Focal Points Magazine July 2020 Issue by John Nilsson

Focal Points July, 2020

Focal Points Magazine

Due to current directives from The Sierra Club, we will be holding our August 13, 2020 meeting on-line. I will be contacting everyone soon with instructions as to how to access the live presentation via Zoom.

An Announcement: It is with great pleasure that I can announce

the Camera Committee has a new home for its meetings that began with the February 2020 meeting. Our new meeting place is now the Garden Room of the Culver City Memorial Complex, 4117 Overland Ave. Culver City, CA 90230 During 2020 we will be sharing this facility with the West LA Chapter of the Sierra Club on a rotating basis - West LA will have the space on odd months, the Camera Committee will have the space on even months of the year. Our new meeting night will be on the 2nd Thursday of even months.

4. Cover Story 14. Meetings and Outings 18. Member Photos 76. Black and White Pages 82. Contributor's Bio's 91. Notes and Announcements 100. Photo of the Month 101. Parting Shot Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures,

Cover Photo Credit:

kill nothing but time.

Contents

Notes from the Chairman A lot of time and effort has been expended over the last few weeks by local and national chapters of the Sierra Club trying to come to terms with the continuing national disaster of racism and inequality. How can we as members of a world-wide Conservation organization espouse the need to defeat an endemic social cancer that has been with us for over four hundred years? How does an organization founded on and working hard to practice the concepts of Conservation and Preservation of our natural world align itself with the ideals that all men are created equal and should have the same rights to achieving their individual destinies? To pursue this goal, you will be seeing a lot from the Sierra Club in the future promoting anti-racism and inclusion. This is a lofty and necessary pursuit but how can this state become a reality? The concept is almost too big to get your head around! The answer is that we just do itâ&#x20AC;Ś The fight against racism starts with each of us. We must personally analyze where the roots of racism live in us and immediately cast away those roots. We must consciously reject pre-conceptions, prejudice and negative lifelong practices until each of us individually can obtain a state where racism and inequality does not live in us in any way, shape or form. Only by obtaining this personal state can we obtain this state as an organization. We cannot save and promote the natural world unless we can save and promote equality

for the people who live in it - one is inextricably joined with the other. It is time for a lot of personal introspection. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s get to work. 3

Cover Story:

The Pantanal

Photos and Story by: Phil Witt The Pantanal is a seasonal tropical wetland in western Brazil, roughly ten times the size of the Everglades. During the wet season, approximately 80% of the Pantanal is underwater; as a result, visitors come only during the dry season, when the area is passable. In the past, cattle ranching was the primary economy; in recent years, many of the cattle ranches have been turned into accommodations for nature-oriented travelers. The area is not without its ecological challenges. The Pantanal is a lowland basin, comprised of tributaries of the Paraguay River, surrounded by a highland, the Cerrado, where the primary crop is soybeans. Fertilizer and pesticides from the surrounding soybean growing region are leached into the Pantanal drainage system. Nonetheless, for now, the Pantanal remains a wildlife photographerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paradise. My wife and I have taken two trips to the northern Pantanal in recent years, both led by photographers Mary Ann and Joe McDonald.

Trips in the northern Pantanal begin on the Transpantaneira, the primary vehicle artery leading to Porto Joffre. I hesitate to call the Transpantaneira a highway, as it is a dirt road roughly 100 miles long, with approximately 120 wooden bridges, such as this one that we traversed with our air-conditioned minibus. In earlier days, travel down the Transpantaneira was in an open truck bed, resulting in travelers arriving at their lodges coated in dust. Along the Transpantaneira are pousadas, ranches that have been converted to inns. Most specialize in nature-oriented experiences. 4

Pouso Alegre, toward the northern end of the Transpantaneira, is a reliable spot to see and photograph Hyacinth Macaws, such as this one at its nest hole. The largest member of the parrot family, these beautiful birds, although now protected, have been trapped for many years for the pet trade, so are considered vulnerable. Pousa Alegre has a wealth of birdlife. Each morning we would go to a nearby marsh to photograph the thousands of egrets as they lifted off in the predawn light.

Our next stop south was at S Pantanal Lod known as Faze Tereza. The h at South Wild trip on the Pix to photograp collared Haw Ringed Kingfish for fish

In addition, a short walk from the lodge is a blind, from which one can photograph ocelots at night.

p heading South Wild dge, also enda Santa highlight d is a boat xiam River ph Blackwks and hers diving h.

F Tran to th the m

Flotel provides a comfortable, air-conditioned hub from which we took early The morning and late afternoon boat trips.

SIERRA CLUB ANGELES CHAPTER CAMERA COMMITTEE

From South Wild, we headed south to the end of the nspantaneira at Porto Joffre. There we picked up a boat to head he Flotel, a floating hotel that is moored on the Piquiri River near mouth of the Three Brothers River.

MAY 2015

The landscape along the rivers is evocative, especially in the early morning.

This area of the Pantanal holds the highest concentration of jaguars in the world. The jaguars come down to the riverbanks to hunt the local crocodilian, Jacare Caimans and Capybaras, the largest rodent in the world.

SIERRA CLUB ANGELES CHAPTER CAMERA COMMITTEE

MAY 2015

Jaguars, with their powerful jaws, can bite through a caimanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s armor-plated hide. For most photographers, photographing these majestic, powerful cats is the highlight of the trip.

SIERRA CLUB ANGELES CHAPTER CAMERA COMMITTEE

MAY 2015

Meetings and Outings

The Sierra Club National Committee has ruled that due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, all in-person Sierra Club meetings and activites are cancelled until August 31, 2020. For this reason, we have not scheduled Outtings or Activities for the balance of the Summer months. Hopefully the fall will bring us all a better situation! The next meeting of the Angeles Chapter Sierra Club Camera Committee will be held via ZOOM on August 13, 2020 at 7:00 PM. The program presenter is currently in work and will be announced at a later date. Stay safe: Keep your distance, Wash your hands and Wear a Mask! The Zoom platform has recently been upgraded to provide high security and ease of operation with Be certain to download or upgrade to the latest vesion before the presentation! 16

This Month's Member Photos

John Fisanotti

These images are in Angeles National Forest, specifically the area around Buckhorn Campground, and were taken in October 2019.

Velda Rudduck

Flowers in a time of Q

Quarantine

J W Doherty

ÂŠ 2020, J W Doherty, All Righs Reserved

"Spectre" is an old friend that died in the Woolsey F

All are from Malibu Creek State Park last week

Fire. It may have fallen, but it hasn't disappeared.

ÂŠ 2020 J W Doherty

My/our/everyone's favorite oak tree. It's my "tree of life" tree. On this trip I was seduced by the smoothness of the trunk and limbs in the early morning overcast. 32

A heron crossing Malibu Creek below the bridge on its way to better fishing along the far shore. 33

I don't have a description for the other shot, needs a title, I think "corsage" i 34

, and I haven't identified the plant. If it sn't bad. 35

Larry Miller

Humboldt lily in Santa Ynez Canyon, Topanga State Park

Attached are 6 photos that I took this month after ending 11 weeks of self-isolation.....

California chicory gone to seed in Rivas Canyon, Santa Monica Mountains NRA

Plummer's Mariposa Lilly in Rivas Canyon, Santa Monica Mountains NRA

Mudcracks bordering the saltwater marsh Bolsa Chica State Ecological Reserve

Blue passion flowers Angel's Gate Park in San Pedro

Bush mallow in Latigo Canyon, Santa Monica Mountains NRA

Wiebe Gortmaker

In early May of 2019 I was offered a camping permit from a neighbor in the Maze District in west Canyonlands National Park. Basil Katsaros and I loaded up his Jeep and headed into what has been called the “most desolate and inaccessible land in the lower 48 states.” This area is a labyrinth of carved out canyons, incredible rock formations, many hiking trails and a few campsites. The camping permits are drawn by lottery each year. An afternoon thunderstorm can turn a dry creekbed into a raging torrent of water and cut off the one highclearance 4-wheel drive road from the rest of the world until the water has had a chance to recede.

We spent two nights in the Moab area before our permit for the Maze became valid. The first picture is of the Dead Horse Point overlook in late afternoon. Dead Horse Point is in the State Park tucked in to a corner of the Canyonlands National Park. The Colorado River below almost turns back on itself as it flows around a formation known as The Gooseneck.

Dead Horse Point Overlook

We took a short ride into Arches National Park the next morning and took a shot of the Three Gossips (at the end of the Courthouse Wash)

The next morning looking north a shot of the roadless area known as The Maze.T We then spent 8 hours 4-wheeling into the Maze and our Chimney Rock campsite.

The next morning looking north a shot of the roadless area known as The Maze. After two nights we drove down to the end of the 4-wheel drive road to the last campsite called The Doll House. This area is only a mile north, as the crow flies, of Catarack Canyon on the Colorado River. The final image is of a Princesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Plume, a wild flower common in this desert area .

John Clement Watching dew points,

temperatures and moisture laden clouds the night before indicated there was a strong possibility of morning storms. At 4AM I checked the Satellite for our region and there was a small storm cell about 50 miles south of us. So I casually got ready, almost forgot my batteries in my predawn fog. When I stepped out my front door I was greeted with a big horizon flash and rolling thunder. The small storm cell had exploded into a super cell storm in the short time I had to get ready. I have many locations in our region to go to depending on light and weather conditions. The combination of sunrise and storm created lighting conditions that were jaw dropping colors with the lightning. I ran in front of and beside the storm for 2 hours. My lightning trigger went off over 700 times. Many of these images were taken from the car window because the ground pounding bolts were hitting all around me. The last image is from the tornato warned storm that afternoon. These are a few of my favorite captures from the two storms - one in the morning one in the late afternoon. Enjoying His amazing Light and clouds...... Camera used was Olympus OMD E-5 Mark II and Lightning Trigger by Stepping Stone Products. 48

Super Sto

orm Series

Ten Interesting Facts About Lightning 1. A single bolt of lightning is around 50,000 degrees F. 2. Irrational fear of lightning is called Keraunophobia 3. There are two type of lightning, negative strikes and positive strikes. Positive strikes are 5 times more powerful than negative strikes 4. Odds of being struck by lightning are 1 in 3,000. 5. Most lightning strikes average 2 -3 miles long and carry a current of 10,000 Amps at 100 Million volts. 6. Each second there are 50-100 cloud to ground lightning strikes to the earth. 7. The Empire State Building is struck 24 times a year and has been struck 8 times in 24 minutes. 8. An average instance of lightning lasts about a quarter second and cosists of 3 -4 strikes. 9. The energy contained from a singel lightning strike can power a 100 watt light bulb for 90 days. 10. "Lightning never strikes twice" is just a myth. Lightning can strike the same location many times.

Allen Johnson

These three photos were taken on 17 June 2020. I was shooting wheat country on the Horse Heaven Hills near Benton City, Washington. The clouds were so expressive, I couldn't help but hop in the car to take advantage of a billowy sky. The next day the sky was perfectly blue, not nearly as exciting. Harvest time 56

is one month away.

Wheat Country - Washington

Shari Maron

Springtime in Quarentine

Loch Clair

Isle of Skye, Scotland

In Nov of Scotland with our good friends Phi of lochs, mountains and coastlines fil corner of the world. If you’re thinkin Photography Workshops.”

vember, 2016, my wife Cathy and I traveled to the Isle of Sky area il and Becky Witt. Opportunities to capture dramatic landscapes lled our days and left me longing to explore more of this beautiful ng of visiting Scotland, I recommend Peter Gordon of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Explore Light

Loch Maree

Totternish Mountain Ridge, the Quiraing

Loch Scavaig and the Cullins Mountains

Sgurr nan Gillian

John Nilsson

Canyon de Chel

These photos resulted from a short trip to the desert South West sev I was dismayed shortly after the trip to learn I had lost all the photos o the failue of a hard drive storing the photos. Only thumbnails remained - the originals had joined the either world! Rather than throwing out th retained them until a chance discussion with an Apple Tech Support Ge that I could recover the full sized photos from the tiny thumbnails using proceedure denied by Adobe Tech Support. Never give up!

lly National Monument

veral years ago. of the trip due to d in Lightroom he thumnails I enius revieled g Photoshop - a

The tower was built in 1926 as an enclosed staircase to Victoria Beach for William E. Brown, a senator from Los Angeles, who had a home on the property. The house, known by the locals as the "Norman House" due to its Norman-style architecture, is itself a landmark of Laguna Beach. In the early 1940s, Brown sold his home to a retired naval captain, Harold Kendrick. Kendrick was a lifelong pirate aficionado and found himself attracted to the home because of the odd, slightly askew 60-foot tower. Records call Kendrick as “eclectic and fascinating as the buildings themselves” and go on to describe how he would dress in pirate regalia and invite local kids over for games and stories of the sea. Winners of Kendrick’s puzzles and scavenger hunts received “cold cash”—the chance to grab a handful of money from a change bowl kept inside the refrigerator. The tower itself often made an appearance in Kendrick’s tales, and children longing to buy candy knew to search its many cracks and crevices for slyly hidden coins. According to the Laguna Beach historic register, “finders were keepers.” Over the years, ownership of the house and the tower have shifted hands multiple times, including Hollywood legend Bette Midler. The tower currently is closed to visitors. When taking photos of the tower from the beach, it is important to keep watch of the tides so you won't get trapped in water. 74

Victory Beach Private Tower Laguna Beach, CA

The Black and White Pages

Mt. Starr, just above Mono Pass, looking northwest towards the Pioneer Basin, in the John Muir Wilderness of the Sierra Nevada. John Fisanotti

Nikon D3000 Nikor 20mm 2.8 f/6.3@1/400,, ISO 100

Red Tailed Hawk Thomas Loucks

Old Mill Redstone, CO

John Nilsson

Contributor Bio's Announcements Notes and Announcements Notes and Announcements

Steve Anderson

John Clement

Steve worked primarily in the

John began his career in photography in the early 70’s after graduating from Central Washington University with a double major in Geology and Geography. Since then he has earned a Masters of Photography from the Professional Photographers of America. He has received over 65 regional, national and international awards for his pictorial and commercial work. His photographs grace the walls of many businesses in the Northwest and has been published in numerous calendars and coffee table books. He has provided photographs for Country Music Magazine and for Northwest Travel Magazine. He has supplied murals for the Seattle Seahawks Stadium and images for The Carousel of Dreams in Kennewick, WA. Current projects include 17 – 4x8 foot glass panels featuring his landscapes in Eastern Washington for the Pasco Airport Remodel. Last year he finished a major project for the Othello Medical Clinic where almost 200 images were used to decorate the facilities ranging in size from 24” to 35’ in size. His work can be viewd at:

conventional medium of Black and White silver-based photography for many years as he explored the natural landscape of the local San Gabriel Mountains and his beloved High Sierra in California. In the last 20 years he has engaged in digital photography as it has opened up new avenues and excitement about making images of the natural scene. His interest in photography began in junior high school when he developed his first roll of film from a Kodak Brownie camera. He became very interested in combining photography and traveling adventures as a member of the Highlanders, a mountaineering club at Pasadena City College. His work turned more serious during military service as the landscape became his focus of attention. Steve’s interest in the environmental movement, starting in his college days, led him to actively seek ways of using his photography to help in a personally significant way. He joined the Mono Lake Committee 40 years ago and has been an active leader in the Sierra Club since 1981. He served as the chairperson of the Camera Committee of the Angeles Chapter for 5 years. Steve’s images have appeared in Sierra, the Southern Sierran, Images of the West, A Portrait of Bodie, and the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter Schedule of Activities. Some of his monochrome images were significant contributions to help save Mono Lake. He has had work shown in a number of local galleries. Steve was the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument Artist in Residence in 2015. Steve has published four photography books that are available through Blurb.com. “My images sum up my feelings about the grandeur of nature. It is never just one thing that touches me when I try to capture a moment, but always a vast array of emotional and photographic textures. Most of my images are therefore complex and detailed.” Email: sandersonimagery@outlook.com Viewingwebsite:www.pbase.com/ spanderson 84

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

JW Doherty

John Fisanotti

Joe Doherty grew up in Los Angeles and developed his first roll of film in 1972. He has been a visual communicator ever since. He spent his teens and twenties working in photography, most of it behind a camera as a freelance editorial shooter. He switched careers when his son was born, earning a PhD in political science from UCLA specializing in American politics and research methods. This led to an opportunity to run a research center and teach at UCLA Law, where he became best known as an empirical bankruptcy scholar. After retiring from UCLA in 2016 he continued to consult, but now he and his wife Velda Ruddock spend much of their time in the field, across the West, capturing the landscape.

As a youth, John’s interest in photography stemmed from an interest in astronomy. His first photos were attempts to photograph the night sky using a folding Kodak camera, that once belonged to an uncle. Later, John used a 35mm rangefinder camera to photograph nature, particularly the San Gabriel Mountains above his home in La Crescenta. After high school, John sold his telescope to purchase a 35mm SLR camera outfit. John was a photography major in his first three years of college. He has used 35mm, 2-1/4 medium format and 4x5 view cameras. John expected to be a commercial photographer. His personal work leaned heavily to shooting landscapes and outdoors. In 1977 John changed majors. After graduating from California State University Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Urban Studies in 1979, John’s first post job college was in a commercial photo laboratory. In 1980, he pivoted from photography and began his 32-year career in public service. John worked for four Southern California cities in city planning, community development and redevelopment, and concluded his career as a Project Manager for the Culver City Redevelopment Agency. During these decades, he continued to shoot outdoor scenic images whenever possible. After retiring from public service in 2012, John has pursued his astronomical and photographic interests. Beginning in 2013, John has been a telescope operator for the 60" reflector telescope at Mt. Wilson Observatory. And John has increased his photographic portfolio concentrating on outdoors, landscape, travel and astronomical images. Beginning in 2018, he has expanded his repertoire to include architectural and real estate photography. Occasionally, John has been fortunate to have photographs selected for various exhibitions or publications. He currently shoots with Nikon DSLR cameras. John’s photographic websites: Landscape, Travel and Astronomical images http://www.johnfisanottiphotography.com; Architectural and Real Estate photography are at http://www.architecturalphotosbyfisanotti.com. Contact John at either

jfisanotti@sbcglobal.net or fisanottifotos@gmail.com.

Jeff Gottesman

Wiebe Gortmaker

I first became interested in photography back in high school sometime in the last century. My father worked for many years in a professional camera store in Pittsburgh (Kadet Photo Supply) where he did the picture framing. I spent a few summers working in that camera store mostly doing shipping and receiving but every chance I got, I would be talking with and learning from the salesmen who knew everything about cameras and photography. At the end of the summer they gave me a used Pentax Spotmatic 500 and there began my love of photography. I did all the shooting and darkroom work for my high school yearbook and later as a photographer and writer for college newspapers. At the same time, I developed a love of nature and graduated college with a degree in Geology (with several electives in Photography). That was where all the environmentalists spent their time. The love of nature and photography were a perfect match and after retiring from IT a few years ago (there was a career change somewhere in there) Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve returned to those early loves and am able to spend a lot more time on photography, enjoying workshops and especially the Sierra Club trips :).

I am based in Boulder, Colorado and consider myself a full-time hobbyist. After retiring from the airlines, I have devoted a high percentage of my time to travel and learning photography. In the past few years I have moved from travel photography to primarily wildlife and landscape photography. Prior to the airlines, I spent considerable time in remote areas of Alaska and Central and South America. I am now able to revisit those places with a focus on photography. I have lived in Colorado since college and spent a lot of time flying, hiking, and climbing in the wild places in my back yard. With my new hobby I am looking at these places in a new way, trying to preserve the image and feelings I have of the wildlife and landscape. This process motivates me to learn and discover. Wiebe is concentrating on his photography at this time and is not currently active on social media. He does plan to have a website together in the near future.

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

Joyce Harlan I have always loved photography! First to document and save photos of my sons. We had little to no money for film developing in the beginning but I kept shooting. Every year my husband would ask me what I wanted for Christmas/birthday and I would always say “develop my film”!! After several years he finally did, but everything was yellow but the memories were there. From there, when I was coaching downhill skiing for Westside Special Olympics, I took photos of my athletes and created a book for each of them. The pure joy I saw on their and their family’s faces was priceless! Finally, I was at Mammoth skiing with my family (grandkids!!) and we had lunch at Bergers Burgers. They had the most gorgeous landscape photos on they walls. I asked the waitress about them and she said they were by Vern Clevenger and that he often came in for lunch after skiing and she would point him out for me. She did, I asked about workshops and he said “absolutely”. That was it!! I took one workshop from him and many, many more with Mountain Light in Bishop with Jack Dykinga, John Shaw, Jerry Dodrill, David Meunch and Jeff Foote. One of the most memorable was their ten day inaugural rafting the Grand Canyon trip with Jack & Jerry. Over the years I have been blessed to travel the world with Muench Workshops (Cuba, Yukon, Mongolia, Alaska) Visionary Wild (Botswana, Kenya, Patagonia, Greenland), Aurora Expenditions (Antarctica), and Nathaniel Smalley (Iceland, Maine fall color). Photography mixed with travel has been my favorite soul food for a long, long time. And will continue to be for as long as I am able. Sadly, I am missing a trip to China in April and Uganda in June to see the gorillas. But I’ll get there as soon as it is safe again.

Allen Johnson I'm a PhD in psychology with

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

Butch Mazzuca

John Nilsson

I was born in Chicago IL and attended the University of Dayton. After graduation I served four and half years as a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps. My last official ‘work' position was President & CEO of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co-Denver. Retired in 1999 and moved to Vail where I taught skiing, a “fundamentals of photography” class at our local community college and wrote (still do) commentary for the Vail Daily Newspaper. I Started taking pictures in 2008 when my wife Bobbi “talked me” into traveling to Africa (we returned seven more times! ) My images have been published in Shutter Bug Magazine, Sarasota Magazine, Travel Africa Magazine (5 times) and Africa Geographic (6 times including two photo essays) I consider myself a generalist although African wildlife and landscape photography are my favorites.

I have a fond memory of my early years of my father dragging me to the Denver Museum of Natural History on a winter Sunday afternoon. He had just purchased a Bosely 35mm camera and had decided he wanted desperately to photograph one of the dioramas. I distinctly remember the display was of several Seal Lions in a beautiful blue half-light of the Arctic winter that required a tricky long exposure. The transparency he showed me several weeks later was spectacular and mysterious to my young eyes. Although the demands of Medical School made this photo one of the first and last he shot, at 5 years old I was hooked. The arrival of the digital age brought photography back to me as a conscious endeavor - first as a pastime enjoyed with friends who were also afflicted, and then as a practitioner of real estate and architectural photography during my 40 years as a real estate broker. Since retiring and moving to Los Angeles, I have continued my hobby as a nature and landscape photographer through active membership in the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter Camera Committee and my vocation as a real estate photographer through my company Oz Images LA. The camera is now a tool for adventure!

www.OzImagesLA.com dtlanow@gmail.com

David DesRochers

Larry Miller

David is an accomplished speaker, instructor and writer and his wildlife and landscape photographs have been published in books, magazines and on calendars. As an Associate Naturalist with the New Jersey Audubon Society, he has been leading workshops and tours for over 10 years. In 2014, David was awarded the New Jersey Federation of Camera Clubs Citation in recognition of his contributions to the advancement of the art and science of photography in the State.

I bought my first SLR camera in 1985 to document hikes in the local mountains that I did with friends. My first Sierra Club Camera Committee outing was a wildflower photo shoot in the Santa Monica Mountains led by Steve Cohen in 1991. Since then the SCCC has introduced me to many other scenic destinations, including the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, the Gorman hills, Saddleback Butte State Park, East Mojave National Preserve, the Eastern and Southern Sierras, Point Reyes, the Big Sur Coast, the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, Red Rock Canyon State Park, Tejon Ranch, and Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. At the same time, my own photography trips gradually expanded in scope over the years to include most of the western National Parks and National Monuments, with the Colorado Plateau becoming a personal favorite. Photography is an avocation that took a backseat to my career during the 32+ years that I worked as a radar systems engineer at Hughes Aircraft/Raytheon Company. Since retiring in 2013, I’ve been able to devote more time to developing my photographic skills. Experiencing and sharing the beauty of nature continues to be my primary motivation.

As nature photographers, we love to be outdoors, exploring and photographing our natural world. While stay-at-home and social distancing orders are keeping us indoors, what’s a NANPA member to do? David’s program will show you how to bring nature indoors by creating beautiful images of plants and flowers on your dining room table. Topics include equipment, camera settings, set ups, composition, and editing.

www.desrochersphography.com

Phil Witt

Velda Ruddock

Phil Witt has been photographing nature since he got his first SLR camera in the late 70s. An avid birder, he is a volunteer at the Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary of NJ Audubon in Bernardsville, where he coleads the photography workshop series. He is currently on NJ Audubon’s Board of Directors. He is a past president of the Camera Naturalist Photo Club, and program chair of the Somerset County Camera Club. He judges photography competitions and presents instructional programs at photography clubs throughout New Jersey. He received the NJ Federation of Camera Club’s 2017 Citation for service to photography in the state. He and his wife enjoy traveling the world for photography--Antarctica, the Galapagos, Tanzania, Iceland, Costa Rica, among others. When not birding or photographing, he is a (mostly retired) forensic psychologist, specializing in legal cases and court testimony.

Creativity has always been important to me. I received my first Brownie camera for my twelfth birthday and I can’t remember a time I’ve been without a camera close at hand. I studied the social sciences and art, and later earned a Masters degree in Information and Library Science degree. All of my jobs allowed me to be creative, entrepreneurial, and innovative. For the last 22 years of my research career I was Director of Intelligence for a global advertising and marketing agency. TBWA\ Chiat\Day helped clients such as Apple, Nissan, Pepsi, Gatorade, Energizer, and many more, and I was considered a leader in my field. During our time off, my husband, Joe Doherty and I would travel, photographing family, events and locations. However, in 2011 we traveled to the Eastern Sierra for the fall colors, and although we didn’t realize it at the time, when the sun came up over Lake Sabrina, it was the start of change in our careers. By 2016 we had both left our “day jobs,” and we started traveling – and shooting nature – big and small – extensively. Our four-wheel drive popup camper allowed us to go to areas a regular car can’t go and we were – and are – always looking for our next adventure.

https://philwitt.smugmug.com

Susan Manley Susan Manley has more than 35 years experience as a photographer. Her career consisted mainly working in a Communications Department writing and shooting a wide variety of public relations and photojournalism photos. Since she retired approximately ten years ago, she switched her focus onto nature photography including landscapes and wildlife in America.

Notes and Announcements Announcements Notes and Announcements Notes and Announcements

Notes and Announcements A Movement Moment by: Sierra Club President Ramon Cruz We are living in a whirlwind. It began in grief over the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Nina Pop, Rayshard Brooks, and so many other Black people by police. And it’s become a movement moment, a time when possibilities for meaningful change are opening up everywhere. This movement has deep roots. As long as there have been Black people in this country, there has been resistance. Over the past seven years, the Movement for Black Lives has organized across the country to demand an end to police violence and white supremacy. And now, we are once again in a moment of deep pain and rage and grief -- but one that also carries the possibility of transformative change. The Sierra Club is committed to meeting this moment. We mobilized our members and staff to take part in massive Juneteenth rallies across the country. We added our voices to support the Movement for Black Lives’s demands: Defund the police, invest in Black communities, and get Donald Trump out of office. The board officially signed on to their platform late last week. Like so much in this moment, these demands might seem unprecedented or radical. (Although I’m sure we can all get behind the last one). Where did this push to defund the police come from? And why is the Sierra Club supporting it? It comes from recognizing that the problems with policing can’t be solved through piecemeal reforms or getting rid of “a few bad apples.” The whole barrel -- the whole system -- is rotten. We have to shift our priorities away from punishment and incarceration and toward investment in the things that actually keep communities safe, like high-quality education and housing, access to nature’s healing benefits, and mental health services. That shift in priorities will have to be accompanied by a shift in spending. Imagine a world where we always had enough money to maintain green space and public transit, because a third of our city’s budget no longer went straight into policing. 94

Part of the Sierra Club's mission is to fight for safe and healthy communities -- and this includes safety from police violence. We’ve laid the groundwork to show up in this moment through decades of commitments and shifts in practices and resource allocation. The board adopted its first environmental justice policy in 1993, and a set of environmental justice principles in 2001. In 2014, we signed on to the Jemez Principles, which outlined a new way of operating. We committed to a focus on working in solidarity and building just relationships among ourselves. And just last year, we aligned ourselves with the Equitable and Just National Climate Platform, a set of policies to end the climate crisis and achieve racial and economic justice.

What’s happening now may seem unprecedented. But it’s not. It’s an extension and a deepening of the work that’s long been central to the Sierra Club -- understanding the intersections between environmental justice and racial justice -- and working to combat both. Even after this whirlwind ends, and mass protests cease to be near-daily occurrences, we will still be doing this work. Because we know we can’t win without defeating white supremacy. I can’t say it any better than our strategic director of partnerships, Hop Hopkins: “You can’t have climate change without sacrifice zones, and you can’t have sacrifice zones without disposable people, and you can't have disposable people without racism.” I trust that many of you will be active within your own communities to demand that your local government redirect funding from the militarization of the police force into social services that prevent violence and racism and investment in Black communities and underserved populations. I count on you as allies in our struggle for equity and justice, with the understanding that this struggle is the only way that we can live up to our mission to explore, enjoy, and protect the planet for the benefit of everyone -- not just the privileged few.

Ramón Cruz is the president of the Sierra Club Board of Directors and an environmental policy and advocacy expert. Previously, he served as deputy director of Puerto Rico's environmental regulatory agency

The Member’s Choice Photo Contest What’s your favorite photo in this Focal Points? Continuing with this issue I am asking all members to vote for their favorite photo. Here’s how: 1. Please e-mail me at dtlanow@gmail.com (Heading: Member’s Choice) and let me know your choice for the best photo by the 20th of the month in which the issue is published. 2.

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

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

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

Wanna Go on a Hike?

Just in case you didn’t realize it........... The Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club has litterally 100’s of outdoor activities that Sierra Club Camera Committee members can attend.

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

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

Do you enjoy receiving your monthly copy of Focal Points? If your answer is "Yes" and you want to continue receiving Focal Points, please send us your check for $15.00 and your full name and email address for a yearly subscription to: Sierra Club Camera Committee c/o Wesley Peck 3615 Gondar Ave. Long Beach, CA 90808-2814

As a bonus, you will enjoy: An invitation to contribute your photographs to Focal Points for publication Full membership in The Sierra Club Camera Committee and access to our extensive programming and trips 97

Get out there and get involved! Our natural world is under attack and we all need to fight to preserve the things that we hold dear.

CONTRIBUTE

YOUR TIME, YOUR DOLLARS.... OR BOTH! Do you know anyone who would like to become a member of the Sierra Club Camera Committee? We are seeking new members to share their outdoor experiences and photographs. If you have a friend or acquaintance whom you feel would benefit from and add to our membership, please ask them to join us at our next meeting.

Membership costs only $15.00 per year - a tremendous value! To join or renew, please mail a check for $15 (payable to SCCC): Wesley Peck, SCCC Membership 3615 Gondar Ave. Long Beach, CA 90808-2814

More members - More to share 99

Photo of the Month

Beverly Houwing Keel-billed Toucan - Costa Rica My Toucan shot was taken in Boca Tapada in northern Costa Rica near the border with Nicaragua. We stayed at a lodge in the middle of a lush rain forest and the bird photography was incredible all around the area. We just set our cameras up on a tripod with long lenses and spent the early morning and late afternoon getting photos of many species of birds from good vantage points. My favorites were the toucans (3 species) that are in this area. I liked this photo since he was showing off the brilliant red feathers above his tail. Canon EOS 7D Mark II, Tamron SP 150-600,@330mm, f/7.1@ 1/160 ISO 800 100

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The Parting Shot

The Burning Bush - White Sands National Park ÂŠ 2020 John Nilsson, All Rightrs Reserved

Leader Contacts John Nilsson, Chairman

213-266-2224

Carole Scurlock, Leader

626-794-5207

Steve Anderson, Leader

714-962-2054

Allan Der, Leader, Instructor

714-892-4857

dtlanow@gmail.com

sandersonimagery@outlook.com

cscurlock@charter.net ader@sprynet.com

Ed Ogawa - Treasurer

Alison Boyle, Leader, Co-Chair: Outings alisoniboyle@icloud.com

John Boyle, Leader jboyle6300@gmail.com

ed5ogawa@angeles.sierraclub.org

310-994-1019

Wesley Peck, Membership

562-420-8543 wesdpeck@gmail.com NOTE: Send Membeship Checks to Wesley at 3615 Gondar Ave., Long Beach, CA 90808-2814

310-828-6300

Joan Schipper, Leader, Co-Chair: Outings joanschipper@ix.netcom.com

Peter Mason, Leader peter@petermason.com

323-828-8334

John Nilsson, Leader, Focal Points Editor dtlanow@gmail.com

530-265-2528

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213-266-2224

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