Nature

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.

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).

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

Saving Our Ocean

June 15, 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.

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. 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. [Check out Emma Nelson’s 5 clever ideas to reduce the plastic in your life]

♥ 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.
(Save the Date: September 21, 2019)

Nearly 800,000 volunteers collected more than 18 million pounds of trash during the 2015 International Coastal Cleanup project. (In 2016, 18.4 million pounds were collected). This graphic from Ocean Conservancy lists the top ten category items collected in 2015. Top of the list– at #1 is cigarette butts. Then, it’s plastic, glass and some metal: 2) plastic beverage bottles; 3) food wrappers; 4) plastic bottle caps; 5) straws/stirrers; 6) other plastic bags; 7) glass beverage bottles; 8) plastic grocery bags; 9) metal bottle caps; 10) plastic lids

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

Upsurge

June 7, 2019 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

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

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. It’s a view of the ocean you’ve never seen before— beautiful and mesmerizing. Cinemagraphs create the illusion of motion by applying image editing software to composite a series of still photographs into sequential frames.

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:
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

Art Underwater

June 5, 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

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.

Voyageurs

May 27, 2019 By Zola Zeester 2 Comments

This “More Than Just Parks” video, Voyageurs 8K, is a Pattiz Brothers Film, produced by Sea Raven Media. It was filmed during a few weeks time spent at Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota USA. The views are breathtaking, and will take you to a wonderful place. Watch in full screen and use earphones for the ultimate experience.

[su_dropcap]A[/su_dropcap]fter eight decades of public and legislative contention, 218,054 acres of the lake country of northern Minnesota were established a US national park in 1975, “Voyageurs National Park”. The name of the park is in recognition of the legendary French-Canadian “voyageurs” canoe men hired by trading companies to transport trade goods and furs in the area during the 18th and 19th centuries. It’s a beautiful park with landscape, geology, wildlife and history creating an exceptional outdoor setting for an awe-inspiring visitor experience and year-round recreation.

There are 30 park lakes (40% of the area), providing open water for boating, canoeing and kayaking from mid-spring through mid-fall, and fishing throughout the year (ice fishing in winter). The eco-rich landscape and diversity of wildlife offer opportunities for hiking, birding (over 240 species, including bald eagles and osprey), and nature walks while the northern latitude location and dark skies make for excellent stargazing and a chance to see the Milky Way and northern lights. During winter months, the park becomes a frozen wonderland—perfect for snowshoe and cross-country skiing as well as snowmobiling over 110 miles of maintained trails.

Voyageurs National Park Information/Resources:
“The Heart of the Continent“, Voyageurs – National Park Minnesota
Voyageurs National Park Association

More Fun in the Parks: There are more than 400 US national parks available to everyone, every day. Most are free to enjoy, and the 117 that charge an entry fee offer fee-free days throughout the year. Use the search tools here → Find Your Park to find the perfect place to visit.

FREE To WATCH the Natural Beauty channel, an On2In2™ collection of short videos, including other More Than Just Parks films. It’s a great way to escape for a few minutes, and start planning your next outdoor excursion.

Located on the Island of Hawaii (the Big Island) in the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Kīlauea is one of the most active volcanoes on planet Earth, and the fire goddess really puts on a big show. You’ve got to see it.

See the historic natural beauty of Bears Ears National Monument
in the high desert country of southeastern Utah.

The feature photo is a screen shot taken from the “Voyageurs” video

Backyard Birding

May 18, 2019 By Zola Zeester 3 Comments

You don’t have to travel or hike for miles to enjoy birdwatching. There’s plenty of great birding in your backyard, and you can attract even more birds by creating a garden sanctuary filled with the food, water, shelter and nesting sites birds need throughout the year. Moreover, tired, hunger birds face many dangers during migration and nesting season, and your bird-friendly backyard can be a life saver.

First, choose backyard plants wisely as they are a source of food (bugs, fruit, nuts & seeds, nectar) and shelter for birds in your neighborhood. Use this resource link to find the best plants for birds in your area ⇒ Native Plants for Birds

Don’t have a backyard?–no problem. You can attract birds to your balcony or patio with a bird-friendly container garden (here’s how ⇒ Get Started and Wildlife-friendly Planters, Hanging Baskets and Window Boxes)

FEEDING

[su_dropcap]B[/su_dropcap]irds often have trouble finding enough calcium in their natural diet of seeds and insects, and they need even larger quantities of the mineral during nesting season. Providing calcium-rich food as a diet supplement for your backyard nesting birds will help in egg laying and chick development. Examples of good calcium supplement sources that are easy to place in your backyard: i) Feed birds dried mealworm; ii) Mix a small amount of crushed eggshells into bird seed or put eggshells from kitchen into compost pile or bin; iii) Provide a separate ‘grit’ dish away from bird feeders and fill with crushed oyster shell, dried finely-crushed gravel or mortar, sand, or wood ash from fireplace or fire pit (not chemically treated fire logs such as Duraflame).

You’ll be amazed at the variety of bird feeders available, and there are many options for those without a backyard or big outdoor space. Click/Tap this link to shop online ⇒ BIRD FEEDERS *

Heartland Gardener @nk03262 enjoys mixing up batches of her ⇒ ‘Nancy’s Bird Butter’ for backyard bird extra nutrition and love.

NESTING

[su_dropcap]B[/su_dropcap]irds need a good location and the right materials to build nests. The best place for nesting, however, varies among different bird species — from trees, bushes, vines to right on the ground, and they creatively use building materials such as dried grass, twigs, sticks, wood chips, mud, animal hair, moss, lichens, spider silk, plant fibers, feathers, and just about anything else.

There are three types of nests: cup, platform and cavity. While ‘primary’ cavity nesting species (such as woodpecker) dig out their nest cavities, ‘secondary’ cavity nesters can’t do the digging; consequently, they must search for pre-existing cavities to nest (e.g., the Mountain Bluebird has historically used tree cavities previously excavated by woodpeckers). Nesting boxes* and bird houses help make a bird’s search for a nesting cavity a little easier by providing more nesting opportunities. Even better, you can create natural starter holes for these cavity seekers with a drill and a little know-how ⇒ Instructions HERE

Information/Resources:
How to Make Your Yard Bird-Friendly, the National Audubon Society website (April 6, 2016) – choosing plants, planning, preparing and caring for a bird habitat garden
Bird Notes: Creating a Garden For Birds, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology (No. 13, Catalogue No. 223)
Attracting Birds, The National Wildlife Federation
Plants for Wildlife – everything you need to know about making a home for nature in your large or small garden (The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds)
Common Nesting Birds, NestWatch (The Cornell Lab of Ornithology) – information by region on habitat, nesting type and location
Plants For Birds (Native Plant Data Base – National Audubon Society) Find the best plants for birds in your area
Ten Spring Migration Tips to Help Birds on their Way, American Bird Conservancy

The Backyard Bird-Lover’s Guide* is a colorful reference book by Jan Mahnken filled with information on bird territory, courtship, nesting, and parenting with detailed illustrations by Jeffrey C. Domm as well as tips to attract, feed and watch 135 American bird species. Click/Tap on the image of the book for more info and purchase. [*If you purchase this book or any product directly through an affiliate link to Amazon shopping located on this page, Zeester Media LLC may earn a small commission. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.]

WATCH On2In2™

If you missed Amy Tucker’s , talk Birding Basics: Preparing Your Backyard for Nesting Season at the Fayetteville Arkansas Public Library on February 27, 2018, it’s not to late to watch a video recording. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or the video post on the video player below ↓

Hummingbirds are Fast and Fearless, and so much fun to watch

We’ve got a garden chat group & would love to hear from you! If you’d like to comment on this article or join the conversation going on at the Heartland Gardeners group, 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 courtesy of Irina Blok/Unsplash, CC0
Bird Nest photo is courtesy of Landon Martin/Unsplash, CC0

Bird ID Challenge

April 20, 2019 By Zola Zeester 7 Comments

How many birds can you identify? Maybe you could use a little help?

A couple of years ago, the National Audubon Society made available the Audubon Bird Guide App, a mobile field guide for North America loaded with 821 species, photos, descriptions, and bird call recordings as well as migration maps and a bird locater. Doesn’t matter what your birding skill level, this Bird Guide App is fun and a first-rate resource and learning tool. Best of all–it’s FREE. Thank you NAS!

Our On2In2™ friend and bird lover, Nancy (@nk03262) recommends these digital tools for birding beginners and beyond:

Merlin Bird ID app (it’s FREE) – helps in identifying birds you see in North America and Europe. All you do is answer a few basic questions or take a photo of the bird, and it provides a list of possible matches.

eBird – a free online program and mobile app that allows birders to watch, search and record sightings in real time. Read → How to Use eBird, by Noah Strycker (January 1, 2015)

Birdseye Finding Guide app (it’s FREE) – real-time info on what birds are nearby or in a specific location

Sibley eGuide to Birds app ($ fee to download) – a digital field guide for North American birds that allows you to compare two bird species images, maps, and sounds

Want to improve your Bird ID skills? Nancy also recommends the Feeder Birds Course offered by Cornell Lab Bird Academy. It’s a self-paced, online course to help you learn how to identify the birds in your backyard and understand their behavior at feeders, and includes custom practice tools, instructional videos, and quizzes (all available through your web browser, no downloads required and nothing is shipped, $59.99).

Interested in bird photography? Paul Bannick, a professional photographer and Audubon Magazine photo award winner, says birds are “fascinating and challenging subjects” (i.e., there’s no app for that), and he offers advice and a few pointers in this article “10 Tips for Photographing Birds“.

[su_quote cite=”John Burroughs (1837-1921) “]If you want to see birds, you must have birds in your heart.[/su_quote]

Bird migration in the fall and spring is a perfect time to get out the binoculars* and explore, and with more than 700 bird species, US national parks are prime birding locations. Check out the National Parks Conservation Association recommended best spots for fall bird watching HERE, and have some fun with your bird guide app. From December 14 through January 5 each year, tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas brave snow, wind, and rain to take part in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. You can join the fun or follow the bird count results (check it out → here) Starting in January, listen for the mockingbirds as they begin to sing throughout your neighborhood.

Birding Festivals – There are birding festivals at National Wildlife Refuge areas (home to more than 700 species of birds) around the US and throughout the calendar year. It’s the perfect place to see and learn more about your favorite birds, or get a first look introduction to a species you don’t know.

🎅🏻 Christmas Bird Count – Every year from mid-December to early January, thousands of bird lovers head outside to tally bird species. Led by the National Audubon Society, it’s one of the longest running bird monitoring projects in the world, and the data collected helps researchers gauge how bird species will adapt to climate change and highlights shifting bird population trends. The best part is you don’t need to be an experienced birder or even have binoculars to join the fun.

Noah Strycker traveled across 41 countries and all 7 continents in 365 days with a backpack and binoculars, eventually spotting 6,042 species (the biggest birding year on record), and he wrote about his many adventures in the book Birding Without Borders: An Obsession, a Quest, and the Biggest Year in the World. Recommended as a “wonderful” read by On2In2™ friend @nk03262

Submit your bird identifications via a comment to this article (see below ‘Leave a comment’). Sorry, there are no prizes available for this bird ID challenge (no answers either), only the joy of eBirding. And, please share your birding adventures and photos with us! [To comment on any On2In2™ article, you must first sign up as an “Engage” member. No worries, it’s easy…Click this link]

Watch hummingbirds in action and tips on how to feed them

Give your backyard birds a cozy winter home and ‘Nancy’s Bird Butter’ for extra nutrition

During the mid 19th century, John Audubon spent more than 10 years observing and painting birds, then years more creating and publishing his legendary series of illustrations The Birds of America. You can view and download all the works of art from the original publication here at ⇒ Birds of America

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

All bird photos in this “Bird ID Challenge” article were sourced from Unsplash, CC0
Feature photo is courtesy of Ray Hennessy/Unsplash, CC0

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