Around the Lens – Drones, Steve McCurry and Bullet Proof Vests
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/44561/Around%20the%20Lens%20-%20Episode%2027%20.mp3 This week’s panelists are former photojournalist, current host of the PetaPixel Photography Podcast and returning panelist Mike “Sharky” James and newcomer Scott B. Eisen. We talked about the ongoing Steve McCurry controversy, crossing the personal safety line in photojournalism and what a new, budget-priced drone means to our career field. This week’s pick included gaffer tape, a bulletproof vest, a contest to win a camera and a story about photographers having guns. Watch the video here. Support us on Patron for exclusive early access to our bonus topics. Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or YouTube, or via our…
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska ADN – State pushing feds to allow Western Arctic caribou hunt Alaska’s biggest caribou herd, one that has swelled and crashed over the past four decades, now is stirring conflict between state and federal managers over who should get to hunt the animals. The Federal Subsistence Board decided in April to close federal lands where the Western Arctic caribou herd is hunted — except to locals, those hunters federally qualified for subsistence. The year-long closure to other caribou hunters would begin July 1. Alaska Public Media – Young, Murkowski to do ‘double whammy’ on energy bill Alaska Congressman Don Young will…
Enough with the ‘Thoughts and Prayers’ – We Need Real Support for First Responders
There has been an ongoing glitch in the system for the families of fallen first responders. The health benefits that cover families of our state employees are only covered until the end of the month that their loved one has died. If they are killed the last week of the month, the surviving spouse has yet another problem to figure out during their grief. Their health insurance can be null and void before the funeral occurs. OK, so glitches happen. I’m sure that’s how a few families have felt. Oh, look! A glitch! No. It’s devastating on top of devastation,…
Bird of the Week – Northern Goshawk
Unlike the wussy other raptors WC has posted recently, the Northern Goshawk usually remains in Alaska all winter. A big, fierce, highly territorial bird, it is specialized to hunt in the dense boreal forest. WC doesn’t have good photos of this species. In fact, this is probably the oldest bird photo WC has posted on the Mudflats. There was a nesting area outside of Fairbanks, but some dirtbag came in and cut down all of the birch trees in which they nested. The extended failure of the Snowshoe Hare populations, a primary prey species, hasn’t helped. It’s astonishing to watch…
Around The Lens with Photographers Carl Johnson and Andrew Renneisen
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/44561/Around%20the%20Lens%20-%20Episode%2026.mp3 This week’s panelists were Carl Johnson and Andrew Renneisen. We discussed the French photojournalist who’s facing legal trouble due to the recent shooting in Paris, which tutorial we like and 256gb micro sd cards. Our picks this week included The Making of 40 Photographs, the B&H Photography Podcast, the TASCAM DR-60 Mark II and how to excel as an artist. Watch the show here. Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes or YouTube, or via our direct feed, follow us on Twitter and and like us on Facebook.
Time To Clean Up The SB21 Cash Spill
About a decade ago I had a conversation with someone I had voted for. I wasn’t real happy with his broken campaign promises, and, I realize this may be a shocker, but I let my disappointment be known. I think Pop Moore describes me as “subtle like a chainsaw.” I don’t know what I was expecting, but here was the response, “Sometimes you have to let go of your principles and ideals.” I’ve been rolling that around in my head ever since. I realize you and I have the luxury of our “principles and ideals” while watching both the local…
NRA Chooses Trump – Photos from the Convention Floor
This year TheMudflats returned to the NRA with a much smaller crew, namely just me. Unlike in 2015 when nearly every single one of the Republican primary candidates made a speech this time there was only one big name at the show – The Donald. The presumptive presidential nominee for the Republican Party took to the stage with a standing ovation from a crowd of thousands of gun lovers that packed the Freedom Center in Louisville, Kentucky. The somewhat non-surprise surprise was that the National Rifle Association was to endorse Mr. Trump. National Rifle Association executive director Chris W. Cox with…
Bird of the Week – Merlin
Here’s another falcon, slightly smaller than last week’s Peregrine Falcon. The Merlin is a remarkably fierce predator; WC has watched them kill and fly off with birds as large as a Lesser Yellowlegs. An adult female Merlin weighs about 8.5 ounces; a Lesser Yellowlegs weighs about 3 ounces. That’s 40% of the Merlin’s weight. Merlins seem to prefer open and semi-open areas, nesting on the edges of fields or swamps. Their primary prey is small (and not so small) birds. Alaska’s Merlins are all migratory; the winter from the Southwestern U.S. down to Central America. They breed across Alaska, but…
Crony Capitalism is the Norm In Juneau
The debate in Juneau over oil tax credits has captured the attention of most Alaskans by now. Alaska is paying out over $700 million more in oil tax credits than we get in production taxes. This arrangement where we pay more in tax credits than we get in production taxes is projected to last until 2025. But below the surface lies a much deeper debate over the fundamental nature of capitalism in our society. Capitalism is generally defined as an economic system where private individuals control the means of production for their own profit. A danger of capitalism has always been when…
Bird of the Week – Peregrine Falcon
It’s hard not to like the Peregrine Falcon. In many ways, it is the poster child for the environmental movement. The species was nearly extirpated by DDT and other environmental contaminants. The populations have recovered and adapted to humankind to some extent. It’s not at all unusual to see Peregrines nesting on skyscrapers in big cities, feeding on pigeons. But the Peregine is wholly admirable in its own right. A cosmopolitan bird, it can be found in deserts, swamps, alpine reasons and agricultural area. WC has seen Peregrines in almost all Alaska habitats. It’s a champion flier, with some birds…