Nature

Mer de Glace

September 24, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice) is categorized a “valley glacier”, a type of glacier that originates from mountain glaciers and flows down valleys, and located above the Chamonix valley within the Mont Blanc massif mountain range of the French Alps. Formed by the confluence of the Leschaux and Génant glaciers, the Mer de Glace is the longest and largest glacier in France, and one the biggest tourist attractions in the Chamonix valley as it’s accessible by the historic Montenvers Railway (Chemin de fer du Montenvers) and offers spectacular mountain views as well as tours, exhibits, and restaurant/hotel. However, the powerful beauty and recreational benefits of Mer de Glace were not always appreciated.

During the classical and medieval periods of European history, ice was deemed mysterious, evil and dangerous, and glaciers aroused intense fear as they were thought to be inhabited by demons that swallowed up unwary victims as well as whole villages. Consequently, glaciers were avoided, not explored, deepening myths and superstitions for many centuries. In 1690, fearful villagers of Chamonix took action against glacial evil by retaining the services of a bishop to exorcise the glaciers.

Two Englishmen on expedition to Chamonix in 1741, William Windham (1717-1761) an English landowner and Richard Pococke (1704-1765) a high ranking clergyman and anthropologist, disregarded the forewarning of evil lurking in glaciers, and climbed up the mountain for 3¾ hours with the aid of local guides and porters to carry wine (essential drink for 18th century adventure travelers) and provisions. It was a successful excursion as they returned safely and were able to provide the first written description of the glacier they called ‘Mer de Glace’. The achievement also marks the beginning of change in attitude as the phenomena of the Sea of Ice later attracted writers, adventurers, artists and photographers.

Crossing the Mer de Glace on foot (1902-1904) — Mer de Glace Crossing, Zurich Central Library collection, 1902 – 1904, Public Domain

Two hundred and seventy-five years later, the explorers of Mer de Glace are on skis. In the video Ice Call from PVS Company, pro skier, Sam Favret, takes you on a freestyle tour through the icy waves, trails, and tunnels of Mer de Glace.

Vallée Blanche

Mer de Glace is certainly skiable, and you don’t have to be a ski pro like Sam Favret or an expert to enjoy the unique backcountry experience via the iconic off-piste ski route, Vallée Blanche. But, there are risks. The surface of Mer de Glace is very rough with gradient drops, large hunks of ice, deep crevasses, and seracs, making it extremely dangerous without sufficient snowfall, good intermediate skills (in all types of terrains & snow conditions) and a local mountain guide.

The Vallée Blanche is accessible from Chamonix, France via a 20 minute ride on the Aiguille du Midi cable car to the mid-station Plan de l’Aiguille (2,317m), then a walk through a tunnel and down a precarious ridge to a small, level area— the starting point for the main Vallée Blanche runs. There are four: the classic “voie normale” (the normal way), and the more challenging, Le Vrai Vallee Blanche, the Petit Envers du Plan and Grand Envers du Plan.

For the most part, the voie normale follows the valley floor through dynamic terrain, beginning with a descent into a bowl toward a large rock outcrop known as Le Gros Rognon (The Big Rock) and continuing along the mountainside. The run can be nice and smooth in spots, but depending on weather conditions, there could be deep powder, crusty layers, and icy moguls to navigate. About 2/3 down, the Refuge du Requin is a popular place to take a break, and 250 meters from there is the start of Mer de Glace. If snow conditions are good, it’s possible to ski all the way down to Chamonix. If not, the run ends at Montenvers, thus requiring a steep climb up iron stairs (misery!) to a gondola that connects to the Montenvers Railway. At a leisurely pace, including lots of stops, sightseeing and long lift queues, the up/down round trip will take 4 – 6 hours, but don’t rush…..enjoy the ride and take in the views.

The Fateful Retreat of Mer de Glace

Valley glaciers like Mer de Glace are relentlessly moving, flowing, growing, shrinking and deforming as a result of weather (temperature and snowfall) and stresses caused by the massive weight. As a result, they are appreciable indicators of climate change.

After a significant cold period in Europe during the late 19^th century, Mer de Glace was so large that it reached as far as Chamonix in 1850. Today, it’s hardly visible from Chamonix as the lower end of the glacier (the ‘snout’) has been shrinking during the last 30 years at a rate of about 4-5 meters (13-16 feet) a year. There is concern the retreat will not stop as Mer de Glace is an important fresh water source for the region as well as a tourist destination, and Christian Vincent, a French glaciologist with the Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Geophysique (LGGE) and Institut de Recherche pour le Development (IRD), has warned it may shrink as much as 1.2 -1.4 kilometers (about ¾ of a mile) by the year 2040.

Resources/Information:
Wikipedia (Mer de Glace, Mont Blanc massif, Glacier, Richard Pococke, William Windham, Sr., French Alps, Chamonix, Chemin de fer du Montenvers, Aiguille du Midi, Little Ice Age)
The Annals of Mont Blanc – A Monograph by Charles Edward Mathews (1900)
Because It’s There – A Celebration of Mountaineering from 200 BC to Today (William Windham..from an Account of the Glaciers or Ice Alps in Savoy, in Two Letters) edited and translated by Alan S. Weber (2003)
Celebration of the Franco-English Friendship in Chamonix (1936), summitpost.org
Spiritual History of Ice: Romanticism, Science & Imagination by Eric G. Wilson
Chamonix visitor information: findtransfers.com (see also; chamonix.com, chamonix.net, ski-chamonix.net)
“Climate Change on Mont Blanc: The Vanishing Mer de Glace” by Helena Fouquet (2015), bloomberg.com
Mont Blanc: Glacier in Danger of Collapse, BBC News (September 25, 2019) – Italian authorities have closed roads and evacuated mountain huts after experts warned that part of a glacier on Mont Blanc could collapse.

There are more bold backcountry runs, big jumps and tricks to see on the “Downhill Runs” video channel and explore at Skiing China

Filmakers traveled to Alaska to explore Exit Glacier, but along with stunningly beautiful mountain views and amazing blue ice, they saw melting. FREE 2 WATCH → Glacier Exit

We’d love to hear from you! If you’d like to comment on this article, join the conversation, or share your inspiration, and you have not yet registered as an On2In2™ playmaker, please sign up via the ‘Engage page’. Don’t worry, it’s pretty quick and easy (unless you’re a robot).

Feature photo is a still shot from the video “Ice Call” by PVS Company
Mer de Glace photo by Detroit Publishing Co. (1890-1900), US Library of Congress Prints & Photographs, Public Domain
Chamonix Valley Map sourced from chamonix.net
Crossing the Mer de Glace on foot, photo taken about 1902-1904, Zurich Central Library, Public Domain

Art Underwater

September 21, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

“For Art may err, but Nature cannot miss.” — John Dryden, The Cock and the Fox

Underwater public arts projects created by the visionary Jason deCaires Taylor are not just unique exhibition spaces for divers and snorkelers to enjoy. They’re also examples of successful marine conservation efforts as the sculptures serve as habitats for all sorts of sea life which transform Taylor’s work into living, constantly evolving art that inspires an appreciation for the natural beauty of the mysterious world underwater. This video takes you there.

He had a very big idea — create giant cement sculptures and place them on the ocean floor in areas with barren sea beds. Then, in 2006, Jason deCaires Taylor founded and created the world’s first underwater sculpture park off the west coast of Grenada in the West Indies. It was a great success, and has been listed as one of the Top 25 Wonders of the World by National Geographic. In 2009, he co-founded an underwater sculpture museum, Museo Subacuático de Arte (MUSA), that includes a collection of over 500 of his art works in the waters of Cancun, Isla Mujeres and Punta Nizuc, Mexico. More underwater sculpture gardens followed in the Bahamas and Spain, and he’s currently working on a new project in the Maldives. In this TED Talk, Taylor shares his story and breathtakingly beautiful photography.

Jason DeCaires Taylor talk is courtesy of TED, CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International

Information/Resources:
Gallery: The sculpture garden at the bottom of the sea, by Kate Torgovnick May, Ted.com blog article (December 23, 2015)
Locations Map of the underwater sculpture exhibits around the world (Jason DeCaires Taylor Projects)

Underwater Sculpture Park – Granada, West Indies, Molinere Beauséjour Marine Protected Area

(listed as one of the Top 25 Wonders of the World by National Geographic)
Bahamas Reef Environment Education Foundation (BREEF) Sir Nicholas Nuttall Coral Reef Sculpture Garden (Included in the sculpture garden is, Ocean Atlas, a young Bahamian girl who appears to be holding up the ocean, and at 60 tons/18 ft tall, it’s the largest underwater sculpture in the world.)

Museo Subacuático de Arte (MUSA), Museum of art under the waters of Cancun, Isla Mujeres and Punta Nizuc (Viewing via glass bottom boat, scuba and snorkeling)
Museo Atlántico, Located near the south coast of Lanzarote, in the Bahía de Las Coloradas, Spain
Alluvia, Sculpture lies at bottom of the river Stour running through city of Canterbury in Kent, UK
Pemuteran Temple Garden (statues of Buddha, Ganesha, Turtles behind an ornate Balinese gateway, constructed as one of three Bali Reef Foundation/Australian Aid funded projects)

Dive In2 deep waters and explore the otherworldly beauty of ocean life Watch: Underwater Discoveries, an On2In2™ collection of short videos, Free-to-Watch, On-Demand

BIG, POWERFUL (sometimes dangerous), and a beautiful BLUE, the Ocean does more than its share to sustain life on Planet Earth. Saving Our Ocean

We’d love to hear from you! If you’d like to comment on this post, join the conversation, or share your inspiration, and you have not yet registered as an On2In2™ playmaker, please sign up via the ‘Engage page’. Don’t worry, it’s pretty quick and easy.

Feature photo is a screen shot taken from the Jason DeCaires Taylor Ted Talk video

Saving Our Ocean

September 19, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

The global Ocean covers 72% of the Earth surface, and it does more than its share to sustain life on Planet Earth. It feeds us, and is the source of the water we drink and the air we breathe. It provides precious minerals, metals and energy resources, and generates revenues and jobs in marine-related industries. Yet, we have failed miserably in protecting the Ocean from harm.

In fact, for too long, humans have exploited natural resources and misused the environment in such disdainful, foolhardy ways that as much as 40% of the world oceans have been severely affected by pollution, depleted fisheries, and loss of coastal habitats, and the escalating damage now threatens the survival of future generations. *Some sad facts:

6.5 million tons of litter enters the world’s oceans each year, and 50% is long-lasting plastic that will drift for hundreds of years before it is degraded.
80% of marine pollution comes from land-based sources.
Human health suffers from the contamination of coastal waters. [250 million/year cases of gastroenteritis and respiratory disease; 50,000-100,000/year deaths caused by eating infected shellfish]
60% of the Pacific and 35% of the Atlantic coast shorelines are eroding at a rate of one meter each year.
About 30% of the world’s reefs are seriously damaged and 60% could be lost by 2030.
75% of fisheries worldwide are fully exploited or overexploited. If habitat destruction and over fishing continue, the world’s seafood populations could collapse by 2048.
A 2019 report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns Earth’s oceans are warming and getting more acidic, and sea levels are rising at an accelerated rate

BIG, powerful (sometimes dangerous), and a beautiful BLUE, humans have a strong affinity for the Ocean. We love to play and explore at, in and near ocean waters as well as sit, walk and drive on a beach for hours. The sounds, smells and just the feel of the sea air seem to trigger a sense of peace and calm in the human brain, and there are also feelings of awe and joy in being so close to nature and wildlife. Unfortunately, the Ocean and sea life are suffering after many decades of human abuse and neglect, and there won’t be much left for future generations unless we stop the destruction and make big changes in how we live and care for this critical life force.

RIGHT NOW 💙 LET’S DO BETTER

You cannot get through a single day without having an impact in the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. —Dame Jane Morris Goodall

♥ Each and every day, Be Mindful about energy consumption at work and at home. Teach children about the importance of energy saving alternatives, and enact eco-friendly company polices.

♥ Choose seafood that is sustainable. Express your concern should you notice a threatened species offered by a seafood supplier, on a restaurant menu, or at a grocery seafood counter.

♥ Try to reduce/eliminate plastic containers, straws and bags from your life. Reuse and Recycle when possible. Figuring out recycling rules and deciding what to do with household garbage every day can be confusing, but there are some basics that can help make it easier. ‘Plastic trash, what’s recyclable & what’s not’ Plastic Tide explains → Here However, recycling plastics doesn’t solve all the problems. Find inspiration from Art Transforming Trash and Emma Nelson’s 5 clever ideas to reduce the plastic in your life. If you live or work in an area that does not provide recycling pick-up services and/or has not yet adopted a plastic bag ban ordinance, get things going by voicing your concern and the community’s needs.

♥ Appreciate and Respect the Beach. Don’t litter. Clean up after yourself. Don’t interfere with wildlife. Don’t remove rocks or coral.

♥ Be Responsible when enjoying water sports and recreation. Brush up on ‘Ocean Etiquette’, and follow water and boating safety rules. Never throw anything into the Ocean. If you’re planning a cruise holiday, research to find the most eco-friendly options.

♥ Don’t sell or purchase products made of materials that harm marine life, such as coral, tortoiseshell, sharkskin.

♥ Be an ‘Ocean-Friendly’ pet owner. Look for sustainable seafood ingredients on pet food labels. Allow your dog only on designated dog beaches, never leave your dog unattended at the beach (keep on leash or under voice control), and if there is an accident, clean up the doggie poop. Never flush cat litter down a toilet. Avoid stocking aquariums with wild-caught saltwater fish, and never release aquarium fish into the Ocean or any other body of water.

♥ Support organizations working to protect the Ocean by giving financial support, joining campaign efforts, and/or volunteering Ocean Conservancy The World Ocean Network Green Peace The Ocean Project World Wildlife Fund O’Neill Sea Odyssey Sea Shepherd Sea Legacy

♥ Influence Change in Government. Research the ocean protection policies and voting records of public officials and platforms of political candidates before you vote, and let your representatives know you support laws that protect our oceans, beaches and sea life.

American voters: Click here to view environmental record of all members of Congress → National Environmental Scorecard Contact your state and federal representatives to let them know you support ocean conservation projects, and ask them to do the same (find your US congressional representatives → HERE

Australian voters: The Open Australia Foundation – Did I really vote for that? Discover voting records of politicians in federal parliament and official register of interests

Canadian voters: Keeping Tabs on Parliament – Find your MP, see what your representative is saying and what laws they are proposing

UK voters: They Work For You Search Parliament and Assemblies by name, party, position, and topics of debate

You’ll be surprised to see what lies
beneath the waves – Art Underwater

The “Underwater Discoveries” On2In2™ video collection
allows you to swim through the unique beauty of sea life,
without the dive gear. FREE to watch, on-demand

Notes

“Saving our Ocean” is an edited version of an article originally published on the “Zblog” by Zeester Media LLC

*Information/Statistical Sources: Ocean Conservancy, The World Ocean Network, and The United Nations (World Oceans Day)

⇒ June 8 is World Oceans Day Find an event & join the celebration of the world’s oceans→ HERE

⇒ International Coastal Cleanup Day is celebrated annually the third Saturday in September as hundreds of thousands of volunteers around the world comb lakes, rivers and beaches collecting trash. Here’s everything you need to know about volunteering to help in the cleanup → Start A Cleanup

How to turn plastic trash found on the beach
into a work of art → Art Transforming Trash

• The beautiful blue Ocean wave photo is courtesy of Emiliano Arano/Pexels CC0
• Ocean Heart photo is courtesy of Jeremy Bishop/Unsplash CC0

Birds of America

September 19, 2019 By Zola Zeester 1 Comment

Some time around 1820, French-American artist and naturalist, John James Audubon (1785-1851) started work on a personal project to paint every bird species located in North America, using unique methods and materials as well as extensive field observations. It was a tremendously challenging and costly endeavor, and many doubted Audubon’s ability to pull it off. In fact, the idea would seem a little wild & crazy even today with 21st century technology. But, Audubon was no ordinary guy. He was also totally committed to finding and illustrating every bird in North America for publication, working more than 15 years toward his goal and raising cash by teaching, selling art works, taking oil painting commissions, hunting and selling animal skins, and conducting exhibitions and demonstrations.

How to view and download John Audubon's extraordinarily beautiful illustrations in The Birds of America. — Common American Swan (The Birds of America, plate 411) is courtesy of the National Audubon Society, John James Audubon Center and Montgomery County Audubon Collection

The result of Audubon’s work is The Birds of America, first published in England as a series of 87 sets of prints between the years 1827 and 1838. Now considered to be the greatest study of birds in history as well as one of the greatest examples of book art, the original publication included 435 hand-colored, life-sized prints of North American birds on handmade paper that were produced from copperplate etchings and engravings with water-coloring applied by assembly-line colorists. An accompanying text (‘Ornithological Biography’) was written by Audubon and the Scottish ornithologist William MacGillvray and published separately in five volumes (1831-1839).

The cost of printing the first edition of The Birds of America was an amount equivalent to more than $2 million US dollars in today’s money. Audubon financed the massive print project with pre-paid subscriptions, but only the wealthy could afford the subscription price which limited the publication to no more than 200 complete sets. Consequently, more affordable editions were later produced using lithography and published during the mid-19^th century.

“The Birds of America’ will then raise in value as much as they are now depreciated by certain fools and envious persons.” — John James Audubon

Almost two centuries later, Audubon’s bird art is still captivating and revered among birders and art collectors, and his influence on ornithology and natural history has been widespread and enduring as The Birds of America and Ornithological Biography significantly contributed to the understanding of bird anatomy and behavior. Watching the short video, ‘Audubon’s Birds of America’ from the Lost Birds Project, you’ll get a sense of the massive beauty of these works of art as David W. Carson, curator of the History of Science Collection at Cornell University, conducts a private viewing of The Birds of America.

Six of the birds illustrated by John Audubon in The Birds of America are now extinct, and many more are endangered. Also — According to a recent study, North America has lost more than a quarter of its entire bird population during the past 50 years. [North America Has Lost 3 Billion Birds, Scientist Say by Nell Greefieldboyce (NPR, September 19, 2019)] ⇒⇒ Learn how you can help by visiting the National Audubon Society’s Action Center.

A copy of the complete The Birds of America series is available FREE of charge for viewing and high-resolution downloading via ⇒⇒ the National Audubon Society’s digital library, courtesy of the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove in Audubon, Pennsylvania and the Montgomery County Audubon Collection. Be sure to check it out, and let John Audubon inspire your own creative work.

Audubon’s personal copy of The Birds of America is held within the Stark Museum of Art Rare Books & Manuscripts Collections in Orange, Texas. An original, complete series is on public display (one page is turned each week) in the Audubon Room of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. It was purchased by the university in 1839 for the astonishing price of $970 (equivalent to approximately $80,000 today). Undoubtedly, a wise investment. In December 2010, a complete first edition from a private collection was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in London for US$ 11.5 million (a record breaking auction price).

Other permanent public display locations: Trinity College (Watkinson Library) in Hartford, Connecticut; University of Pittsburg (Hillman Library); Liverpool Central Library; Woodstock Inn in Woodstock, Vermont; and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (Ewell Sale Stewart Library) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Look around– there are surely more opportunities for viewing a first edition as there are currently 107 held by institutions, and many periodically offer special exhibits.

Information/Resources:
The Life of John James Audubon: The Naturalist (1869) [FREE ebook] The primary source material for this biography was Audubon’s notes and journals, written/edited by Lucy Green Bakewell Audubon and Robert Williams Buchanan. The JJ Audubon image is an engraving by H.B. Hall based on a portrait by Henry Inman that appears in the book.
John James Audubon – The Making of an American (2004) by Richard Rhodes*
Audubon’s ‘Birds of America’ at Yale: Creating a masterwork one feather at a time. Article by Mike Cummings, Yale News, June 30, 2015
“Ornithological Biography” or an Account of the Habits of the Birds of the United States of America Vol 4, (1838) by John James Audubon [FREE ebook].
Featured photo of Columbian Hummingbirds is from plate 425 of The Birds of America
Wikipedia: The Birds of America

If you just can’t get enough about birds, there’s more here ⇒ Bird ID Challenge (test your birding skills); Birdsong Melody (the music and magic of the mockingbird); The California Brown Pelican; and Fast and Fearless (the Hummingbird).

Audubon was the first, but there’s a new illustration of birds to get excited about! The Wall of Birds* tells the remarkable story of artist Jane Kim’s 2,500 square-foot mural celebrating the diversity and evolution of birds at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It took her 2 1/2 years to create the one-of-a-kind, life-size mural showcasing all 243 modern families of birds, and the book “is a visual feast, essential for those who love art, birds, and our natural world”.

*Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission for a book purchase you make via a link to Amazon within this page. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.

Upsurge

September 5, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

“When it all comes together… it’s like, man, this is the moment.” — Ray Collins

Chris Bryan loves filming in the ocean more than anything. In fact, it’s his passion, and he says capturing the rare moment when first rays of light hit the ocean without any other person in sight is “unexplainable, its one of the most amazing feelings ever, its like my own personal therapy” to experience such “absolute beauty”. Chris shares some of these beautiful moments in his latest video project MOCEAN. Views captured by Chris for the video are like nothing you’ve ever seen before, and watching is nothing short of awesome.

In the water, Ray Collins creates works of art with his camera, and cinematographer/photographer, Armand Dijicks, brings Collins’ seascape photographs to life in the short video, The Infinite Now, by transforming the stills into cinemagraphs — beautiful and mesmerizing. Cinemagraphs create the illusion of motion by applying image editing software to composite a series of still photographs into sequential frames. The result is amazing.

Love the Ocean? See & Learn more On2In2™ ⇒ Underwater Discoveries Saving Our Ocean Cranking Surf

Ray Collins started out his working life in a coal mine, and has become an internationally acclaimed, award-winning ocean photographer. In the short video, Sea Stills produced by Malibu Media, Ray describes his inspiration and technique in capturing moments of water and light in a wave.

Information/Resources:
Chris Bryan Films – Cinematographer (watch more surf and underwater video)
Armand Dijicks (online courses, video tutorials and ebooks available)
Photographer Ray Collins (info on photos and book ‘Found at Sea’)

More FREE To WATCH, and Learn from the best photographers
→ Watch: Photography video channel for inspiration and → Pro Photo Tips for how-to-tips and advice

Feature photo is a screen shot taken from Ray Collins video, Sea Stills

Bears Ears

August 24, 2019 By Zola Zeester 1 Comment

“Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it. —- Theodore Roosevelt

Beauty of Bears Ears – Celebrating the New Monument by Corey Robinson

In order to protect more than 1.35 million acres of land containing historic, cultural and natural resources in the high desert country of southeastern Utah, President Barack Obama designated Bears Ears a national monument in December 2016 under the Antiquities Act of 1906. Bears Ears has long been considered sacred by Native American tribes, a place for spirituality, healing and reflection, and they have worked since the 1930’s to protect and preserve it as the presence of Native American culture within the area can be traced back many thousands of years.

There are an estimated 1,000 archeological sites located in the Bears Ears landscape of red rock, juniper forests and high plateau, the majority not yet studied by western archeologists, including the visually stunning, 3,500 year old Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings, great houses and villages, ancient roads, shrines, and rock art. Designation as a US national monument offers protection against excavation or destruction for these invaluable antiquities so that they may be preserved for the benefit of future generations. However, Bears Ears is again at risk as it has gotten caught up in politics.

In December 2017, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation that purports to overturn the creation of Bears Ears National Monument. Protests, lawsuits and congressional bills followed. Documents obtained from the US Department of Interior indicate that the purpose of revoking the Bears Ears National Monument designation was to open up the lands to oil and gas and uranium development. On July 26, 2019, the Trump administration released a management plan for Bears Ears that includes “chaining” potentially thousands of acres of Bears Ears. ‘Chaining’ is destructive for landscapes and archeological sites, and often done to prepare land for commercial cattle grazing by dragging a large naval anchor chain between tractors, or using an industrial chipper.

While 16 US presidents have designated 157 national monuments under the authority of the Antiquities Act (Devils Tower National Monument was the first in 1906) and federal courts have repeatedly upheld presidential national monument designations, it often arouses controversy over issues of industry/business development v. protection and preservation of federal lands and its natural resources. Just one example — the Grand Canyon. Today, it’s considered an American treasure, but not everyone was on board in the beginning.

A senate bill was first introduced in 1887 to establish the Grand Canyon a national park, but it died in committee and mining and logging were allowed to continue in the area. In 1908, President Teddy Roosevelt, an avid outdoorsman and conservationist, used his authority under Antiquities Act to proclaim more than 800,000 acres of the Grand Canyon a national monument. A bitter fight began and continued for more than a decade as opponents filed lawsuits claiming President Roosevelt had overstepped his authority and attempted to block all efforts to reclassify the Grand Canyon National Monument a national park. Fortunately, preservation advocates eventually prevailed. Grand Canyon National Park was established by an Act of Congress signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on February 26, 1919, and currently receives approximately 5 million visitors each year.

Defenders of the Grand Canyon did not give up, and more than a century later, the fight for Bears Ears National Monument is just as intense.

Information/Resources:

Bears Ears has been home to Hopi, Navajo, Ute, Ute Mountain Ute, and Zuni people for many centuries, and they have worked for decades to protect its countless archeological, cultural and natural resources. For more information about this remarkable cultural landscape and efforts to protect it, go to the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition website → HERE

TAKE ACTION – In July, 2019, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its final management plan for Bears Ears National Monument and it jeopardizes everything the monument was originally created to protect, including extraordinary, sacred landscapes and troves of priceless cultural resources. You can send a message of protest to BLM Acting Director William Perry Pendley via this National Parks Conservation Association link → Protest the BLM’s Bears Ears Plan

Bears Ears National Monument, US Bureau of Land Management, Department of Interior
Visitor Information – Utah Office of Tourism, Bears Ears National Monument The best times to go are March – June and September – October.

This is Bears Ears – Culture, Sport, Take Action, a multimedia experience from Patagonia

Indian Creek and Cliffside, Bears Ears National Monument, located in southeastern Utah, was designated a National Monument in December, 2016/US Bureau of Land Management — Indian Creek and Cliffside, Bears Ears National Monument, USBLM, PD

You’ll be amazed and inspired viewing On2In2™ special selection videos featuring the natural wonders of the world. FREE To WATCH, On-Demand Watch: Natural Beauty

Feature photo: House on Fire Ruin, Upper Mule Canyon near Comb Ridge, by John Fowler CC BY 2.0

Photo of Indian Creek and Cliffside, Bears Ears National Monument, courtesy of the US Bureau of Land Management, Public Domain

Inspired Photography

August 11, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Photography is an art form as well as a science with a history of technological development that goes back as far as the ancient Han Chinese and Greeks, and is now used in many fields of business, science and art. Amateur photography, which began in the late 19th century with the introduction of a hand-held camera, has spread widely in the early 21st century with different platforms and equipment, and a cell phone as the key tool for making photography more accessible. However, it’s not always easy to take a good photo despite all the new tech and imaging techniques.

Want to take better pics? Watch and learn from professional photographers sharing their work, inspiration and creative ideas in a series of free-to-watch live broadcasts and video presentations.

Programming Notes:

Sometimes it happens — scheduling changes or technical interruptions in a live broadcast. Please check back for updates, and take a look at the Live Stream Program Guide for more On2In2™ streaming info.

If you miss the live stream broadcast of a program, a video recording is typically available to watch. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or on the video posts located on the media players below.

WATCH LIVE & FREE On2In2™

If you’re looking for inspirational nature & wildlife photography know-how — this is it!

‘Lessons from the Field – BIRDS AS ART’ is a slide-illustrated lecture featuring hundreds of Arthur Morris’ spectacular photographs of birds. Watch and learn as Morris talks about the birds he photographs, his favorite locations, and the gear and techniques he uses to create his images. Topics include getting close to free and wild birds, flight photography, getting the right exposure, and image design. Exactly what you need to take better photos of birds.

Award-winning wildlife photographer and Greenpeace ambassador, Roie Galitz, travels in extreme conditions to the remotest places on Earth to capture rarely seen animals in their natural habitats. Watch as he tells the stories of his most thrilling adventures and reveals the secrets behind some of his greatest shots, published in National Geographic, BBC and more during his July 2018 live presentation ‘Wildlife Photography Around the World – The Secrets Behind the Lens’. Just click/tap the ‘Watch Again’ button located on the media player below.

Whether you’re planning a street photography trip in Tokyo, or a trek through the mountains in Patagonia, you’ll discover helpful techniques and strategies at Travel Photography: Finding Drama within the Frame, a travel photo workshop by editorial photographer, Katsu. If you missed the live stream broadcast, there’s still time to watch a video recording. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button located on the media player below.

Our Journeys Into the Night: How We Found Ourselves in the Dark – Chris Nicholson and Lance Keimig show and discuss the evolution of their photographic imagery over the course of 30 years, and tell the stories of how their careers and styles developed and how they became so intensely focused on nighttime photography.

If you missed the live stream broadcast of Our Journeys Into the Night, there’s still time to watch a video recording. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button located on the media player below ↓

If you missed the May 10 live stream broadcast of Connecting With Nature, there’s still time to learn what it takes to capture the beauty of nature with a great photograph. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button located on the media player below, and watch as nature photographer Mike Mezeul II shares the stories behind some of his favorite and most challenging images. He also shares imagery from some of his wildest outings, including tornadoes, volcanoes and northern lights.

Michael Halsband’s talk was cancelled. Disappointing as we were all looking forward to it. But, turned out OK because professional photographer Bruce Byers stepped in and discussed his work and methods. Bruce believes that photography is a powerful artistic medium because it can change how people feel, what they see, and how they believe. After seeing his work, you’ll begin to understand. To watch, just click/tap the “Watch Again” button on the media player below ↓

Whether you are a beginner or advanced in your photography skills, you’ve probably taken some beautiful images. But, do you aspire to take your portfolio to the next level, add to a specific body of work, or even challenge yourself with a new technique or subject matter?

Travel Photography and the Self-Assignment inspires photographers at every level as seasoned travel photographer, Liz Groeschen, shares several short and long-term ‘self-assignments’ she gave herself while living in Seoul, South Korea and traveling through 30+ countries around the world, including her own backyard, New York City. If you missed the March 21 live stream broadcast, there’s still time to watch a video recording. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button on the media player below ↓

If you missed the live stream broadcasts of Learning To Fly and Exploration for Landscape Photography, there’s still time to watch a video recording. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or the posts on the video players below ↓

Award-winning headshot photographer, Rod Goodman, shed light on the creation of a headshot in this discussion of both the technical and creative aspects of the subtle art form. If you missed the live broadcast of How to be a Headshot Hotshot, there’s still time to watch a video recording of the event. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or the video post on the video player below ↓

Jeff Cable, a 5-time Olympic photographer and popular speaker, understands the challenges of close-up photography. If you missed his live talk on how to take high-quality photos of small subjects, there’s still time to watch a video recording. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or post on the video player below ↓

American photographer Amy Arbus’ work has been published in more than 100 magazines, including Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, and Vanity Fair, and is part of collections located in the New York Public Library and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. She’s also published five books, including the award winning On the Street 1980-1990, The Inconvenience of Being Born, The Fourth Wall, and her most recent, After Images, an homage to modernism’s most iconic avant-garde paintings. The books are available for purchase via Amazon → Amy Arbus Photography

In the presentation “The Photograph Not Taken”, Arbus talks about her instincts, thought process and technique while sharing favorite treasured photographs. It’s a unique opportunity to learn from a gifted professional photographer. Click/Tap “Watch Again” on the media player below ↓, and be patient or fast forward as it takes about 3-4 minutes for the talk to begin.

Photography pros share travel, sports, outdoor photography know-how & more in these free-to-watch info-videos, Pro Photo Tips

Both professional and amateur photographers share their stories, work and inspiration in this On2In2™ collection of selected videos → Watch: Photography

Feature photo is courtesy of Pixabay/Pexels CC0
Photo of camera courtesy of Unsplash CC0

Editor’s Note: Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission for a purchase you make via the Amazon links within this page to Amy Arbus Photography or the discount camera equipment. This in no way affects the price you pay for a purchase.

Among The Trees

July 12, 2019 By Zola Zeester 4 Comments

“No more walks in the wood;
This is the aftermath
Of afternoons in the clover
Fields where we once made love
Then wandered home together
Where the trees arched above,
Where we made our own weather
When branches were the sky.
Now they are gone for good,
And you, for ill, and I
Am only a passer-by.”
— John Hollander, An Old-Fashioned Song

The Life and Loves of a Tree

We start loving trees as children because they are so much fun to climb and offer endless playtime adventures and hiding-out opportunities. As we get older, explore and learn more about trees, we find more to love and cherish.

Trees do many good things for the world — like cleaning the air, providing oxygen, and protecting us against a changing climate (to name just a few), and trees have incredible healing and restorative powers along with an ability to spark creative and spiritual inspiration. Just a short walk in the woods can lift your spirits. And, take a look around along the way. You may be surprised at what’s really going on among the trees.

A forest is actually a lot like a community of social beings. Yes, that’s right — trees in the forest are social, sharing, caring and also smart, having evolved to live in cooperative, interdependent relationships through communication and collective intelligence. And, all this extraordinary interaction among trees is happening underground, just inches below the surface.

Suzanne Simard, a professor of forest ecology at the University of British Columbia’s Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences in Vancouver, studies the below-ground fungal networks that connect trees and enable their underground “inter-tree” communication and interaction. In her TED presentation How Trees Talk To Each Other, Suzanne describes her field research (which included some tense moments with a bear) and the exciting discoveries during 30 years of study. [Ted Talk, courtesy of TED, CC BY–NC–ND 4.0 International]

Peter Wohlleben’s international best-seller The Hidden Life of Trees (2015) fascinated readers to the many wonders of the forest. In a new, illustrated edition, beautiful images provide the perfect complement to the original book, with striking close-ups of bark and seeds, panoramas of vast expanses of green, and a unique look at what is believed to be the oldest tree on the planet. [If you purchase a book via the link here to Amazon, Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase

FOREST THERAPY
Go To The Woods – Breathe Deeply – Be At Peace

In Japan, shinrin-yoku (forest bathing), is the practice of spending time within a forest to benefit from its therapeutic powers as well as to enjoy being surrounded by nature. Introduced in the early 1980’s as a Japanese national health program, it has become a popular healing practice throughout Japan and around the world.

Forest bathing activities may include relaxation techniques such as mindful meditation, yogic breathing (yoga deep breathing exercise) and aromatherapy as well as walking or simply standing in a forest absorbing it all through the five senses (sight, touch, smell, sound and taste). For the best experience, participants are encouraged to select a safe, secure forest and relaxation methods that best fit their needs and preferences.

Forest Bathing – Forest Therapy Society (Tokyo, Japan)
Association of Nature & Forest Therapy – find a forest bathing guide, workshops and programs

Technical Recreational Tree-Climbing, a style of tree climbing requiring special equipment and techniques, continues to grow in popularity as an enlightening outdoor experience with therapeutic benefits as climbers ascend into the crowns of tall trees and canopies of forests. Basic training is essential to learning how to use the ropes, saddles, and techniques safe for both the climber and tree.

Once a year, Tim Kovar, an adventurous arborist and tree climbing instructor, takes a few people on a climb up one of the tallest trees in the world — an 850 year old California redwood called the Grandfather. It’s a summit Tim says less people have attempted than Mt. Everest.

Go Tree Climbing – The Global Organization of Tree Climbers provides information on training, climbing programs, and safety. Tree Climbers Rendezvous 2018 is a tree climbing event open to all levels of experience, scheduled to be held in Costa Rican Cloud Forest August 24-28.
Tree Climbers International – promotes tree climbing as a safe recreational activity for people of all ages, and offers recreational tree climbing courses from basic to advanced.

Information/Resources:

Do Trees Talk to Each Other? by Richard Grant, Smithsonian Magazine (March 2018)
Alternative Healing, A Walk in the Forest by Catie Liebeck, Pulitzer Center (April 25, 2016)
How Trees Calm Us Down by Alex Hutchinson, The New Yorker (July 23, 2015)
Immerse Yourself in a Forest for Better Health, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

When You Give a Tree an Email Address, by Adrienne LaFrance, Atlantic Monthly (July 10, 2015) The city of Melbourne assigned email addresses to trees so that citizens could report problems with a specific tree. Instead of reporting problems, people wrote thousands of love letters to their favorite trees.

Find a Forest Near You – interactive map & online search tools to help you find forests in US and Puerto Rico
10 Incredible Forest Walks To Add To Your Bucket List by Richard Madden, The Telegraph Travel/Tours (August 7, 2017)

Want to get involved and help trees? Our world can certainly benefit in many ways with more trees. Here’s a list of just a few of the organizations dedicated to planting trees and restoring and protecting forests around the world:

National Forest Foundation – Nonprofit partner to the US Forest Service (chartered in 1993) that promotes health and enjoyment of America’s forests with community involvement, tree planting programs, collaborative research, funding grants, and information resources

Arbor Day Foundation – Nonprofit conservation and education organization that provides information and support for the planting of trees in cities and communities and restoring forests around the world. [Search for Arbor Day celebration dates across America and around the world → here]

Tree People – A nonprofit organization that inspires and supports the people of Los Angeles, California to plant and care for trees, harvest the rain, and renew depleted landscapes.

3 Ways To Get Involved – Crowtherlab – Includes a global interactive map and list of organizations to help you learn more about tree planting and forest restoration and find a project you’d like to support.

Feature photo is courtesy of Spring Fed Images/Unsplash CC0

Gordon Hempton is a ‘sound tracker’, traveling the world in search of vanishing sounds, including silence. He found a quiet spot in the Washington Hoh rainforest, and takes us there in the short video documentary, Preserving One Square Inch of Silence.

The California Brown Pelican

July 4, 2019 By Zola Zeester 2 Comments

Brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) can be found on both coasts of the Americas and are quite common along the coast of California, but it is a very unique pelican and its survival was at one time threatened.

A close-up photo of California Brown Pelican in flight — Frank Schulenburg CC BY-SA 4.0

While it’s a large bird, the brown pelican is the smallest of the eight species of pelican, and one of only three found in the Western Hemisphere. It’s also one of only two pelican species that feeds by diving into the water—a spectacular sight to see as it power-dives, bill-first, submerging underwater for a few moments before surfacing and swallowing its catch. Amazingly, they can spot a fish up to 60-70 feet above the surface of the water, and that height makes for some high diving and big splash-down.

Brown pelicans are also social and gregarious birds, living in flocks of both sexes and nesting in colonies on offshore islands. They are extraordinarily buoyant in the water as well as beautifully graceful in flight, flying in single file or “V” formation often low over the surface of the water.

Watching the skillful performance of brown pelicans is some of the best entertainment on the beach!

The brown pelican is protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. In the early 1970’s, scientists discovered pesticides threatened the brown pelican by causing its eggshells to be too thin to support an embryo, which led to its listing under the Endangered Species Act, a ban on the use of the pesticide DDT in the United States, and curtailed, controlled the use of toxic insecticide. As a result of those protective government actions and other conservation efforts, the brown pelican made an eventual recovery. In a 2008 US Fish & Wildlife report, the brown pelican population in southern California was estimated at more than 11,000 breeding pairs, and it was officially removed from the endangered and threatened species list in 2009.

It’s a happy story of a great recovery and an example of how wildlife conservation efforts can help save endangered species, but brown pelicans still need some protection. There’s concern they are highly susceptible to climate change and destructive human activity, and the only breeding colonies in the western US are located within Channel Islands National Park on the West Anacapa and Santa Barbara islands. Consequently, preservation of this vital habitat along with continued monitoring are critical to the health and survival of the California Brown Pelican.

The Brown Pelican Survey project is a biannual citizen science-based survey organized and initiated in 2016 with the joint efforts of the US Fish & Wildlife Service, Cornell Lab of Ornithology (eBird), state agencies, Conservacion de Islas and the National Audubon Society in order to better understand the abundance and distribution of Brown Pelicans in California, Oregon, and Washington and track shifts in population. To see the May and October 2016 survey results, and for information on how you can participate in the survey, click/tap ⇒ HERE A total of 1,976 brown pelicans were counted across 18 sites along the Oregon coast in the fall of 2017 (reported by the Audubon Society of Portland ⇒ The Oregon Fall 2017 Survey Results)

It's a happy day when you meet up with a California Brown Pelican on a beach in Malibu, California — California Brown Pelican, Big Rock Beach, Malibu CA

It’s a happy day when a big, beautiful California Brown Pelican
comes along during a walk on the beach.

References/Information Sources:

California Brown Pelican, Channel Islands National Park
Brown Pelican, National Audubon Society Field Guide
All About Birds – Brown Pelican Life History, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 “makes it illegal for anyone to take, possess, import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer for sale, purchase, or barter, any migratory bird, or the parts, nests, or eggs of such a bird except under the terms of a valid permit issued pursuant to US federal regulations”. The US Fish & Wildlife Service has statutory authority and responsibility to enforce the Act.

If you’d like to see and learn more about the birds of the world,
you’ll find helpful info and links to resources as well as brilliant
photos of birds here ⇒ Bird ID Challenge

Audubon's The Birds of America includes an illustration of the Brown Pelican — Brown Pelican, Audubon’s “The Birds of America” Plate 251

This image of the Brown Pelican (plate 251) is taken from The Birds of America by John James Audubon courtesy of the National Audubon Society, John James Audubon Center and Montgomery County Audubon Collection. The full series of Audubon’s illustrations of birds is available for viewing and downloading free of charge.

Feature photo of Brown Pelicans in flight at Big Rock Beach, Malibu, California is courtesy of Zeester Media LLC, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Malibu Road

June 2, 2019 By Zola Zeester 2 Comments

Sometimes— bliss is found by chance at an unlikely place and time. A friend recommended Malibu as one of the “best places” to live in the Los Angeles area. I was more than skeptical, and thought she must have had a total misunderstanding of my financial resources, life-style and career goals. But, I was also intrigued and willing to check it out as the friend assured “it’s a beautiful community”, and I was very much in need of a refuge. As it turned out, the Bu was not just a beautiful place; it was a beautiful experience.

[su_quote cite=”Rachel Carson (1907-1964) “]To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of years, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.[/su_quote]

California Brown Pelicans in flight at Big Rock Beach, Malibu

Purple Shore Crab at Big Rock Beach, Malibu

To Jacy, the friend who turned me on2 Malibu……..

“I wanna thank you with all of my heart
It’s a brand new start
A dream come true
in Malibu” — Miley Cyrus

Zola’s Malibu Road Reading List*

The Story of Malibu (free to read online) historical account of this unique place, published by the Malibu Lagoon Museum

• The King and Queen of Malibu: The True Story of the Battle for Paradise by David K. Randall. In 1892, Frederick H. Rindge (1857-1905) bought the 13,300 acre Spanish land grant “Rancho Topanga Malibu Sequit” (Malibu Rancho) for $10/acre, and just a few years later, an intense fight for Malibu and its beautiful, secluded beaches began.

• All For a Few Perfect Waves: The Audacious Life and Legend of Rebel Surfer Miki Dora by David Rensin

• Malibu (Images of America) by Ben Marcus and Marc Wanamaker

• Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival by Norman Ollestad

Read up on the amazing ‘California Brown Pelican‘

Malibu Travel Information/Resources:

Malibu Lagoon State Beach – water sports, hiking, bird and whale watching, and guided tours of wetlands and historical/cultural landmarks
Birdwatching field trips at Malibu Lagoon hosted by Santa Monica Bay Audubon Society (free, monthly)
Malibu Creek State Park – hike, ride, climb & explore stunning terrain and wildlife of California’s Santa Monica Mountains
Point Dume State Beach – swimming, surfing, scuba diving and fishing. Watch California gray whales during December to mid April migration period
Robert H. Meyer Memorial State Beach – an area of small beaches known as “pocket beaches”, including: El Pescador, La Piedra and El Matador
Adamson House and Malibu Lagoon Museum – tour 1929 Spanish Colonial Revival home and garden; and museum collection of artifacts, photos and documents depicting history of Malibu
The Getty Villa – art, architecture and gardens within a re-creation of an ancient Roman country house
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Top Ten Reasons to Visit

Looking for your own special refuge? Watch: Destinations,
an On2In2™ collection of short videos from around the world,
for dreaming and exploring

Malibu photo collection courtesy of Zeester Media LLC, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Feature photo courtesy of Unsplash CC0

*If you purchase a book via a link within this page, Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.

Nature

Mer de Glace

Vallée Blanche

The Fateful Retreat of Mer de Glace

Art Underwater

Saving Our Ocean

RIGHT NOW 💙 LET’S DO BETTER

Birds of America

Upsurge

Bears Ears

Inspired Photography

Among The Trees

The California Brown Pelican

Malibu Road

MUCH 2 SEE

THINGS 2 DO

PLACES 2 GO

PEOPLE 2 MEET

FOOD & DRINKS

JUST LAUGHS

Nature

Vallée Blanche

The Fateful Retreat of Mer de Glace

RIGHT NOW 💙 LET’S DO BETTER

Footer

MUCH 2 SEE

THINGS 2 DO

PLACES 2 GO

PEOPLE 2 MEET

FOOD & DRINKS

JUST LAUGHS