Hi Everyone,
I apologize for not being very active on the website recently, and thank you to all of you that asked if we were doing OK. When we left for our trip to Texas, I certainly didn't intend to be away from the website for so long. We went down to the the very southern tip of Texas to participate in a Nature Photography Summit hosted by the North American Nature Photographer's Association. I was hoping to be able to check in on the website more often, but ended up being much busier than I anticipated. (We're still on our way home now, and should be back home late tonight.)
I am the chairman of the College Scholarship Program, and each year I lead another group of mentors to host a very intensive 1-week photography workshop for a select group of college students from around the world. As part of the workshop we ask the students to select a local issue to photograph, and then build a multi-media presentation telling the story. This year they chose the topic of "habitat fragmentation" and then highlighted the role of Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge and the Lower Rio Grand Wildlife Refuge in restoring critical habitat for many endangered species in the region. But they went "above and beyond" and also pulled in local culture in order to "connect" with the locals and help them come to value the refuge system and their restoration efforts. The 13 students (5 going for their doctorate degrees in biology, ecology and the related sciences, and six from outside the United States) did an AMAZING job.
I stayed up into the wee hours of the night on most nights of the conference helping the students, and then ended up staying up with them for a full 40 hours straight in order to put the finishing touches on the presentation and present it to the hundreds of the folks in the audience and formally present it to the National Refuge System to use in their educational efforts. Although it was very hard work, the student called their experience "transformational" and many of them vowed to continue using their photography to make the world a better place to live. As soon as they get the video posted to a hosting site, I'll post a link so that you all can see it. I'm extremely proud of what this group of students accomplished in the short time they had available, and believe that in addition to learning about photography, they also learned several "life lessons" about the power of collaboration, and using your passion to make the world a better place.
We will get back home late tonight, and I hope to be able to spend some time getting caught up on this website tommorrow.
Anybody have any recommendations for next week's assignment?
Keith
