See You at the Art Festival

If posts have been few and far between lately, it's because I've been preparing to participate in several upcoming art festivals here in South Florida. These venues provide more than an opportunity to sell photographs; more importantly, they let me interact with fellow photographers and nature lovers. Most of all, I enjoy doing nature education on-the-fly for children excited by images of wild animals both beautiful and fierce. These moments of connection, with wildlife as the conduit, are what it's all about.

Please stop by and say hello at one of the following art festivals, both sponsored by Howard Alan Events:

14th Annual Weston Art Festival @ Weston Town Center
Saturday & Sunday, November 11-12, 2006, 10am-5pm
FREE ADMISSION
Information: 954-472-3755

Location:

Take I-595 to I-75 South. Take I-75 south to the Weston-Royal Palm Boulevard exit (Royal Palm Boulevard, Exit 15) and go to Bonaventure Blvd. Make a right on Bonaventure Blvd. and follow it to Bell Tower Lane (right before Walgreens on Three Islands). Make a left on Bell Tower Lane and follow signs to the show on Market Street.

7th Annual Downtown Delray Beach Thanksgiving Weekend Art Festival
Saturday & Sunday, November 25-26, 2006, 10am-5pm
FREE ADMISSION

Location: Pineapple Grove (NE 2nd Ave.) and Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, east of I-95

For full descriptions of each art show, see the Howard Alan Events web page.

Out on a Limb

One way to freshen up your knowledge of the Latin language is through the ornithological and botanical sciences.

There may be no more fitting place for aficionados of birding and horticulture to discover a love of Latin through Chordeiles minor (Common nighthawk), Otus asio (Screech owl), and Ilex cassine (Dahoon holly) than the Mary Help of Christians (MHOC) garden in Parkland. This hidden gem, located in North Broward County, not only offers 20+ acres of very good birding in restored native habitats, but also offers a study of more than 250 native plants. The site was recently noted as a place of interest on the Tropical Audubon Society's online bird boards, proving that the site is rapidly gaining the attention of regional birders.

The MHOC is located on private property, just north of the Sawgrass Expressway on University Drive. Park near the gardens and do not be surprised to see a member of the Land Stewardship Committee (LSC) or even a Broward County Sheriff patrolling the grounds. However, we were assured by Paul Gore and Ellie Weber, active members of the LSC and avid nature photographers, that responsible individuals are welcome to visit the site.

On a recent morning visit, we listed a Common nighthawk, blue-gray gnatcatchers, prairie warbler, parula warbler, brown thrasher, tricolor heron, great egret, mourning doves, Eurasian collared doves, white-winged doves, blue jays, common and boat-tail grackles, monk parakeets, great blue heron, osprey, and a resident screech owl. Much of our morning was spent with Paul and Ellie, who provided us with a comprehensive tour of the grounds and pointed out the many plantings--and hours of labor--that now make the site a welcome stop for wildlife of all kinds.

The roosting Common nighthawk was a highlight of this visit. With a tiny bill and huge gape, this nocturnal feeder and summer resident in South Florida is best identified in flight by its long, pointed wings and bold white wingstripes. The author has witnessed dozens of Common nighthawk following an evening flight path of hundreds of swallows, albeit at a higher altitude.

The photo of the nighthawk illustrates a very typical roosting position: lengthwise across a high limb and well camouflaged.

The gardens offer photographers a particularly good opportunity to photograph native species in a natural environment, but with the benefit of habitats that are moderately pruned, providing fuller foliage and cleaner compositions than might be found in other, less managed, locations.

As always, please respect the property, realizing that you are a visitor to private lands. Your responsible shooting will keep this "hidden gem" available to photographers and wildlife enthusiasts for meditative study and beautiful scenery into the forseeable future.

Visit the Gallery

South Florida Nature Photography Lovers! Visit the Michael Joseph Gallery August 14th through September 18th for the Summer Art Exhibition: The Coolest Event of the Summer. The exhibition features the work of local photographers Michael Colanero, Jonathan Estrin, Luis Jamirez, Michael Joseph, Gordon McNichols and Michael Mele.

Meet the artists at the opening reception, Thursday, August 17th, 6-11 p.m.

Some of the photographers will also be at the gallery on Saturday, August 19th, 1-4 p.m for an informal open house.

The gallery is located at 2437 North Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors, FL 33305. The gallery is located on the west side of the street, one block south of the "Five Points" intersection between Sunrise Boulevard and Oakland Park Boulevard.

For more information call 954-563-5157.

The Back Story

It's been a busy and exhilarating month, preparing for a new festival season and an upcoming gallery exhibition. If it wasn't hard enough to select images with appealing (and potentially saleable) content, I had an additional challenge: moisture content.

Lesson learned. Florida outdoor art festivals are not easy on photographic images. My images, particularly those larger than 11x14, began to ripple almost immediately. While from experience I knew that the images would relax once returned to the balanced humidity of the average air conditioned home, they weren't presenting to my liking.

So started me on the journey of discovery. What would be the perfect mount? I have been touting completely acid-free and archival mountings, but knew that ripple-avoidance therapy meant a bit of personal therapy, too--making a big change to adhesive-mounted pieces.

Choices
Moving away from traditional hinges, mats and frames can be more expensive, but it offers some really creative opportunities. The most economical mount is spray mounting to foamcore. However, as a student of archival sciences, I couldn't stand to apply paper to paper using a non-reversible technique. Oh, what would those professors think! And it would be a huge waste of my inventory of archival foamcore.

So, what else is there? There are more substrates that can be decribed here; effectively, any surface is fair game, but typical mounts include:

• Gatorboard(R), a rigid Polystyrene foam core faced on both sides by smooth, moisture resistant man-made wood fiber veneers. This is a moisture-resistant and popular mounting for interior and exterior signage.
  
• Sintra(R) is another composite material from Alcan, also the manufacturer of Gatorboard. This lightweight substrate is PVC board with a low gloss matte finish.
• Plexiglass is a clear acrylic material that is softer than glass. Photos can be mounted directly to the plexiglass through surface, or face, mounting. Alternatively, an interesting look can be achieved with sandwich mounting, in which the print is floating between two pieces of plexiglass (or mounted on a backing board such as sintra and fronted with plexiglass).
  
• Medium Density Fiberboard is a rigid, pressed board. Although I have one piece--a "market tester"--mounted to masonite as a low-cost, durable format, I am concerned about acid migration and water absorption with this medium. On the other hand, I've seen some really creative MDF mount constructions that show personality and bring out the subject in innovative ways.
  

All of these are good choices and generally commonly available. So what did I choose?

Aluminum. It's not for everyone; it's pricy and other media serve the purpose just as well. It's most often used as a substrate for contemporary, urban images where the metal is more symbolic than functional. It's also used as a museum mount for its durability and smooth finish. For me, as a heavy user of metallic papers, I found aluminum to be very complementary.

Shameless Promotion
If a company provides great service, a consumer will tell two people, but if they provide terrible service, the consumer will tell eight. In an attempt to reverse that trend, with no compensation fom any party, I received excellent service from A&I Photographic and Digital Services in Hollywood, California. They offer printing and mounting services, do a terrific job on cusom work and, to boot, came through admirably when one exhibition piece was damaged in shipping (note: always ship insured!). They aren't the cheapest game in town but, in the case of equipment, neither is B&H Photo. I'll pay for the service any day, because viewers will see the quality.

Want to suggest Creative mounting ideas? Recommend great finishing services? Leave a comment (and a convincing example)!

Picture Perfect Backyards

Everybody has one of those days. It's seven a.m. and you can't roll out of bed. The weather is too hot, or too cold. The camera is too heavy. Gas prices just went up two cents a gallon. You know you'll regret it, but even with a double dose of vitamins and a Rare Bird Alert, you won't budge from your suburban homestead.

But all is not lost, because you've brought nature home to you. After a bite of breakfast at your own table, you take out the telephoto or the binoculars and head out to your backyard wildlife habitat.

It's easy to turn your property into a treasure trove of wildlife watching--not to mention photographic opportunities. Here are some tips:

Become a Backyard Wildlife Habitat. Certify your urban or suburban property as a backyard wildlife habitat, according to the guidelines of the National Wildlife Federation. An eligible backyard "provides the four basic habitat elements needed for wildlife to thrive: food, water, cover, and places to raise young."

This effort is fundamental to drawing native species into your area and providing the best opportunities to view and/or photograph wildlife behavior in as natural a setting as possible in a developed environment.

Create a stage. The Spring 2005 issue of Nature's Best Photography features a number of exquisite and effective wildlife habitats. To maximize the aesthetic quality of your photographic images or viewing, place feeders near uncluttered backgrounds. This provides you with better visibility for watching wildlife, and results in more pleasing photographs.

For an even more natural appearance, place feeders near shrubs where wildlife might perch, or tie tree branches to the birdfeeder for natural perches. Done well, the perch will not only look natural, but enables you to capture birds and other wildlife without including the feeder in your composition.

Shoot blindly. A blind can be a useful tool. It provides some level of comfort (shade, protection from rain, etc.) and enables wildlife to move more freely. Depending on the size and landscape of your property, tents or permanent structures may be desired.

Our own home is a certified backyard wildlife habitat, and although our property is very small, we have drawn many species. Proximity to the Everglades has brought birds and other animals that dropped the seeds of native plants and ferns. We have become home to birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. To our delight, a sharp-shinned hawk has hunted our bird feeder from a Gumbo Limbo tree, Everglades rice rats have wandered past to collect seeds, and the caterpillars of soon-to-be longwing and monarch butterfly species regularly defoliate feeder plants like passion vine and milkweed. Treefrogs sing in the night, shrike in the morning, and mockingbirds throughout the day.

"It is," as my 10-year old niece once said, "like living in the country." The birds are like TV to us--and to our indoor-only cats--and my camera is my Play Station. To me, cable is that to which my remote shutter release is attached. My backyard is more than a retreat. For my photographic pursuits, it has become an opportunity.

All I need to do is roll out of bed.

But It's Just a Swamp

The photographer communicates through the image. We can remain silent, and yet speak volumes about the state of the world, the nature of art, and the beauty of life. And sometimes, if something makes us angry enough, we can scream.

I am working through the final chapters of a book entitled The Swamp by Washington Post reporter Michael Grunwald. It traces the political history of the Everglades, from the travels of William Bartram to the "conservation" politics that led to drainage projects to the restoration efforts of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.

The action of men described in Grunwald's excellent narrative is disturbing, but there is something else in the book that is so beautiful, it stirs anger. The photos of Clyde Butcher.

These images provide a perfect contrast with Grunwald's story and prove how fortunate it is that with all attempts to erode the foundation of the Everglades, we are reminded of the potential for the river of grass to recover and to flourish. We are reminded of a place that protected the native people, who understood--and respected--its ways. We are reminded of the subtle majesty of this land.

Today, the Everglades is kind to the nature photographer. It is accessible to those who need access, yet provides new frontiers for those seeking more adventure. Its array of wildlife is not only incredible--it is incredibly resilient. But what was once plentiful is now scarce, and where wildlife trod is now bare. We should be angry. Angry enough to act.

The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan recently reached a 5-year milestone. More than 207,000 acres of land has been acquired, which is about half (51 percent) of the goal for restoration of the watershed. Mitigation marshes are being developed throughout South Florida. And projects to remove barriers to natural water flows are being developed. It's all good.

But is it good enough? Is it fast enough? Are we committed to saving this natural wonder? As Grunwald makes apparent, the Everglades has always been as much, or more, about politics as it has been about doing what is good and right. To win is to be diligent. Grunwald writes, "the Everglades is a moral test. It will be a test of our willingness to restrain ourselves, to share the earth's resources with other living things that moveth upon it, to live in harmony with nature."

Do your part to save the Everglades. Act responsibly. Create images that speak loudly. And speak freely.

Recovery at a Snail's Pace

Look at the distribution map for the snail kite in your field guide. You'll find that the bird is uncommon and local in a small portion of the Florida interior, generally correlated with the Everglades watershed between Lake Okeechobee and Big Cypress.

In Endangered and Threatened: Animals of Florida and their Habitats by Chris Scott (2004), the author reports that populations are relatively stable, with an increase to 996 birds in 1994 in comparison with 96 birds in 1969, two years after it was placed on the Endangered Species List. Today, the snail kite is listed as a threatened species.

This photograph, taken early in the morning at Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Boynton Beach, Florida, shows a snail kite flying low over the marsh with an apple snail in its bill. Even in near silhouette, you can easily identify the white tail band. The snail kite can be easily confused with the more common (but still uncommon) Northern Harrier, which also patrols Loxahatchee NWR. However, the broad bowed wings, trailing feet and wingflaps are characteristic attributes not typically seen in the low-soaring flight of the harrier.

Not only is the snail kite an incredibly handsome bird, but it is a true symbol of the Everglades habitat. Unique to the region, its only food source is the apple snail, which itself requires specific water levels and conditions to flourish. Loxahatchee NWR is one of the areas where apple snail populations are managed for the snail kite; as a result, it is one of the best publicly accessible areas to spot the bird. But, as with any listed species, don't count on predictable arrivals!

The snail kite has also been spotted at nearby Green Cay Wetlands, quite possibly due to its close proximity to the refuge. Dade County birders also continue to spot the snail kite at locations along Tamiami Trail.

In many ways, the snail kite flies "under the radar." However, with the resurgence of the bald eagle in the state, perhaps the incredible snail kite will became the next symbol of ecological balance and help lead the charge to make people understand that the beauty of the Everglades in not just in its sawgrass, but above it.

If you are lucky enough to photograph the snail kite, share it and educate people about this unique raptor. Make it a living icon of hope and recovery of one of America's greatest natural (and national ) treasures.

Spring

It's 90 degrees, rain has become routine, and lightning started a fire that blazed over 10,000 acres of the Everglades in Western Broward County.

Welcome to spring in South Florida. Now, let's put all this in different terms. South Florida has transformed from brown to green, and the fire has done its duty, dispersing seeds of life across the region. Plants and grasses will surge back to health in the nutrient-rich peat. Thickets have been thinned back, enabling wildflowes and grasses to emerge from the formerly shadowed ground.

And birds have been busy. Nest building has given way to the nuturing of young. And how resilient nature is. This is not the story of spring, but of a burrowing owl or two or five.

As the world awaits the premier of Hoot, a new movie adapted from the children's book by Carl Hiassen, I have found my own owl family to watch and wonder--such as how they chose the grassy median of an urban strip mall immediately under a flight path to a major international airport.

It's rather comedic, actually. Every time a plane flies over, the adults watch the flight of the large, ominous shadow of a raptor that never seems to veer from its course. I suppose they have figured out that these dark hawks are the least of its worries; they have mouths to feed.

Three young owls linger at the mouth of the burrow, wary of a stranger with two long legs and a single glass eye but curious nonetheless. They scamper into the burrow with each strange click from a creature they do not recognize, and then they cautiously return for another breath of fresh air under the watchful eye of Mom and Dad.

The burrowing owl is different than the others. It lives under ground, in burrows that it would rather borrow than build. It chases invertebrates, which it consumes as much of its diet. It is bold and daring and tolerant of daylight.

Nevertheless, it is an owl. With silent feathers--so quiet that while photographing the female, I didn't hear or see the male return from its nearby hunt. It just appeared, and then began a warning chatter that confirmed my suspicion. The three of us weren't alone. As I would soon see for myself, the were babies about.

It is spring. I'll watch and wait. Perhaps the nearby grassy fields will offer the young owls a new home close by. Perhaps the seeds from the Everglades fire will take hold and owl and sawgrass and wildflower will all take root in an attempt to reverse the tedium of surburbia.

I, for one, will welcome the new neighbors.