Focal Points Magazine - July 2022 Issue

Focal Points Sierra Club Angeles Chapter Camera Committee Magazine July 2022

Spring in North America’s Serengeti 1

Contents

Focal Points Magazine

4. Cover Story 22. Meetings and Outings 26. Joe's How-To 32. Member Photos 86. Black and White Pages 96. Contributors' Bios

Cover Photo Credit:

88. Notes and Announcements

By: Brent R. Paull

106. Photo of the Month

These two dating black bears, the large black boar and the smaller cinnamon sow, act out some bear behavior I had never photographed before. They locked paws a bit and appeared to be dancing a slow jig during this mating season display of mutual interest.

107. Parting Shot

Focal Points Magazine Published monthly by the Angeles Chapter Sierra Club Camera Committee, John Nilsson, Editor.

Questions and comments can be directed to John at 213-266-2224 or FocalPoints.sccc@gmail.com 2

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Notes from the Chairman July, 2022 With gasoline and diesel prices as high as they are, we’ve curtailed our travel plans for the year. We had planned to drive to Maine to photograph the fall color, and then follow the colors south on the eastern seaboard before turning back home. But that’s no longer feasible. We might get as far as Utah in October, but that is under review.

So right now the camper is in dry dock.

We’re still planning to go out and shoot, but for the short term we’re looking close to home. I’m defining “close to home” as one tank of gas round trip, or about 360 miles. This precludes going to the Sierra Nevada Mountains, but there are interesting spots within range. For example, it may sound odd, but we have old-growth forests in Southern California.

Leave nothing but footprints, Take nothing but pictures, Kill nothing but time.

Yes, old-growth. With some research you can find accessible sections of the Los Padres and Angeles National Forests that are untouched by chainsaws and plows. They are characterized by a mix of trees of all types and ages, with a diversity of habitat conditions, and a multi-layered plant community.

The problem with photographing our local old-growth forests is that they are, well, difficult to photograph. Jeffrey pine, Coulter pine, and various oaks are not as majestic as the old-growth redwoods of Prairie Creek. These forests are messy, asymmetrical, and fire-scarred. It’s a challenge to capture them in a way that can compel others to care about those places, but for some of us that challenge is what draws us to nature photography.

We want to show people what is valuable and important to the ecosystem, so that we can protect it.

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A red fox kit snuggles up to the Vixen’s tail as it watches the nearby photographers pass by about 25-feet away. Grand Teton National Park rangers had put up police tape around the den area, keeping people back from getting too close – but we were still close. The foxes were unperturbed by our presence, both parents regularly bring in squirrels and voles for the kits. Sometimes predators and prey use humans as a shield to protect their young from potential predators, like bears and wolves.

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Cover Story:

Yellowstone National Park: Spring in North America’s Serengeti By Brent R. Paull Tulare, CA www.amwestphoto.com 559-909-5208

The level of excitement built in me as my annual spring Yellowstone/

Teton Wildlife Safari approached. There was a time when I couldn’t sleep the last two weeks before this photo safari (38 years and 1800 days of visits ago). Now the anticipation came out in emails back-and-forth from friends and other guides telling me about their recent encounters. I mentally noted the locations against past encounters, and formed a plan for the 14 days of safaris I would be leading. There is no hiding from these long days, with 4:30 am wake-ups and nights spent trying to find available restaurants to eat at while cards are downloading and camera batteries are recharging back at the hotel rooms. For those on my safaris I want them to know that the long days are always rewarded in this oldest, and greatest, of the world’s national parks – Yellowstone (and the Grand Tetons).

The two back-to-back safaris this year (May 20-May 27, and May 31-June 5) were as different as they are every year, but taken together they encompass every aspect of wildlife photography in the springtime Rockies. While I do five wildlife safaris to Yellowstone/Tetons every year (two in the winter, two in the spring, and one during the fall rut) only the spring safaris have that unique jewel so many seek to photograph – babies. Wildlife babies are the crown jewels of the spring safaris in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Some are obvious, like the Bison calves, commonly known as red dogs for their brightly colored fur – which fades to brown as they get older. Some are difficult to find, hiding in holes underground most of the time, awaiting the return of parents – like badgers, foxes, and coyotes. Most of the raptors are nesting, like eagles and great gray owls, while stately Trumpeter Swans and Sandhill Cranes guard their nests of reeds from potential intruders. But the one set of animals that have been born early, and are the most sought after by photographers, yet the most difficult to find and successfully photograph, are the bears.

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Above: Another image of the dating black bears during mating season. The cinnamon sow was being very coy with the boar, standing near him, swatting him on the side and doing her best to entice him. Shot near Rainy Lake on the Tower Road in Yellowstone National Park.

Above Right: These black bear cubs, a cinnamon and a black cub from the same mother – but with different fathers, play in the pine branches of a tree as their mother feeds on meadow grasses a few yards away. These cubs were the delight of many photographers, including us. Photographed near the Calcite Cliffs area on the Tower Road in Yellowstone National Park.

Below Right: Dating black bears during mating season. The black boar is twice as big as the cinnamon sow. Snow is falling as I shot this image near Rainy Lake on the Roosevelt to Tower Road in Yellowston National Park

In a typical spring year the snow is melting rapidly by mid-May in the mountains, and green grass is blanketing the valleys. Aspens and willows are popping out leaves, and there is a patchwork of shades of green only rivaled by Ireland. Not this year. This year late snow in the northern Rockies, and cold temperatures contined to stunt the growth of nutritious grass. And while it began to warm as the safari days clicked by, the cold rain was a constant strain for those of us who didn’t want to put our modern cameras' weatherproofing credentials to the test. Sprinkles were fine, but we fled heavy downpours. Warm boots, gloves, and multiple layers were the order of the day – you could plan on needing everything nearly every day.

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Sounds tough so far, doesn’t it? Long days, less sleep than normal, inconsistent meals (except snacks) driven by time-on-target opportunities, cold temperatures, regular rain, lots of driving, and a moderate amount of visitor traffic – yet, we kicked ass and took names through all of it. I kid you not, taken together, these were two of the greatest spring safaris I’ve done in 38 years. The parks only get better with each passing year.

Since I’m a wildlife photographer, geyser and thermal areas (Old Faithful, Norris Geyser Basin, Midway Geyser Basin, etc) were out, so no visits to those areas, nor the roads around them. Beautiful for landscapes, but thse safaris are centered on wildlife.

Let's get to the nuts and bolts of successful photo safaris in Yellowstone. One thing I’ve found after all these decades of shooting is that I can’t successfully shoot all of Yellowstone or the Tetons every day – I have to divide the parks into zones of activity, activity that I’ve either heard about from friends, or witnessed myself in the opening days. One area that I’ve frequently had stellar grizzly bear opportunities in is Swan Flats (south of Mammoth) down to the twin lakes (North and South Twin Lake) and down to Norris. Not this year, nothing but blanks on a couple early morning scouting trips, so for the rest of the time I skipped this area.

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Above: This little badger squeals in delight as it roughhouses with its mother in the dirt excavated from its den by the powerful claws of the adult. The den was close to the road in Soda Butte Valley, in Yellowstone National Park.

Left: This great gray owl is just seconds away from flying farther back into the pine forest as we approached it in the Bridge Bay area of Yellowstone National Park.

So we kept to two areas with the highest wildlife activity, one in northern Yellowstone, and one in central Yellowstone. The first area was centered at Roosevelt Junction, with the spur road up to Tower being finally open (although Dunraven Pass didn’t open until the second safari due to snow conditions), and the road from Roosevelt Junction far into Soda Butte Valley, via Lamar Valley. The central Yellowstone area ran from Canyon, down to Bridge Bay via Hayden Valley, then back and through Fishing Bridge to the shores of Yellowstone Lake and the road to Sylvan Lake. Those were the areas we concentrated our time and energy on in Yellowstone. We made repeated passes through these areas looking for specific wildlife critters, ones we had seen and already photographed, and ones we had heard about from others. As the days went by we narrowed the search even further, eliminating places like Slough Creek from our travels because it had produced no encounters.

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Left: This little female badger nuzzles its mother as they enjoy some time out of the nest during sporadic rains.

I probably should mention again that I’m a wildlife photographer, not a wildlife watcher. Watching wolves or bears at a mile (or more) distant means little to nothing to me. I can’t photograph animals successfully at those distances. In fact I sold my Swarovski Spotting Scope decades ago to resist the urge to waste precious time watching distant animals.

Down in the Grand Tetons we had three main target areas we spent our time chasing in. The first was the corridor from Leeks Marina south to Pacific Creek (via Colter Bay and Pilgrim Creek); the second was Jackson Lake Junction to Jenny Lake, on down to the Moose-Wilson Road; while the third area was on the east side of the National Elk Refuge. We ultimately dropped the Elk Refuge and Jenny Lake from our search areas because a lack of activity, and concentrated on the Leeks Marina to the Pacific Creek area, and the Moose-Wilson Road. Wildlife activity drives photography encounters, and so as each day goes by I refine the areas we spend time searching, or chasing, as I like to call it. There are no park locations in either YNP or GTNP where I haven’t had amazing encounters, but each year is different, and I don’t get locked into trying to repeat the successes from past years by wasting time in areas with low activity.

Sniffing the footsteps of the cow elk that just chased it, this black wolf pays careful attention for her return in Hayden Valley,Yellowstone National Park.

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Above: Grizzly 793, known as Blondie, carefully watches for danger as her three cubs follow along behind her. It is not uncommon for boars to try and kill cubs to get the sow back in to estrus.

A boar killed a 2-year old grizzly cub near Roaring Mountain in Yellowstone National Park the week before.

Right: The three little Cub of the Year of Grizzly 793 follow carefully behind their mother as she moves through the meadow eating plants, never being far from her protection

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BLACK BEARS We saw dozens of black bears, and black bear cubs, both COY (cubsof-the-year) and 2-year-olds, but the best area was the road from Roosevelt Junction to the new Tower parking lot. I don’t have space to describe every encounter that resulted in images; let me just say that we had a 50% success rate on each trip over this 3 miles of road – meaning we had meaningful encounters that resulted in images half the trips up and down the road. With mating season among the black bears in full swing, activity was extreme, and it led to some of the best black bear images I have ever shot. We also had a very active sow with two cubs (one black, one brown) working the area that provided moments that most photographers could have only wished for.

GRIZZLY BEARS While we photographed a number of grizzlies in Yellowstone National Park it was Grand Tetons National Park where we had the best encounter, with Grizzly 793 (aka Blondie) and her three gorgeous cubs near Leeks Marina, just north of Colter Bay. This area, from Leeks Marina south to Pacific Creek has become famous in spring for its grizzlies, mainly the most famous grizzly bear on Earth, Grizzly 399, who is 26 years old and had just cut her four cubs loose. We made numerous passes through this area, each time coming upon encounters that had just ended with the grizzly bears out-of-sight. Eventually

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Red fox kits roughhouse near their den in Colter Bay, in Grand Teton National Park.

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Left: This cinnamon black bear boar chased a black sow up a pine tree, where she promptly kicked his butt with a series of swats with claws and bites with teeth. He came down the tree looking dejected, and bleeding from his mouth as evidenced in this photo. A few minutes later the blood was gone and he was acting tough again, stomping around the pine tree as she looked down on him. This black sow may have been the mother of the two cubs we photographed on pages 6-7, and this cinnamon boar may have been the father of that cinnamon cub. Nature can be strange.

we struck gold again, spending nearly two hours with 793 and her cubs at distances no farther than 85 yards, some as close as 40 yards, which is pointblank distance with a 500mm lens. Bear Management Rangers in both parks were professional, allowing photography when they felt the situation was safe, while moving us (and our vehicles) when it appeared the bears wanted to cross the road, or move closer. We followed their guidance, and it didn’t slow us down a bit – as the photos show. Also, there were enough visible cans of Grizzly Bear Mace on folk’s hips to gas a good part of Wyoming should any dangerous situation appear. LOL BADGERS My list of must-have critters always includes badgers when I’m in the parks shooting, and these safaris were no exception. Since activity was slow at Slough Creek (a known badger hang-out), Lamar Valley and Soda Butte Valley were our go-to locations for badgers, and we spent all the time we wanted photographing them to near exhaustion. One group of badgers (or den, or cete, pronounced "set"), had a female (sow) with one young, very photogenic badger, ID’d by one of my clients as a female after careful photo examination. The antics of this little female badger were rewarding to photograph, and brought laughs to all of us. While known for their bad temper (I once had a badger rear-up on its back legs when we accidentally met on top of a low ridge) these badgers were just going about their lives.

One badger we photographed at a different time was very much a male, with not only the correct anatomy, but much bigger and heavier than the female at the set.

GRAY WOLVES No one comes to YNP without wolves being on their list of must-photograph subjects. Like unicorns, seeing wolves is rare, and photographing wolves at reasonable distances is even more so. The year 2022 has been a banner year of wolf photography for me, with every safari giving me at least one awesome encounter, if not more. I photographed wolves hunting elk this winter from 40 yards away, not a scene I ever thought I would photograph. Our wolf encounter happened in Hayden Valley on the travel day down to Jackson. One word of advice, never drive by a photographer out of his vehicle taking pictures without stopping yourself. We did, and it resulted in an encounter with a black wolf hunting an elk calf about 45 yards from us, with no obstructions. Apparently, the 15

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Above Right: An osprey comes into the nest, hovering and slowly descending, carrying a fish to feed its mate. This was shot along the Buffalo River, east of Moran Junction near Grand Teton National Park.

Below Right: A drake Harlequin Duck preens in the waters of Le Hardy's Rapids along the Yellowstone River. These colorful ducks are easily photographed at the rapids when the water is lower, revealing rocks for them to rest on.

cow elk had dropped her calf in a narrow forest area adjacent to the road, with a small meadow and some residual snow between us and the trees. The wolf either smelled the calf (which would be a tough thing to do) or witnessed the birth – thus triggering the hunt. However, with only one wolf (about 120 pounds) the cow elk (about 450 pounds) was able to keep the wolf at distance by chasing it, back-and-forth – giving us numerous opportunities for photos during the encounter.

RED FOX

Another critter on everybody’s list is the red fox. The best area of YNP to find them is high up in Soda Butte Valley. While I’ve seen and photographed red fox in every area of YNP and GTNP, in every season, this area has been consistently good for years. This is because of the reintroduction of gray wolves which trimmed the coyote population by 50% or more. Two encounters with fox here led to photos. We also heard about a red fox den in Colter Bay, which on our travels in GTNP we stopped at numerous times to photograph the antics of these playful kits.

An interesting side note here: Both predators and prey (like fox, badgers, elk, pronghorn) use proximity to humans as a method to mitigate dangers to their young. With bears, wolves, and coyotes being the chief hunters of other critter’s young – digging a den or dropping a calf is almost always safer close to roads (people) where arch enemies are put-off by humans. Thus, the red fox den at Colter Bay was ridiculously close to near constant human foot traffic. Which, was great for us…..

OSPREY – GREAT GRAY OWLS

While not always easy to photograph, these birds have consistent locations where they live, and luckily, I know exactly where they reside. A few miles east of Moran Junction is an Osprey nest on a power pole that is actually below the level of the nearby road. This allows us a unique position to photograph the comings-and-goings of these beautiful fishing birds. The adults take turns warming the eggs or guarding the nestlings, while the other is out fishing. With the river on the backside of the nest, and the sun in its afternoon position to the west, photography is well-suited with perfect light and position as the birds zoom up from below and behind, then slowly helicopter down to the nest. The tactical trick is to not focus on the birds, but rather the nest about 90 feet away, thereby ensuring sharp images without the problem of moving wings making the camera lose focus. The birds settle into the depth-of-field at that distance the second 16

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A male Yellow Warbler comes out of the bushes near its nest in a Hawthorne tree on the Moose-Wilson Road in Grand Teton National Park.

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they get to the nest, with all images being sharp.

The great gray owls inhabit three prime areas in YNP: the area around Canyon, Fishing Bridge, and nearby Bridge Bay. I’ve shot them throughout the park, but these three areas give a higher chance of success. As we drove through the Bridge Bay picnic area, we stopped to study the large meadow to the north.

Within seconds of parking, I saw a flash of gray in the pines 200 yards away. We dismounted the vehicles and crossed the sloppy meadow of mud and snow, and found the owl just inside the forest. This elusive owl lived up to its difficulty to photograph, giving me one second to get one decent image before it jumped.

We followed, but the touchy owl would not settle down, and leap-frogged away from us deeper into the forest. All I can say is our tactics were sound, but the owls are much easier to photograph in the fall.

OTHER BIRDS and CRITTERS While I’ve covered a few species here, we literally photographed dozens of others. Yellow-bellied marmots, coyotes, Uinta ground squirrels, least chipmunks, harlequin ducks, trumpeter swans, common goldeneyes, bald eagles, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, yellow warblers, black-headed grosbeaks, moose, mule deer – and at least a dozen others.

With the coming of spring, both YNP and GTNP are the home to dozens of songbirds arriving from their winter homes for the spring nesting season. Songbird photography is a science all its own, and one of the most difficult in the world of wildlife photography. I could spend another couple of pages just relating songbird tactics, but I will save it for another day. BRP

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Meetings and Meetings and Outings Outings

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Sierra Club Camera Committee --

Thursday, August 11, 2022 Meeting

Ron Magill

Zoo Communications and Media Relations Director Zoo Miami - Nikon Ambassador USA

Where:

Zoom Link

In the comfort of your own home via Zoom

Provided before the presentation.

See you there!

When: 7:00 PM

What:

Note: Due to recent Zoom Bombings we are requiring people pre-register for this presentation via Meetup or via the registration message sent out to all previous viewers just before the presentation.

Wildlife Conservation and Zoo Photography 22

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Ron Magill Zoo Miami

Ron has worked with wildlife for over 40 years. He is the host of HITN’s national wildlife documentary program, “Mundo Salvaje con Ron Magill.” As Zoo Miami’s “Goodwill Ambassador,” he has made frequent television appearances on many programs including, “National Geographic Explorer,” the Discovery Networks, the “Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” “The Late Show ,” “CBS Mornings,” “Dateline NBC” and CNN as well as on Spanish networks Univision and Telemundo. In addition, he is a Nikon USA Ambassador and has written and produced many wildlife articles and award-winning photographs that have appeared in publications and galleries around the world. He has traveled extensively throughout Africa, Asia and Tropical America while developing and directing conservation projects and Emmy-Award winning documentaries focusing on the wildlife of those regions.

Other than Zoo Miami and the Zoo Miami Foundation, Ron has worked with several children’s charities with a special dedication to the Make-a-Wish Foundation where he helps to grant wishes for children facing life-threatening diseases. In addition, he is a regular speaker at schools and civic organizations throughout South Florida in hopes of inspiring our youth to follow their dreams while showing them the importance of protecting our world’s wildlife for generations to come.

Ron’s proudest professional accomplishment is the establishment of the “Ron Magill Conservation Endowment” at the Zoo Miami Foundation. This endowment is the largest of its kind at the zoo and provides tens of thousands of dollars annually to wildlife conservation by providing annual scholarships as well as supporting field conservation projects designed to protect wildlife in the wild areas where it is naturally found.

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Joe’s How-to

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Joe’s How-To

These choices involve four elements: color, brightness, contrast, and (apparent) sharpness.

(I am ignoring some other choices, including cropping and composition.) With these elements I can draw the eye to my subject, make a background recede or pop, and generally reshape an image to add depth and interest.

Adding Depth in Post

by Joe Doherty

When I was a youngster my school took field trips to museums around Los Angeles. The Science and Industry was my favorite, but the art museums were OK, too. I could do without the sculpture and the portraits. It was the landscapes (particularly the Impressionists and the Hudson River School) I remembered. As I began shooting landscapes seriously (about 2005), I borrowed my aesthetic from those movements.

I make most of my adjustments using Adobe Lightroom, but the steps I’m recommending here can also be made in Photoshop, DXO Photolab, Capture One, GIMP, and other imaging software apps. The main tool is the masking panel (discussed in this column April 2022). I must caution that this is not a cookbook. The steps as I describe them may seem efficient and linear, but my actual process involves a lot of trial and error. In the next three examples, I’ve marked up the “before” image to show how the final processing was used.

I am seldom graced with the kind of scenes painted by Monet or Bierstadt. Sunshine does not regularly beam through storm clouds onto my subject. Atmospheric haze rarely separates my foreground subject from the background. The color palette of the scene is almost never aligned with the mood I’m trying to convey. In other words, my photographs aren’t paintings. I need to make some choices in post-production in order to translate the sketch in my camera into a fullyrealized photograph.

Sepulveda Basin Sunrise Sunrise at this spot is one of my favorite subjects.

The light, the fog, the birds, and the plants offer endless opportunities for creative photography. I

Figure 1a

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Figure 1b

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Desert Lily This photograph of a desert Lily in Anza Borrego was shot around 8:30am on January 29, 2019, just as the sun rose above a low cloud bank to the east.

The freshly imported raw files shows no clipping in the lights or the darks, and the overall color is neutral and unsaturated. I used adjustments to color, light, and contrast to add depth and interest to an otherwise flat scene (Figure 2a).

My first task was to make some global adjustments to the color and contrast. The shadows tell me that it was shot with the sun low in the sky, so I increased the color temperature to warm the scene to reflect our expectations for early morning sunlight. I also increased the contrast using the curves panel, to make the flower and the foreground plants stand out against the background desert and hill. Finally, I used a masking brush to paint the hills and some of the desert, adding blue to those areas by moving the tem perature slider to-19 (Figure 2b).

Figure 2a

see a brilliant orange glow in the eastern sky, but the camera sees something with less contrast and less saturation. The foreground water is a bland gray, and the horizon is something less than brilliant. It’s accurate, but not compelling (Figure 1a).

I need to deal with both of these in order to make the sunrise pop from the photograph. I first use the masking brush to paint the closest section of the water, up to the boundary of where the orange glow starts to show up. I then slide the color temp slider about 20 units to the left to add blue to the foreground. Then, using a new masking brush, I paint the horizon and the brightest reflections in the water, after which I slide the color temp 9 units to the right. The result of these simple adjustments is an image that has depth and interest (Figure 1b)

In other versions of this image I also use the clarity slider to increase the definition of the petals, and a brush to add light to the shadows, but the basics of the image are already here.The warm foreground and the higher contrast provide a sense of immediacy to the viewer, and the cool tones of the background give a sense of the receding landscape.

Figure 2b

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that would be out of focus but recognizable. The raw file lacks contrast, but it is crisp and the foundations ofthe colors are all present (Figure 3a). As above, my first step is to make some global adjustments to the exposure and contrast using curves. As the markup in the “before” picture indicates, I need to add yellow to the reeds and blue to the background out-of-focus trees. In addition, I’m going to draw the eye to the grackle by adding some local contrast.

I used a large brush mask to roughly paint in the reeds, and then moved the Temp slider to +34.

By adding yellow I’ve neutralized any blue in the shadows,which gives the feeling that the reeds are close by. My next step was to create another mask using the brush to paint in the trees above and behind the reeds. These received a slight -16 Temp adjustment, adding blue. This blue, in contrast to the added yellow, reduces the contrast of the background and makes it appear to recede. Finally, I added one more masking brush to cover the grackle and the area underneath it, with a Clarity slider adjustment of +31 points.

Figure 3a

Spring in Sepulveda Basin This is a more complicated image than the first two. It was shot on an overcast day in May, 2022, when I was testing out a Tamron 100-400 lens.

In this shot I was evaluating the lens’ vibration control by shooting at the longest focal length (400mm) at a speed I wouldn’t normally hand hold (1/250 @ f8 with an iso of 3600). In other words, if I got a good shot that would be a bonus, but it wasn’t the point. Nevertheless I had a few shots that I liked, and this is one of them.

These changes are subtle. In practice I increase or decrease them until I feel they are balanced and unobtrusive, as I want people to see my photographs and not my post processing. They are a means to an end. and that end is to invite viewers into my scenes.

The focal point is a grackle perched atop reeds along the shoreline. I framed it with a background

Figure 3b

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WELCOME! The Sierra Club Camera Committee is an activity group within the Angeles Chapter, which we support through the medium of photography.

Our goal is to show the natural beauty of our world as well as areas of conservation concerns and social justice. We do this through sharing and promoting our photography and by helping and inspiring our members through presentations, demonstration, discussion, as well as outings.

Become a member – subscribe to Focal Points Magazine Everyone is welcome at our meetings and on our outings. They can also see our magazine at no cost. However, only members can contribute to the Focal Points Magazine or participate in Member Shows or exhibits.

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Sierra Club's Mission Statement To explore,enjoy and protect the wild places To practice and promote responsible use of the Earth's ecosystem and resources To educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment And to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives

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To join the Camera Committee or renew your membership, please send your contact information (at minimum your email address) with annual dues of $15 per individual or $25 per couple. Make the check payable to SCCC and mail it to: Joan Schipper – SCCC Membership 6100 Cashio Street Los Angeles, CA 90035

Meetings & outings Meetings are held on the second Thursday of even number months (February, April, June, August, October and December) at 7 PM. During Covid-19, our meetings are offered via the Zoom Meetings app. You will need to RSVP via our Calendar. See our Meetings page to see information about our upcoming meeting and links to some of our past meetings.

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This Month’s Member Photos

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© 2022 David DDesrochers, All Rights Reserv

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David Desrochers ©2022 David Desrochers, All Rights Reserved

Northern Ireland.

I recently traveled to Northern Ireland and the northwest coast of the Republic of Ireland. Known for several “Game of Thrones” locations such as Portstewart Strand and Dark Hedges, this area features rugged seascapes and tranquil bays and beaches. Here are just a few photos from my 10 day tour with Peter Gordan of ExploreLight Photography Workshops. https://explorelightphotographyworkshops.com/

Left: Dark Hedges, County Antrim Above: Giant's Causeway, County Antrim 33

Above: Ballintoy Beach, County Antrim Right:: Cruit Island Beach, County Donegal

2022 David Desrochers, All Rights Reserved

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2022 David Desrochers, All Rights Reserved

Bloody Foreland County Donegal

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Potrush Whiterocks Beach, County Antrim

Kinbane Castle County Antrim

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Above: Night at Freeze Church in the Eastern Palouse Below: Clouds- a building thunderstorm near the Blue Mtns. catches the setting sun with a broad bow at it’s base.

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Last Light - May 18th 12:40 pm Moses Lake Washington. Mt. St. Helens Ash Cloud, as day turned to night for many in Eastern Washington. 4x5 Speed Graphic set on top of my car, 8 second exposure. A lot more to this story than I can write here.

John Clement All Photographs in this story ©2022 John Clement, All Rights Reserved

Various Wanderings and subjects.

I have planted over 50,000 wild flowers this spring and the poppies are first to bloom, stay tuned.

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Beauty in Dying - as flower petals on our Amaryllis plant in the front window.

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Big Sky over Steptoe Butte- as spring storms roll through the Palouse region.

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Above: Wolf Cloud - as swirling down drafts create crazy patterns in this collapsing thunderstorm.

Right: Sun Distortions - wind turbines 50 miles away in Oregon along the Columbia Gorge.

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A Walk In the Rhododendron Garden with our granddaughter Marigold;-))

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Water droplets on fuchsia-flowered gooseberry, Los Padres Trail in Thousand Oaks

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Red-stem filaree and bur clover, Marshall Canyon Trail in La Verne

Larry Miller All photos in this story © 2022 Larry Miller, All Rights Reserved

Symmetrical patterns in nature are a favorite photographic subject of mine.

These are recent examples from my portfolio: 47

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Silver puff, Rising Sun Trail in Solstice Canyon, Santa Monica Mountains

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Thomas Cloutier ©2022 Thomas Cloutier All Rights Reserved

Eastern Sierra Happy Trails!

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©2022 Thomas Cloutier, All Rights Reserved

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SIERRA CLUB ANGELES CHAPTER CAMERA COMMITTEE

MAY 2015

Susan Manley Panda - San Diego Zoo 55

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SIERRA CLUB ANGELES CHAPTER CAMERA COMMITTEE

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MAY 2015

Jeff Gottesman ©2022 Jeff Gottesburg, All Rights Reserved

The always ephemeral Marin County fog. All photos taken on the same morning last month.

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SIERRA CLUB ANGELES CHAPTER CAMERA COMMITTEE

MAY 2015

It had been over 50 y other standard touri

Old Faithful was le unqualified

Left: Watching th trees being places

Above: I couldn't Valley. Trite but s 44

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SIERRA CLUB ANGELES CHAPTER CAMERA COMMITTEE

MAY 2015

John Nilsson ©2022 John Nilsson, All Rights Reserved

Yellowstone National Park

years since I last visited Yellowstone with my parents. That trip consisted of Old Faithful and ist destinations. We didn’t go into the northern part of the park, much to my disappointment.

left out of this recent trip and now I firmly understand why Yellowstone National Park is an d national treasure. This destination will forever be my favorite from this point on.

his 350-pound bear climb this tree with lightning speed forever defeated my view of s of safety if I ever have a disagreementwith a mama bear on some future trail!

resist this lucky shot through the windshield as we traversed a corner in the Lamar so iconic!

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We found a special part of the park that was literally crawling with Black Bears. This was a time for bear cubs. These fascinating creatures were full of fun and absolutely oblivious to the hoards of photographers they were entertaining.

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One of my biggest thrills of the whole trip was chancing on this bit of natural drama happening just yards off the road. This elk had just calved and had attracted the attention of a lone Black Wolf. While we watched, the elk continually charged the wolf and chased it back and forth away from her calf who was just over the rise.

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The wolf was patient - knowing it was only a little time before the pack arrived - and he took a few minutes to pose for my camera. Yes, his eyes really were spooky yellow! What a presence this guy had.

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John Fisanotti Here are six images for the July issue . All were taken at a photo workshop in Arches National Park in January of this year.

©2022 John Fisanotti, All Rights Reserved

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©2022 John Fisanotti, All Rights Reserved

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©2022 John Fisanotti, All Rights Reserved

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Velda Ruddock ©2022 Velda Ruddock, All Rights Reserved

My son looked around the studio and said, "You sure have a lot of dead flowers. Why do you photograph them?" I hesitated, because I had just asked myself the same question. "It's because I look for beauty in things others don't see; things other people throw away." We both sighed. "You sure have a lot of dead flowers," he said again.

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Joe Doherty ©2022 Joe Doherty, All Rights Reserved

We began May with a quick trip to Yosemite, where we met up with our friends Charlotte and Gary Gibb to see Charlotte's show at the Ansel Adams Gallery. An unseasonal cold snap damaged or killed the dogwood blossoms, so we spent our time photographing things we don't always stop to see. A week later, back home, I tested out a new (to me) Tamron 100-400 lens by wandering around the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve on an overcast morning.

Right: Wild golden currants are in plentiful supply for mammals and birds at Sepulveda Basin Below: The aftermath of a controlled burn in Yosemite Valley, near El Capitan Meadow.

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A vibrant recovery from the 2020 fires in Se Valhalla. The rainbow at the base of Lower Yosemite Falls."

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epulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve.

Some minor turbuelence on Yosemite Creek.

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Phil Witt

Becky and I recently returned from Botswana-S. Africa. I've put together a short selection of our slides set to music. If you'd like five minutes of nature photography-oriented diversion, the link is:

ww.dropbox.com/s/owmqqz9cz45gain/Southern%20Africa%202.mp4?dl=0

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The Black and White Pages

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Courthouse Wash and Courthouse Towers, Arches National Park

John Fisanotti Nikon D850 Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 @ 102mm f/16 @1/6 Sec. ISO 64

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© 2022 John Fisanotti, All Rights Reserved

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Teton Overlook Where Ansel Stood Grand Teton National Park

John Nilsson M10-Monochrome Zeiss 35mm/1.2@35mm f/16 @ 1/1000 ISO 800

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©2022 John Nilsson, All Rights Reserved

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Early Morning Shoot - Yellowstone

John Nilsson M-10 Monochrome Zeiss 50mm f/1.2 1/500@ f/16 ISO 1,600

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©2022 John Nilsson, All Rights Reserved

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Safe

Joe Doherty Nikon D850 Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 @ 400mm f/8 @ 1/1,000 ISO 280

©2022 Joe Doherty, All Rights Reserved

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Contributor Bios

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Steve Anderson

John Clement

Steve worked primarily in the conventional

John began his career in photography in the early 70’s after graduating from Central Washington University with a double major in Geology and Geography. Since then he has earned a Masters of Photography from the Professional Photographers of America. He has received over 65 regional, national and international awards for his pictorial and commercial work. His photographs grace the walls of many businesses in the Northwest and has been published in numerous calendars and coffee table books.

medium of Black and White silver-based photography for many years as he explored the natural landscape of the local San Gabriel Mountains and his beloved High Sierra in California. In the last 20 years he has engaged in digital photography as it has opened up new avenues and excitement about making images of the natural scene.

His interest in photography began in junior high school when he developed his first roll of film from a Kodak Brownie camera. He became very interested in combining photography and traveling adventures as a member of the Highlanders, a mountaineering club at Pasadena City College. His work turned more serious during military service as the landscape became his focus of attention.

He has provided photographs for Country Music Magazine and for Northwest Travel Magazine. He has supplied murals for the Seattle Seahawks Stadium and images for The Carousel of Dreams in Kennewick, WA. Current projects include 17 – 4x8 foot glass panels featuring his landscapes in Eastern Washington for the Pasco Airport Remodel. Last year he finished a major project for the Othello Medical Clinic where almost 200 images were used to decorate the facilities ranging in size from 24” to 35’ in size.

His work can be viewd at:

Steve’s interest in the environmental movement, starting in his college days, led him to actively seek ways of using his photography to help in a personally significant way. He joined the Mono Lake Committee 40 years ago and has been an active leader in the Sierra Club since 1981. He served as the chairperson of the Camera Committee of the Angeles Chapter for 5 years.

www.johnclementgallery.com John Clement Photography Face Book Professional page The Kiona Winery in Benton City, and at Allied Arts Gallery in Richland, WA.

Steve’s images have appeared in Sierra, the Southern Sierran, Images of the West, A Portrait of Bodie, and the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter Schedule of Activities. Some of his monochrome images were significant contributions to help save Mono Lake. He has had work shown in a number of local galleries. Steve was the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument Artist in Residence in 2015. Steve has published four photography books that are available through Blurb.com.

“My images sum up my feelings about the grandeur of nature. It is never just one thing that touches me when I try to capture a moment, but always a vast array of emotional and photographic textures. Most of my images are therefore complex and detailed.”

Email: sandersonimagery@outlook.com Viewingwebsite:www.pbase.com/spanderson 96

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JW Doherty

John Fisanotti

Joe Doherty grew up in Los Angeles and developed his first roll of film in 1972. He has been a visual communicator ever since.

He spent his teens and twenties working in photography, most of it behind a camera as a freelance editorial shooter.

As a youth, John’s interest in photography stemmed from an interest in astronomy. His first photos were attempts to photograph the night sky using a folding Kodak camera, that once belonged to an uncle. Later, John used a 35mm rangefinder camera to photograph nature, particularly the San Gabriel Mountains above his home in La Crescenta. After high school, John sold his telescope to purchase a 35mm SLR camera outfit.

John was a photography major in his first three years of college. He has used 35mm, 2-1/4 medium format and 4x5 view cameras. John expected to be a commercial photographer.

His personal work leaned heavily to shooting landscapes and outdoors. In 1977 John changed majors. After graduating from California State University Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Urban Studies in 1979, John’s first post job college was in a commercial photo laboratory.

In 1980, he pivoted from photography and began his 32-year career in public service.

John worked for four Southern California cities in city planning, community development and redevelopment, and concluded his career as a Project Manager for the Culver City Redevelopment Agency. During these decades, he continued to shoot outdoor scenic images whenever possible.

After retiring from public service in 2012, John has pursued his astronomical and photographic interests. Beginning in 2013, John has been a telescope operator for the 60" reflector telescope at Mt. Wilson Observatory.

And John has increased his photographic portfolio concentrating on outdoors, landscape, travel and astronomical images. Beginning in 2018, he has expanded his repertoire to include architectural and real estate photography.

Occasionally, John has been fortunate to have photographs selected for various exhibitions or publications.

He currently shoots with Nikon DSLR cameras.

John’s photographic websites:

He switched careers when his son was born, earning a PhD in political science from UCLA specializing in American politics and research methods.

This led to an opportunity to run a research center and teach at UCLA Law, where he became best known as an empirical bankruptcy scholar.

After retiring from UCLA in 2016 he continued to consult, but now he and his wife Velda Ruddock spend much of their time in the field, across the West, capturing the landscape.

Landscape, Travel and Astronomical images http://www.johnfisanottiphotography.com; Architectural and Real Estate photography are at http://www.architecturalphotosbyfisanotti.com.

Contact John at either jfisanotti@sbcglobal.net or fisanottifotos@gmail.com.

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Phil Witt

Velda Ruddock

Phil Witt has been photographing nature since he got his first SLR camera in the late 70s.

An avid birder, he is a volunteer at the Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary of NJ Audubon in Bernardsville, where he coleads the photography workshop series. He is currently on NJ Audubon’s Board of Directors. He is a past president of the Camera Naturalist Photo Club, and program chair of the Somerset County Camera Club.

He judges photography competitions and presents instructional programs at photography clubs throughout New Jersey. He received the NJ Federation of Camera Club’s 2017 Citation for service to photography in the state.

Creativity has always been important to me. I received my first Brownie camera for my twelfth birthday and I can’t remember a time I’ve been without a camera close at hand.

I studied the social sciences and art, and later earned a Masters degree in Information and Library Science degree. All of my jobs allowed me to be creative, entrepreneurial, and innovative. For the last 22 years of my research career I was Director of Intelligence for a global advertising and marketing agency. TBWA\ Chiat\Day helped clients such as Apple, Nissan, Pepsi, Gatorade, Energizer, and many more, and I was considered a leader in my field.

He and his wife enjoy traveling the world for photography--Antarctica, the Galapagos, Tanzania, Iceland, Costa Rica, among others.

During our time off, my husband, Joe Doherty and I would travel, photographing family, events and locations. However, in 2011 we traveled to the Eastern Sierra for the fall colors, and although we didn’t realize it at the time, when the sun came up over Lake Sabrina, it was the start of change in our careers.

When not birding or photographing, he is a (mostly retired) forensic psychologist, specializing in legal cases and court testimony. https://philwitt.smugmug.com

By 2016 we had both left our “day jobs,” and we started traveling – and shooting nature – big and small – extensively. Our four-wheel drive popup camper allowed us to go to areas a regular car can’t go and we were – and are – always looking for our next adventure.

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Susan Manley

Paul Reinstein

Susan Manley has more than 35 years experience as a photographer.

Her career consisted mainly working in a Communications Department writing and shooting a wide variety of public relations and photojournalism photos.

Since she retired approximately ten years ago, she switched her focus onto nature photography including landscapes and wildlife in America.

I have two lifelong hobbies; photography and fine woodworking. My father fostered both those interests. At 14, right before I went on a 1 week backpacking trip around Yosemite Valley with my friend Joe (16) who could drive, my father taught me the basics of using a camera on an Olympus camera that shot half frames on 35mm film. Can you imagine allowing a 14 year old to do that in today’s world? By 20, I was fully independent. In my 20s, I bought a Minolta SRT101, and I also started dabbling in woodworking as a way to have simple furniture while working my way through college (Biochemistry, UCLA).

I even had a simple B&W darkroom for a while.

I shot mostly landscapes. After getting my degree, I decided I didn’t like working in that field, so I went back to school, and worked my way through a masters degree (Electronics Engineering, CSULB). I spent the majority of my career at The Aerospace Corp, working mostly on electrical power systems for rockets and satellites for the Air Force, NASA and the NRO. During that time, when not working, I began focusing mostly on fine woodworking, shooting occasional snapshots.

By 50, my woodshop was enviable, my wife and I were flipping homes on the side, I was a manager at work, and digital cameras reignited my interest in photography. When the music stopped in real estate, we built our own home in Mar Vista. Then, my boss, and his boss both died unexpectedly (and independently), a huge layoff was announced, and I was retired.

I got my general contractor’s license, and tried that for a couple of years. I retired fully at 60, earlier than I would have imagined.

ssnmanley@Yahoo.com

By 2016, I had amassed a number of bird photos, just by happenstance, so I decided to see what I could get that number up to, just for fun. That turned out to be eminently satisfying, albeit expensive, and now I spend much of my time shooting birds locally or travelling worldwide to do so. My big birding trips so far include the Galapagos and the UK, and my list is presently up to about 350 species, and I have a small presence on Instagram and on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/preinstein54/.

I’ve sold a few images upon request, several of my friends have my images on their walls, and I still dabble in woodworking, including making my own frames.

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Jeff Gottesman

Wiebe Gortmaker

I first became interested in photography back in high school sometime in the last century. My father worked for many years in a professional camera store in Pittsburgh (Kadet Photo Supply) where he did the picture framing.

I am based in Boulder, Colorado and consider myself a full-time hobbyist. After retiring from the airlines, I have devoted a high percentage of my time to travel and learning photography.

I spent a few summers working in that camera store mostly doing shipping and receiving but every chance I got, I would be talking with and learning from the salesmen who knew everything about cameras and photography.

In the past few years I have moved from travel photography to primarily wildlife and landscape photography. Prior to the airlines, I spent considerable time in remote areas of Alaska and Central and South America. I am now able to revisit those places with a focus on photography.

At the end of the summer they gave me a used Pentax Spotmatic 500 and there began my love of photography. I did all the shooting and darkroom work for my high school yearbook and later as a photographer and writer for college newspapers.

At the same time, I developed a love of nature and graduated college with a degree in Geology (with several electives in Photography). That was where all the environmentalists spent their time.

I have lived in Colorado since college and spent a lot of time flying, hiking, and climbing in the wild places in my back yard.

With my new hobby I am looking at these places in a new way, trying to preserve the image and feelings I have of the wildlife and landscape.

This process motivates me to learn and discover.

The love of nature and photography were a perfect match and after retiring from IT a few years ago (there was a career change somewhere in there) I’ve returned to those early loves and am able to spend a lot more time on photography, enjoying workshops and especially the Sierra Club trips :).

Wiebe is concentrating on his photography at this time and is not currently active on social media. He does plan to have a website together in the near future.

My photos can be seen at https://www.jeffgottesmanphotography.com/

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Joyce Harlan

Allen Johnson

I have always loved photography! First to document and save photos of my sons. We had little to no money for film developing in the beginning but I kept shooting. Every year my husband would ask me what I wanted for Christmas/birthday and I would always say “develop my film”!! After several years he finally did, but everything was yellow but the memories were there. From there, when I was coaching downhill skiing for Westside Special Olympics, I took photos of my athletes and created a book for each of them. The pure joy I saw on their and their family’s faces was priceless!

I'm a PhD in psychology with a passion for photography. I'm also the author of several books: a memoir on France entitled "Pardon My French" and two novels: "The Awakening" and "Spike, Benny, and Boone."

Finally, I was at Mammoth skiing with my family (grandkids!!) and we had lunch at Bergers Burgers. They had the most gorgeous landscape photos on they walls. I asked the waitress about them and she said they were by Vern Clevenger and that he often came in for lunch after skiing and she would point him out for me. She did, I asked about workshops and he said “absolutely”.

That was it!! I took one workshop from him and many, many more with Mountain Light in Bishop with Jack Dykinga, John Shaw, Jerry Dodrill, David Meunch and Jeff Foote. One of the most memorable was their ten day inaugural rafting the Grand Canyon trip with Jack & Jerry.

Over the years I have been blessed to travel the world with Muench Workshops (Cuba, Yukon, Mongolia, Alaska) Visionary Wild (Botswana, Kenya, Patagonia, Greenland), Aurora Expenditions (Antarctica), and Nathaniel Smalley (Iceland, Maine fall color).

Photography mixed with travel has been my favorite soul food for a long, long time.

And will continue to be for as long as I am able. Sadly, I am missing a trip to China in April and Uganda in June to see the gorillas.

But I’ll get there as soon as it is safe again.

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Butch Mazzuca

John Nilsson

I was born in Chicago IL and attended the University of Dayton. After graduation I served four and half years as a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps.

I have a fond memory from my early years of my father dragging me to the Denver Museum of Natural History on a winter Sunday afternoon. He had just purchased a Bosely 35mm camera and had decided he wanted desperately to photograph one of the dioramas. I distinctly remember the display was of several Seal Lions in a beautiful blue half-light of the Arctic winter that required a tricky long exposure. The transparency he showed me several weeks later was spectacular and mysterious to my young eyes. Although the demands of Medical School made this photo one of the first and last he shot, at 5 years old I was hooked.

My last official ‘work' position was President & CEO of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co-Denver. I Retired in 1999 and moved to Vail where I taught skiing, a “fundamentals of photography” class at our local community college and wrote (still do) commentary for the Vail Daily Newspaper.

I Started taking pictures in 2008 when my wife Bobbi “talked me” into traveling to Africa (we returned seven more times! ) My images have been published in Shutter Bug Magazine, Sarasota Magazine, Travel Africa Magazine (5 times) and Africa Geographic (6 times including two photo essays) I consider myself a generalist although African wildlife and landscape photography are my favorites.

The arrival of the digital age brought photography back to me as a conscious endeavor - first as a pastime enjoyed with friends who were also afflicted, and then as a practitioner of real estate and architectural photography during my 40 years as a real estate broker. Since retiring and moving to Los Angeles, I have continued my hobby as a nature and landscape photographer through active membership in the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter Camera Committee and my vocation as a real estate photographer through my company Oz Images LA. The camera is now a tool for adventure!

www.OzImagesLA.com dtlanow@gmail.com

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David DesRochers

Larry Miller

In the summer of 2000, David traveled from New Jersey to Montana to visit Glacier National Park. With camera in hand, he attempted to capture the amazing wildlife and beautiful landscapes. Although his photos were somewhat disappointing, the experience inspired him to study the art of photography and travel the world to witness and capture the wonders of our natural world.

I bought my first SLR camera in 1985 to document hikes in the local mountains that I did with friends. My first Sierra Club Camera Committee outing was a wildflower photo shoot in the Santa Monica Mountains led by Steve Cohen in 1991. Since then the SCCC has introduced me to many other scenic destinations, including the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, the Gorman hills, Saddleback Butte State Park, East Mojave National Preserve, the Eastern and Southern Sierras, Point Reyes, the Big Sur Coast, the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, Red Rock Canyon State Park, Tejon Ranch, and Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada.

At the same time, my own photography trips gradually expanded in scope over the years to include most of the western National Parks and National Monuments, with the Colorado Plateau becoming a personal favorite.

David is a member of the North American Nature Photography Association and an Associate Naturalist with The New Jersey Audubon Society. Over the past 15 years, David has shared his knowledge teaching workshops, leading tours, and writing articles.

David’s photos have been recognized in several international competitions and have been published in books, magazines and on calendars.

David is an accomplished public speaker and has appeared at events including the New England Camera Club Council Annual Conference (2014 & 2016), the Connecticut Association of Photographers and New Jersey Audubon's Birding Festival.

David's experience judging photo competitions has taken him as far as Budoia, Italy to judge the Bio Photo Contest. In 2014, David was awarded the New Jersey Federation of Camera Clubs Citation in recognition for his contributions to the advancement of the art and science of photography in the state.

Photography is an avocation that took a backseat to my career during the 32+ years that I worked as a radar systems engineer at Hughes Aircraft/ Raytheon Company. Since retiring in 2013, I’ve been able to devote more time to developing my photographic skills. Experiencing and sharing the beauty of nature continues to be my primary motivation.

www.desrochersphography.com

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Thomas Loucks Tom has been a longstanding amateur photographer, but only in recent years has he had more serious time to devote to the hobby.

He garnered first place in National Audubon’s 2004 Nature’s Odyssey contest and has placed well in several contests by Nature’s Best, Denver Audubon’s Share the View, and the Merrimack Valley’s George W. Glennie Nature Contest.

He has two images of “Alumni Adventurers” on permanent display at Dartmouth College.

He is also the incoming President of Mile High Photo Club in Denver (2021-2022) where he currently serves as VP and as a Director.

His photographic interests are landscape, wildlife, and travel photography, though his favorite subjects are alpine landscapes. Recently retired, Tom is looking forward to spending more time on photography and other outdoor activities. He recently signed up as a volunteer with Denver Audubon to assist with field trips and hopes that those will soon resume.

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Basil Katsaros A native of Denver, Colorado, I first attended Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Not understanding humidity or seeing the sun for 30 days, I transferred to the University of Colorado. During my junior year, a roommate needed money and sold me his Pentax 35mm camera. That moment launched my interest in photography. My interests and knowledge were expanded by the Nikon School of Photography.

In the earlier days, subject matter centered around my twin sons with travel photos and Christmas cards. As a real estate appraiser, I used photography in much of my work. I must admit, however, the 70’s primarily utilized a Polaroid as film was too time consuming for client demands. I have since graduated to two Nikon digital cameras and too many lenses.

While attempting to downshift in work, I occasionally use my photography skills to testify as an expert witness in real estate. My interests include travel, landscape, and wildlife photography. I’m not smart enough to have a website, maybe someone can show me how.

Most images are for personal enjoyment and mainly remain in my computer. My goal at this time is too not only become a better photographer, but to conquer Photoshop!!!

Peter Bennett

Karen Schuenemann

My mother’s father was a studio photographer on the Coney Island Boardwalk, my father’s father was an artist in Germany, and my father was a filmmaker and amateur still photographer in New York, so naturally I decided to pursue a career in music. Luckily after hearing the error of my ways, I picked up my father’s old Nikkormat and haven’t looked back since.

Karen Schuenemann is a Nature and Wildlife photographer frequently found exploring the parks and wetlands of Southern California. In 2015, she left her retail management job to pursue her passion for Wildlife Photography. Her work focuses on “Urban Wilderness” and she spent over 100 days photographing the Red Foxes in her neighborhood in 2020 during the COVID 19 pandemic.

She recently was awarded a Highly Commended Award-Bird Behavior in the 2018 Wildlife Photographer of the Year sponsored by the London Natural History Museum. Her work was exhibited in Davos, Switzerland at the World Economic Summit in 2019. In 2017 she was the Professional Honorable Mention in the National Audubon Contest.

Her work has hung in the London Natural History Museum and has been included in shows at the San Diego Natural History Museum, The G2 Gallery, Palos Verdes Art Center and Armenia Conservation Show. She has been published in Nature’s Best, Audubon Magazine, USA Today, NANPA, Shadow and Light Magazine, and American Photo Magazine. In addition, she has garnered numerous awards from Best in Show in Los Angeles County Fair to Honorable Mention in the National Park Contest.

She enjoys writing about her photographic adventures and has written articles for NANPA and enjoyed being a judge in several photography contests. She was the 2019 President for the Photography and Digital Artists group of the Palos Verdes Art Center and was the volunteer Faculty Coordinator for the NANPA High School Scholarship Program in Tennessee.

She currently leads workshops to a variety of locations from Bosque Del Apache, to the Grand Tetons to Africa and Central America with her company, Wilderness At Heart Photography, LLC. She enjoys teaching classes at Samy’s Cameras in Los Angeles and Tuttle Cameras in Long Beach.

From 1998 to 2014 I ran my own stock agency, Ambient Images, which specialized in photos of New York and California. In 2015 I formed Citizen of the Planet, LLC, devoted exclusively to the distribution of my stories and work that focus on environmental subjects such as water and air quality issues, fossil fuels, drought, green construction, alternative energies and urban farming.

My editorial work has appeared in numerous publications and books, and I am privileged to have my fine art prints hang in museums, the California State Capitol and many other private institutions and collectors.

I’ve also had to opportunity to have worked with many local environmental organizations including FoLAR (Friends of the LA River), Heal the Bay, Algalita Marine Research Foundation, Communities for a Better Environment, and the LA Conservation Corps.

I have been an instructor for over ten years at the Los Angeles Center of Photography (formerly the Julia Dean Photo Workshops).

I love teaching photography and having the opportunity to pass on what I was given from all the amazing teachers I’ve had the honor to learn from.

Karen currently celebrates life with her husband and two dogs in St. George, Utah.

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Bob Beresh

Bob Cates

Los Angeles is where commercial photographer Bob Beresh will always call home, but having recently relocated to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he is truly a global creative. His commercial photography includes work for clients in automotive, aviation, corporate executive and business portraiture, architecture, and product work. Bob’s photos are influenced by his observations in nature, travel and sports to deliver memorable images.

Bob Cates led his first Camera Committee outing in 1975 as co-leader with Allan Der, so his roots go way back. He has chaired the Angeles Chapter History Committee since the mid-70s, and as such has archived tens of thousands of photographic images, many from his own documentation of Club outings, but also images donated from hundreds of Club members.

Bob served two years as US Forest Service Artist in Residence to interpret and showcase the beauty of the Angeles National Forest and is past Chairman of the Sierra Club Camera Committee, Angeles Chapter.”

He is primarily a nature/landscape photographer, but is also drawn to macrophotography— primarily of botanical subjects. Since 2015 he has lived in Pasadena and frequently may be found haunting the grounds of the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens.

bentriver.com bobbereshstudio.com

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Storm Cell © 2022, John Clement, All Rights Reserved

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Causes, Notes, and Announcements

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Notes and Announcements A Note from the Editor…

In coming issues of Focal Points Magazine I will be limiting the number of photos submitted to a maximum of six photos per contributor.

Please select your very best photos for each submission and limit to that number - so I don’t have to make the difficult decision on what to include for you!

An exception will be for photos submitted for the Cover Story. For these contributions, the only limit will be what is necessary to tell the story.

Thanks for following this guideline in your future contributions to Focal Points Magazine!

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Get out there and get involved!

Our natural world is under attack and we all need to fight to preserve the things that we hold dear.

CONTRIBUTE

YOUR TIME, YOUR DOLLARS....

OR BOTH! Do you know anyone who would like to become a member of the Sierra Club Camera Committee?

We are seeking new members to share their outdoor experiences and photographs.

If you have a friend or acquaintance whom you feel would benefit from and add to our membership, please ask them to join us at our next meeting.

Membership costs only $15.00 per year - a tremendous value!

To join or renew, please mail a check for $15 (payable to SCCC): Joan Schipper - Membership 6100 Cashio St. Los Angeles, CA 90035 (Be sure to provide your address and email)

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The Members’ Choice Photo Contest What’s your favorite photo in this Focal Points Magazine? Continuing with this issue I am asking all members to vote for their favorite photo. Here’s how: 1. Please e-mail me at dtlanow@gmail.com (Heading: Member’s Choice) and let me know your choice for the best photo by the 20th of the month in which the issue is published.

2. In your e-mail, give me the page number, the name of the photographer, and a brief descrip- tion so I can identify your choice.

I will tally up the votes and announce the winner in the next issue and republish the photo with a paragraph from the photographer about how it was captured, where, when, and even the dreaded mire of camera, settings and lens.

This should be a fun feature!

..........John Nilsson, Publisher

Wanna Go on a Hike?

Just in case you didn’t realize it...........

The Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club has literally hundreds of outdoor activities that Sierra Club Camera Committee members can attend.

You can find these activities at http://angeles.sierraclub.org/activities If you have an idea for a trip that the Camera Committee might like to plan for, tell a leader. They are always open to ideas of new places to go, new places to shoot. See the last page of this newsletter for a list of contact information for the leaders.

CST 2087766-40. Registration as a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State of California. All participants on Sierra Club outings are required to sign a standard liability waiver. To read the liability waiver before you participate on an outing, go to: http://www.sierraclub.org/outings/chapter/forms

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Focal Points

Angeles Chapter Camera Committee Magazine November 2020

Focal Points Sierra Club Camera Committee Magazine December, 2020

Focal Points Sierra Club Camera Committee Magazine January 2021

Do you enjoy receiving your monthly copy of Focal Points Magazine, as well as full membership to the Sierra Club Camera Committtee and access to our extensive programming and trips?

If your answer is "Yes" and you want to continue receiving Focal Points Magazine, please send your check for $15.00 and your full name and email address for a yearly subscription to: Sierra Club Camera Committee Joan Schipper - Membership 6100 Cashio St. Los Angeles, CA 90035 JoanSchipper@ixnetcom.com 323-828-8334 115

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Photo of the Month

Steve Cohen - Poppy #3

The image was made on Fuji Velvia film. Pentax LX Camera using a Pentax macro lens. I don’t remember the camera settings and because the image was from a scanned slide there is no EXIF information.

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The Parting Shot

Ouch! ©2022 John Nilsson, All Rights Reserved 117

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Leader Contacts Chair Joe Doherty 310-500-5696 Information.SCCC@gmail.com

Programs Susan Manley 323-901-7788 SSNManley@yahoo.com Treasurer Ed Ogawa Ed5ogawa@angeles.sierraclub.org Membership Joan Schipper* 323-828-8334 JoanSchipper@ixnetcom.com PublicationsEditor + Liaison

John Nilsson* 213-266-2224 FocalPoints.SCCC@gmail.com

Communications Velda Ruddock 310-500-5995 VRuddock.SCCC@gmail.com Website Velda Ruddock Meetup Ed Ogawa Instagram Joan Schipper Facebook Open Outings co-chairs Joan Schipper* 323-828-8334 joanschipper@ixnetcom.com Alison Boyle* 310-944-1019 AlisoniBoyle@icloud.com Trip Leaders* Above and the following: Steve Anderson 714-614-7808 SAndersonImagery@outlook.com John Boyle 310-828-6300 JBoyle6300@gmail.com Carole Scurlock 626-794-5207 CScurlock@charter.net Allan Der 714-653-8319 ader@sprynet.com

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