland.
“These are not places you buy if you really want to invest your money,” he said.
Jaclyn Wilson recalls getting an email from Sartore in March 2020, about the time COVID-19 was taking off. Wilson, a fifth-generation rancher, knew who he was. Her grandparents gave her family a National Geographic subscription for Christmas each year. Its arrival in the mail was a monthly highlight.
In his email, Sartore counted himself among Wilson’s biggest fans. She has been writing opinion columns for the Midwest Messenger, an ag-focused publication, for more than a decade.
Wilson invited him to visit the ranch, and Sartore spent several days there in August 2020. He brought a biologist, and they collected insects, identifying 100-some species, including some new to the Photo Ark and a beetle that previously hadn’t been found that far north.
“It was really cool stuff,” Wilson said.
She took him to the property he’d previously purchased, and he asked if there were similar properties available in the area. Sartore’s more recent purchases include Thompson Lake, which is known for waterfowl, and Snow Lake, which features waterfowl and curlews and also is known for salamanders.
Sartore recalled that he’d read a real estate listing about the salamanders, which mentioned them as a commodity that could be seined and sold for fishing bait.
He said Dan Fogell, a herpetologist and life sciences instructor at Southeast Community College in Lincoln, has identified them as a subspecies of the Western tiger salamander called the Gray tiger salamander. They’re usually found a bit farther north, Fogell told him, but they’ve been found in multiple places in the Sandhills as well.
Wilson said her grandparents emphasized conservation and passed down those lessons to later generations. They planted thousands of trees and adopted management practices that are now widely recommended. They raised game birds for release to enhance local populations and only cut hay at certain times of the year. The family also has worked to restore a wetland on its property. In recent years, the ranch has begun selling beef direct to consumers through its website.
Both the family and Sartore encourage scientists to study wildlife on their properties. One project, Wilson said, involved collecting sonar data on bat populations. Another researcher studied dung beetles. Sartore noted that the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission bands geese in the area each spring.
“It’s been really neat that we’ve been able to bridge that gap with some of the conservationists he works with,” Wilson said.
Sartore said he likes the Sandhills because it polices itself. Run too many cattle for too long, and it creates bare spots, or blowouts.
He said he doesn’t have to worry about the condition of the land where he has made his purchases. It was, and continues to be, managed by people who care.
But the family’s purchases offer a chance to keep the most beautiful places from being developed after they’re gone, he said. Many of natural areas where he collected tadpoles and crayfish as a kid in Ralston now are under concrete.
Sartore takes other conservation measures, too, including maintaining a pollinator garden at his Lincoln office, complete with signs explaining what it is and how to do it at home. The FAQ section on his website — joelsartore.com — includes tips on how anyone can help save species, from properly insulating their homes to conserve energy to cutting back on single-use plastic items like grocery bags.
“We just think nature needs a break, and it has to be intentional,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sartore, who’s nearing 61, continues what he calls his “day job” with Photo Ark, a job he wants to continue as long as he can. For many species, the photographs are the only vetted and accurate record of their existence. His son, Cole, now accompanies him on overseas shoots.
He said he may hit 15,000 species by the end of the year. Initially, he estimated that the project would come in around 12,000 species, based on the number in the world’s accredited zoos and aquariums at the time. But those have grown in number, and he’ll go anyplace animals are in human care, from fish markets to wildlife rehabilitation facilities. He could see the Ark possibly reaching 20,000 species.
“It’s meant to inspire (people to) want to save nature and save themselves at the same time,” he said.
Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of June 2023
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Teta Kain has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the York River and Small Coastal Basin Roundtable, a forum for information sharing and collaboration among water quality and conservation-minded stakeholders within the York River, Mobjack Bay and Piankatank River as well as the Dragon Run, Mattaponi River and Pamunkey River. The Roundtable presents the Lifetime Achievement Award at its biennial conference to individuals who have a lifetime of volunteer service focused on educating and protecting the quality of life within the watershed.
On June 22, Friends of Dragon Run will also honor Kain by dedicating the Teta Kain Nature Preserve. The preserve is located on Farley Park Road (Route 603) at the New Dragon Bridge in Middlesex County.
Like the Lifetime Achievement award, the new name for this FODR property recognizes Kain’s extraordinary volunteer service to Virginia and the Middle Peninsula through her decades of work on species counts, protecting swamps and wetlands, capturing nature through photography, as a nature guide for hikes and kayak tours, as a speaker about the natural world, as the leader of nature-focused organizations in Virginia, and as the organizer of bird counts, butterfly counts and moth nights.
A force of nature, Kain’s enthusiasm and leadership have made key and measurable contributions to the natural world. She always has both a sense of purpose and a sense of humor. Legions of Virginians know more about nature and became nature enthusiasts based on her charismatic skill and magic. She has gifted environmental literacy to countless individuals and groups.
For 35 years Kain has been a key leader within Friends of Dragon Run, as a former president of the organization but most famously as the kayak paddle guide who led more than a thousand individuals on tours of the Dragon and the Dragon Run watershed. She is known to many far and wide as the Doyenne of the Dragon, later as the Queen of the Dragon, and now as the Empress of the Dragon.
As a leader for the Friends of Dragon Run, she also worked with the counties and their governments in the Middle Peninsula, various steering committees and commissions, and Virginia agencies and organizations to protect Dragon Run and expand knowledge of the flora and fauna of the Dragon and Virginia. Kain both inspires and educates with her presentations about the flora of Dragon Run and the rich biodiversity found in the forests, swamps and wetlands.
She is an extraordinary communicator and a life-long learner. Her energy, positive attitude, subject matter expertise and communication skills have had a clear and measurable impact on motivating people to learn about and embrace the natural world and to volunteer. Her volunteer work defines what it means to be a selfless naturalist who betters the commonwealth of Virginia. Kain is an extraordinary informal educator, a dynamic spokesperson and leader for the natural world, and a champion for the importance of conserving and protecting the natural world and her beloved Dragon Run.
Her own words describe her years in Virginia: “[I] met literally thousands of people, chased a million birds and butterflies…[there] aren’t enough hours to do all of the wonderful things to be had here.”
Friends of Dragon Run is a non-profit corporation. Its mission is to protect, preserve and encourage the wise use of the Dragon Run watershed. It fulfills that mission through education, stewardship and citizen science. For more information about Dragon Run and to join its activities, visit DragonRun.org.
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TOKYO (Kyodo) — A bill has been submitted to an ongoing session in the Japanese Diet targeting a crackdown on people who take surreptitious photographs, a move that would make it illegal nationwide to snap voyeuristic images of a sexually exploitative nature.
While the issue is particularly serious for young athletes targeted by people engaging in “sneak photography” at fields and courts around the nation, the situation remains unresolved as proving sexual or malicious intent in photos taken of athletes competing in sporting attire is difficult.
At a symposium on April 15, lawyers working on the issue and former national volleyball team member Kana Oyama, among others, stressed the need for legislation, saying it is a “remaining issue” for sneak photography, especially for competitive athletes.
“You cannot say that just because photos are taken of someone who’s clothed that it isn’t a problem,” said lawyer Yoji Kudo. “We shouldn’t give up on legal controls simply because it is difficult to draw a line of distinction,” he said.
Kudo spoke of his determination to have clear legislation after pointing out the damage caused when images of athletes’ bodies are posted and proliferated on the internet.
He gave examples of other countries where clandestine photography is punishable by law.
Oyama says she first learned the reality of photo voyeurism in junior high school when, while changing out of her uniform at a venue with no locker room, her coach warned that photos of her were being snapped.
“I feel a responsibility to create an environment where children can genuinely engage in sports,” Oyama, now a mother of two, said about her call for stronger legislation.
Until now, people caught by police taking photos without the subject’s consent fell under the purview of prefectural anti-disturbance ordinances. But ordinances differ from municipality to municipality regarding the acts they cover and the penalties involved.
Along with legislation related to “photography crime” prohibiting surreptitious pictures of a person in postures that might be construed as sexual in nature, supplying or disseminating sexually explicit images or video are also included as punishable offenses.
Such voyeurism cases have occurred more frequently in recent years, with a corresponding uptick in arrests made. Under the new law, violators would face imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 3 million yen ($22,000).
The new regulation, however, does not include photography of athletes in sporting attire at competitions, except in cases when an infrared camera that can see through clothing is used. It would prohibit the taking of such photos of athletes in training, though.
According to the National Police Agency, the number of arrests for surreptitious photography reached 5,019 cases in 2021, roughly three times the 2010 figure.
One major cause for the increase was the spread of smartphones but perpetrators say that no matter how they do it, they treat it like a game which allows them to find satisfaction with little regard for guilt or risk.
There is a common psychology to men who take photos of athletes or others with sexually exploitative intent. Some view it as “dependence syndrome” because people carrying out such activities tend to do it on a regular basis, making it a deeply-rooted issue.
“It was curiosity. I tried it and snapped the photo. It was almost like a game,” a former junior high school teacher in his 40s who began taking voyeuristic photos in college told Kyodo News in an interview about his first time committing the offense.
As he was able to capture more and more images, he became increasingly absorbed in “the game,” and his methods became increasingly daring.
“I never imagined I’d be caught,” but in 2019, a train passenger spotted him placing his smartphone under the skirt of a female high school student. He was referred to prosecutors on suspicion of violating an anti-disturbance ordinance.
He felt guilty about his actions as a teacher responsible for children. But he added, “When I was doing it, all my (inhibitions) flew away. When the switch turned on, I forgot everything and couldn’t see anything around me.”
About 2,000 voyeuristic images were found stored on his phone when he was caught.
The man believes that photographing athletes for sexual gratification can be considered the same as doing it on a train or the street. “It is a value that pervades our society. There is a Japanese view that sexualizes women,” he said.
Akiyoshi Saito, a social worker who treats and supports sex addicts, says that photo voyeurism, like gambling, “has an aspect of dependence on the act.”
Although the new legislation will undoubtedly impose penalties in hopes of preventing the crimes, the former teacher said, “It’s not that simple. There are people who would do it even if they were sentenced to death.”
In March, an aviation trade union released a survey suggesting that about 70 percent of flight attendants in Japan have reported photos being taken of them surreptitiously.
Akira Naito, chairman of the Japan Federation of Aviation Industry Unions, called the number “astonishing,” stressing the need for strict penalties through legislation.
Although flight attendants primarily answered that their entire bodies or faces had been photographed, some reported pictures of their breasts, buttocks or other regions being taken in the close confines of an aircraft, demonstrating it is an all-pervasive issue.
Sakura Kamitani, a lawyer and expert on victims of photo voyeurism, said, “The trend toward making it a crime to photograph is a big step forward, but it is unfortunate that athlete voyeurism is not punishable.”
“I am aware that it is difficult to put the law into writing, but it is still a crime that requires legislation,” Kamitani said.
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YOUNTVILLE — The exhibition of entries in the first Photo Finale, part of the Napa Valley Mustard Celebration, is on display at the Jessup Cellars Gallery in Yountville through March 31.
The open invitation photography competition is the brainchild of Napa Valley photographer MJ Schaer, who started working on the idea in September 2022. Schaer said his goal was “to attract professional and amateur photographers throughout the wine country to break out their cameras and capture that one-of-a-kind image.”
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Schaer, who served director as well as founder for the inaugural photo competition, said he was pleased with the response, which brought in 72 submissions from 44 photographers, all studies of the wild mustard plant that blooms in profusion throughout the valley and serves as a cover crop in vineyards during the winter.
The show opened at Jessup on March 4. It “celebrates nature’s unmatched ‘yellow gold’ beauty and (the) splendor of the winter mustard bloom that blankets Napa Valley’s landscape and vineyards, up and down the valley from December through March,” Schaer said.
Photographers had four categories from which to choose: landscape; people/pets; innovative and food and wine.
Judging from the winners, dogs proved to be a popular choice for subjects appreciating mustard.
Schaer said the first, second, third and honorable mentions ribbons have been awarded to the top four photographs in each of the 2023 categories.
— First place: Dean Busquaert
— Second place: MJ Schaer
— Third place: Nancy Hernandez
— Honorable Mention: Jena Kaeppeli
— First place: Kennedy Schultz
— Second place: Lyra Nerona
— Third place: Marilyn Ferrante
— Honorable Mention: Ronda Schaer
— First place: Francine Marie
— Second place: Katherine Zimmer
— Third place: Francine Marie
— Honorable Mention: Hilary Brodey
There were no entries in the food and wine category this year, Schaer said.
Voting for Peoples’ Choice is open until March 29 in the Gallery at Jessup Cellars, Schaer said. The Peoples’ Choice award will be announced on March 30 at the closing reception from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
The show “has been a big success,” Schaer said. “Plans for 2024 are already in the works.
“I am so pleased with the entry submissions by professional and amateur photographers,” he said. “The unique facility at Jessup Cellars Gallery gives the exhibition a true wine country setting and experience.
“This year, Nature’s Mustard Plant is getting the recognition throughout Napa Valley that it deserves.”
Artist Jessel Miller, owner of the Jessel Gallery in Napa, led the effort to re-establish a winter celebration of mustard after the demise of the Napa Valley Mustard Festival in 2010. The idea took off this year, inspiring everything from mustard infused menus at restaurants to mustard treatments at local spas, as well as mustard-inspired art.
A complete list of Mustard Celebration activities can be found on the website, www.napavalleymustardcelebration.com.
Photo Finale 2023 exhibition at Jessup Cellars Gallery, 6740 Washington Street, Yountville, is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., daily. The photographs are available for purchase. For more information, visit the photo-finale.com
Photos: Mustard in the vinevards of Napa Valley
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The land of majestic saguaros attracts many visitors from across the pond each year. The diverse and prickly plant species that stand tall, like guardians that watch over the Sonoran Desert that is home to many resilient creatures. Even the kaleidoscope-colored sunsets are second to none. Many who leave, inevitably get back to where they once belonged.
Perhaps these are just a few reasons why Linda McCartney (nee Eastman) felt a kinship to Tucson.
UA’s Center for Creative Photography is hosting the North American premiere of, “The Linda McCartney Retrospective,” from Saturday, Feb. 25, to Saturday, Aug. 5.
It celebrates McCartney’s barrier-breaking career that spanned across three decades.
“We will have not only the exhibition at the CCP, but also an incredible range of campus and community events and opportunities for engagement,” said Andrew Schulz, dean of the College of Fine Arts.
The exhibition, which will include about 200 pieces, will be divided into three broad groupings including “Artists,” “Family” and “Photographic Exploration.” McCartney’s work opens avenues for investigation and exploration, Schulz said.
Roots in Tucson
Born and raised in New York state, McCartney was an UA art history student. Her formal photography training extended to just two lessons at a night school.
Once she married Paul McCartney, the two bought land here in Tucson, a ranch in the Tanque Verde area, near the Rincon Mountains.
“In addition to exposing the public to Linda McCartney’s iconic work, this collection will allow our students and faculty throughout the university to learn from her innovative creative process and devotion to important societal issues,” said UA president Robert C. Robbins in a statement.
“The McCartney exhibit is allowing us to really showcase the other extraordinary pieces of the CCP,” added Staci Santa, interim director of the Center for Creative Photography. “A lot of people don’t know that we have a robust archives collection and the breadth of work we have under that little roof, millions of objects and for us to be able to showcase that in a meaningful way while we’re engaging the music scene in Tucson.”
The Center for Creative Photography houses the work of more than 2,200 photographers including co-founder Ansel Adams, David Hume Kennerly, Lola Alvarez Bravo and W. Eugene Smith and houses close to 9 million objects.
Rebecca Senf, chief curator of the Center for Creative Photography, said it has an extensive history with the McCartney family in addition to their long-standing relationship to Tucson.
“I think the landscape here meant a tremendous amount to her and she’s a horsewoman so being in Tucson allowed them to keep horses,” Senf said.
A McCartney archive is in London where Paul and their children live. Senf and Megan Jackson Fox, associate curator of the Center for Creative Photography, visited the archive to see primary source documents and talk with the archivist Sarah Brown about McCartney’s work.
“Being in the archive and working with the archivist allowed us to do a kind of research that augmented the retrospective as it was seen in other locations,” Senf said.
In terms of Tucson, Senf said Fox is doing a show about McCartney’s teacher, Hazel Larsen Archer, which expands the discussion about McCartney’s photographic education as it happened in Tucson.
Archer was an American female photographer during the 20th century, who attended and taught at Black Mountain College in Black Mountain, North Carolina. It was a hub for intermedia, cross-medium avant-garde work in the United States for dance or photography for painters, musicians and architects.
The “vibrant community” was known for matriculating influential individuals of the latter half of the twentieth century including Willem de Kooning, whose work “Woman-Ochre”’ was recently returned to the UA’s Museum of Art after being stolen in 1985.
In Tucson, Archer worked at Pima Community College and the Tucson Art Center, later known as the Tucson Museum of Art. She also helped found other colleges as a photographer, photo educator and art educator.
“She brought all of that knowledge, energy and dynamism with her,” Fox said. “That was really the foundation for Linda McCartney and her education in photography.”
Senf said the Center for Creative Photography wanted to explore McCartney’s work further and look at how she had experimented in photography through her process and practice by analyzing the results she had obtained through various experimentations.
Curating the exhibit
To curate the exhibit, Fox said, took intensive research. From the McCartney archives to the Archer estate in Tucson. Fox said she worked closely with it and Archer’s daughter.
“We have a really long runway for creating these exhibitions, they can be three to five years if not more,” Fox said.
Additionally, about 50 undergraduate students from the college of humanities are working with the Center for Creative Photography, learning from the Archer images, materials from the McCartney exhibit and El Pueblo Neighborhood Center and building community projects.
“We’ll have the Hazel Larsen Archer exhibition open with the McCartney exhibition and then in May we will put the students’ projects in the center of that exhibition,” Fox said. “So, you have this intergenerational conversation happening.”
As a photo historian, Senf said that one of the center’s strengths is moving from archive to exhibition and using materials so audiences can benefit from the wealth of an archive.
“I think that it was really fun writing the labels of the musicians’ section because I was imagining various audience members seeing pictures of Neil Young, Jim Morrison or Bob Dylan from the time that they were young and listening to these musicians as young people,” Senf said.
The Center for Creative Photography has been working with students from the Honors College, building audio tour guides for the exhibition. “Sir Paul McCartney has even offered to respond to any of their questions that they have,” Fox said.
McCartney’s photographs include some of the greatest artists and cultural icons of all time such as Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix and, of course, The Beatles.
“These are people who changed the course of American culture and Western culture and so it was really interesting to think about all of that and how to provide the supporting information that would allow different audiences to deeply appreciate the photographs that were there,” Senf said.
The more profound images include intimate family photographs of Paul, Linda and their children. Of Linda McCartney’s level of fame and visibility, Senf said that she displays a level of joy of family life the way anyone else might or playfulness between two romantic partners.
“I think she did a really exceptional job of making people comfortable in the presence of the camera so that you see people in a candid way,” Senf said. “The way she helped people feel at ease and able to be more themselves.”
McCartney’s techniques
McCartney mostly worked with a 35-millimeter handheld camera, which Senf said suits her style and her approach, allowing her to be more spontaneous and less obtrusive.
The exhibition will also include a group of about 60 Polaroids, or facsimiles of Polaroids because Polaroids fade really quickly when exposed to light. This feature of the exhibition can convey to the audience McCartney’s spontaneity and snapshots of casual moments.
“If you think about Linda McCartney as the centerpiece of the project, then everything is kind of coming from and inspired by her right as a photographer, as a person as an activist,” Fox said.
Calling the exhibition the heartbeat of McCartney’s photography, Fox said that there will be an accompanying lecture series starting on opening day.
“Women’s rights were an important part of her activism and her interests and so we’re going to have two photographers who are also entrepreneurs who are going to come and speak about their projects, on women in photography and what they’re doing to help amplify women in photography and to help steward their careers inside of the larger photographic field,” Fox said.
McCartney who was also a food and animal activist was well known for her vegetarian lifestyle. Fox said that the Center for Creative Photography will have a photographer and artist who works at the intersection of food studies talk about her work inspired by indigenous foods.
In addition to the lecture series, the Center for Creative Photography is planning pop-up community tables at the Children’s Museum, farmers markets and the Phoenix Art Museum to talk about sustainability and food issues, food equity in relation to photography.
“That’s another way for us to build bridges from the institution to your everyday world and I think that’s really important that we break the four walls of a gallery so that we are very open,” Fox said.
The Center for Creative Photography will also have weekly live performances from musicians. “That also harks back to Linda for her love of music and her relationship to music over the context of her life,” Fox said. “We’re trying to create doorways for every interest.”
Fox said that she hopes museum visitors get to know McCartney as an amazing photographer, but also as someone who had a variety of interests.
“You bring all of that life into an image and into a practice,” Fox said. “I hope we as an institution continue to do this for the photographers that we exhibit, that we show this entirety of a person and what that means to the photographs themselves.”
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