Currents

Summer 2012

THE MAGAZINE OF THE NORTH AMERICAN NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY ASSOCIATION

 CONTRIBUTORS
Shawn G. Henry Susan Carr has been in the photography industry for more than 20 years. She is a past president of ASMP
and has long been dedicated to the advocacy and education of fellow photographers. Carr organized and
managed the highly successful ASMP Strictly Business conferences that toured nationwide, and she currently
serves as education director at ASMP. She is the author of The Art and Business of Photography (Allworth
Press, 2011).

Drake Fleege often visualized photographic opportunities while driving many miles in his previous sales
Drake Fleege

career. Schedules precluded the time needed to convert the visualized images to film, but his interest in nature
photography never waned. On Friday, October 13, 2006, he took an early retirement from Motorola to pursue
this photographic passion full-time. Drake wrote John Denver Influenced My Photography, for the Summer
2011 issue of Currents. To see more of his work, visit his website at http://www.powderhillphotography.com).

Jaime Rojo Jaime Rojo is a Spanish photographer based in Mexico City who specializes in visual storytelling
and communication for conservation projects. He has coordinated numerous initiatives that include the
Jaime Rojo

campaign of the San Pedro Mezquital, the last free-flowing river in the Western Sierra Madre, and the
celebration of WILD9, the 9th World Wilderness Congress, of which he was executive director in Mexico.
He is a trustee of The WILD Foundation, the global hub for wilderness conservation, and an associate of the
International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP). To see more of Jaimes work, go to: http://www.jaime-rojo.com.
Harvey Spears is a photographer/writer who is from New York and Maine and loves photographing in
Harvey Spears

Maine. His work has appeared on the State of Maine website, including the magazine Maine Fish and Wildlife
and the Maine Art Scene magazine. His work has also appeared in photographic exhibitions, newspapers and
photographic journals. He can be contacted at redmonkey2@mac.com. To learn more about his work, visit his
website at http://www.harveyspears.com.

Donald Withers is a master naturalist and a member of NANPA, Nature Photographers Network, Carolinas
Joan Withers

Nature Photography Association (CNPA) and Seacoast Artist Guild. He is a field contributor for Nature
Photography magazine and a contributing staff photographer at Hobcaw Barony where he has been hosting
photo safaris for the Belle W. Baruch Foundation. His work has been used by the South Carolina National
Heritage Corridor, Lowcountry Companion, and CNPA and its magazine, Camera in the Wild. In 2011, Donald
won the Winyah Rivers Foundation Photography Contest.

COLUMNISTS
Amy Gulick is a photographer and writer based in North Bend, Washington. She is a recipient of the NANPA
Charlie Borland Chris Gulick

Foundation's Philip Hyde Grant and NANPAs Mission Award. She is also a Fellow with the International
League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP). View her work at http://www.amygulick.com. Contact her at
info@amygulick.com.

Charlie Borland has been a professional photographer for 30 years. His images have been used in many major
magazines, including National Geographic Adventure, Newsweek, Outdoor Photographer, Outside, Womens Sport
and Fitness and others. Charlie is vice president and cofounder of http://www.fogstock.com, an online picture
agency. He teaches an online course, The Business of Outdoor and Nature Photography, at the Perfect Picture
School, http://www.ppsop.com and is publisher of http://www.pronaturephotographer.com.
Lewis Kemper has been photographing the natural beauty of North America and its parklands for more
Lewis Kemper

than 30 years. He has been selected to Canons Explorers of Light program featuring 62 of the countrys most
influential photographers. His monograph, "Capturing the Light," won the Peoples Choice Award in Fine Art
in the 2009 Photography.Book.Now competition. His latest publication is Photographing Yosemite Digital Field
Guide (2010). Lewis produces the acclaimed training DVDs The Photographers Toolbox for Photoshop and The
Photographers Toolbox for Lightroom. His website is http://www.LewisKemper.com.
Chris Gamel is a wildlife biologist, photographer, filmmaker and teacher. He is a graduate of the Wildlife
Lianne Slegh

Film Academys filmmakers training program. Chris currently teaches filmmaking, photography,
Photoshop and environmental science at The Winston School San Antonio. Chris is an Apple-certified
trainer (Final Cut Pro) and has assisted in creating more student videos then he can count. Visit his blog
at http://www.ttlwithchrisgamel.com.
 CONTENTS
Features
2 Users and Creators Want to Know: The Ten
Most Asked Questions about Copyright and
the Use of Visual Content
by Susan Carr
5 Corralling Inspiration
by Drake Fleege
8 Location: The Rocky Coast of Pemaquid
Story and photographs by Harvey Spears
12 Hobcaw Barony - Preserving Nature,
Providing Research
Story and photographs by Donald Withers
16 PORTFOLIO: The San Pedro Mezquital River
Photographs by Jaime Rojo/WWF
Columns
22 OFFICE: Branding: Getting the World to
Think the World of You suggestions on generating and managing ideas.
by Charlie Borland
25 TECHNOLOGY: ACR7
Story and photographs by Lewis Kemper
28 CONSERVATION: Natural Relations
Story and photograph by Amy Gulick
30 MULTIMEDIA: Sharing your Videos
by Chris Gamel
Departments
32 BITS and PIXELS Compiled by Niki Barrie
Jaime Rojo / WWF
The riparian forests of the San Pedro
Mezquital are a shelter for millenary
Montezuma Cypress (Taxodium mucronatum),
the national tree of Mexico and one of the
most emblematic and long-living species in
the botanical world. See Jaime Rojo's portfolio
on page 16.
DEAR MEMBERS,
The Summer issue has been a fun one to put
together with articles on copyright, creativity/ideas,
Hobcaw Barony, the Pemaquid, Maine, coastline,
branding and more.
We have a feature reprinted from the ASMP Bulletin
on the ten most-asked copyright questions by Susan
Carr, who is a past president of ASMP. You might
learn some things in this piece that you never knew
before. Another item on copyright can be found in
Bits & Pixels in Copyright Inflation. It discusses an
increase in fees by the U.S. Copyright Office with a
link to the proposed rule.
Also in Bits & Pixels are items on the ebook market,
Alamy news, awards and information on "The 2012
Survey: What Buyers Want from Photographers,"
complete with a link to obtain a copy of the survey
for free. Also, some interesting books are reviewed.
Our portfolio is from NANPAs 2012 Philip Hyde
Grant recipient Jaime Rojo on The San Pedro
Mezquital River.
In Corralling Inspiration, Drake Fleege makes
Donald Withers Hobcaw Barony: Preserving Nature,
Providing Research, describes a 17,500-acre piece of
land near Georgetown, South Carolina, and tells us
how the Belle W. Baruch Foundation ensures the land
is used for environmental research and education.
Harvey Spears writes about the coastline of Maine
and how it has inspired him.
Amy Gulicks Conservation column is on Natural
Relations and, simply put, its about how we look at
natural resources. Charlie Borlands Office column is
on branding, Getting the World to Think the World
of You. Lewis Kemper writes about Adobe Camera
Raw 7 and Chris Gamel writes about the importance
of distribution when making videos.
Enjoy the summer and your summer issue of
Currents.
Niki Barrie, Executive Editor
Sharon Cohen-Powers, Creative Director / Editor
NANPA CURRENTS Summer 2012 1
 PORTFOLIO

The SAN PEDRO

MEZQUITAL River
Photographs by Jaime Rojo / World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

16 NANPA CURRENTS Summer 2012

 P
edro Mezquital is the last free-flowing river
in the western Sierra Madre of Mexico. It
runs for 355 miles through some of the most
remote areas of the states of Durango, Zacatecas
and Nayarit. Natural history photographer and
writer Jaime Rojo is trying to increase awareness
on the San Pedro Mezquital River, which is the
subject that earned him the 2012 Philip Hyde
Grant from the NANPA Foundation.
Rojos project provides visual material including
the images in this portfolio for a communications
campaign organized in collaboration with WWF
Mexico and the Gonzalo Rio Arronte Foundation.
The campaign highlights the importance of
protecting the watershed for both its ecological
significancethe river provides water and other
ecosystem services for many local communities
and it plays an essential role in the productivity
of the entire Gulf of Californiaas well as for its
wilderness and biodiversity values.

Above: Following ancient rhythms, the level of water of the

San Pedro Mezquital varies substantially during the dry and
rainy seasons, defining the lifecycles of many species, such as
shrimp and oysters that together with agriculture and fishing
represent the main economic activity in the region.

Right:The San Pedro Mezquital River is born in the highest

parts of the Western Sierra Madre mountains in the states of
Durango and Zacatecas, amid cold and silent fir forests and
pine-oak woodlands. These forests are considered a world
biodiversity hotspot..

NANPA CURRENTS Summer 2012 17

 The watershed covers seven million acres and
hosts 450 species of vertebrates, including the
jaguar and the American crocodile, both protected
species in Mexico. Some 112 species of mammals
thrive there, and it is critical habitat to more than
150 species of migrating birds. The San Pedro
Mezquital River is the main source of freshwater
for the largest mangroves in the Mexican Pacific,
known as Marismas Nacionales, which is a wild
complex of estuaries, channels and lagoons that
has been recognized as a Wetland of International
Importance by the Ramsar Convention and as
a site of importance for migratory birds by the
Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network.
The San Pedro Mezquital River is also special for
its cultural and historic values. Archeologists have
found records of human presence that date back
several thousand years. Since then, different native
societies have inhabited the area and established
strong bonds of dependence with the river.
For the campaign on the San Pedro Mezquital
River, says Rojo, I have had to work shoulder
to shoulder with the team at WWF Mexico.
Trying to meet their goals and expectations can
be a challenge, but it also has shown me that
the partnership among foundations, NGOs and
photographers can be very productive. Together
The forests that surround the San Pedro Mezquital are important in three ways. They are a physical barrier between
the river and the surrounding lands. They provide shadow to the water that allows the freshwater species to thrive.
They act as an important biological corridor.
18 NANPA CURRENTS Summer 2012
we can achieve greater goals than working on our
own."
There is an urgent need for cooperation between
the different sectors of the societygovernments,
private sector and civil organizations, particularly
at the local levelto reach joint solutions oriented
to work in the watershed as a whole in order
to maintain the freshwater ecosystems and the
valuable services they provide to society, such
as promoting sustainable water management,
empowering the local communities, creating
working groups and dialogue spaces in the
watershed and developing communications
materials to create awareness of the values of the
watershed.
Since October 2010, Jaime Rojo has coordinated
three photography expeditions to document
the vast and remote watershed, one of them
including three other photographersOctavio
Aburto, Pablo Fregoso and Santiago Gibert. Their
work produced the most complete photographic
archive ever compiled in the region. Those images
have illustrated National Geographic en Espaol,
Newsweek Latinamerica and other magazines
and have been featured in social networks,
online galleries and slideshows, websites, photo
exhibits and more, reaching a large, diverse and
The American skimmer (Rynchops niger) is one of the migratory
species of birds that arrive at Marismas Nacionales every winter
in their immutable quest for milder climates.
The Alliance WWF Mexico-Gonzalo Ro Arronte Foundation
promotes the integrated management of the San Pedro Mezquital
watershed to maintain the freshwater ecosystems and the valuable
services they provide to our society. To achieve this, they work with
partners in the region to promote sustainable water management,
empower the local communities, create working groups and
dialogue spaces in the watershed, and develop communications
materials to create awareness of the values of the watershed.

The river exits the Sierra Madre, flowing into the tropical valleys and alluvial plains of Nayarit where it becomes the main artery
that supplies fresh water for Marismas Nacionales, a complex wetlands system that encompasses more than 1,100 square miles
between the states of Nayarit and Sinaloa. This aerial image shows the Parallel Bars, an emblematic sedimentary formation, in
Marismas Nacionales.

NANPA CURRENTS Summer 2012 19

 On its way to the sea, the San Pedro Mezquital River runs for 355 miles through some of the wildest and more remote areas of
Mexico.
non-specialized audience that to date is close to
eight million people.
This communication campaign will continue
during the following months focusing on specific
audienceswith interest in the decision-makers
and local inhabitantsto create awareness of the
valuable services provided by the river, to reinforce
the sense of belonging of the local habitants to the
watershed, and to put the eyes of the national
and international audiences in the San Pedro
Mezquital.
Since 1999, the Philip Hyde Grant has been
funded by Fine Print Imaging through its Art for
Conservation program, the International League
of Conservation Photographers, the NANPA
Environment Committee and individual donations.
It is awarded annually by the NANPA Foundation
20 NANPA CURRENTS Summer 2012
to an individual NANPA member who is actively
pursuing a peer-reviewed environmental project
that is consistent with the missions of NANPA and
the NANPA Foundation. The grant was named for
Philip J. Hyde who was the primary conservation
photographer for the Sierra Club and became
known for his images of western landscapes,
which became a weapon against environmental
degradation.
Photographers receiving the grant are following
in Hydes footsteps of environmental protection
through photography.
The productivity of Marismas Nacionales and the San Pedro Mezquital River system is so abundant that its influence reaches
Parque Nacional Isla Isabel, in Nayarit, home of this magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens). The island is 20 miles offshore
and is a much appreciated fishing ground for the local fishermen as well as for the nesting seabird colonies.

The survival of Marismas

Nacionales and its
productivity is a source
of life and wealth for the
region. It directly depends
on the conservation of the
riversparticularly the San
Pedro Mezquital, which is
the main artery that supplies
freshwater to the system
that drains in the wetland
and the maintenance of
their environmental flow
regimethe quantity,
timing and quality of water
flows required to sustain
freshwater and estuarine
ecosystems and the human
livelihoods and well being
that depend on them..

NANPA CURRENTS Summer 2012 21