May 2011 Meeting Summary

< Previous Meeting | Index | Next Meeting > Club business discussed before the presentation included that the new rules for competition entries are posted on the club website. James Hager is working to enable a link on the club website where members can email their photo to club officers to ask whether the photo meets the rules for the competition if in doubt.

Dave Showalter was the speaker for the May 2011 meeting. Dave started his presentation by discussing his work as the refuge photographer for the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in Commerce City for seven years. Dave shared with us that the Arsenal was recently called "Our most important urban refuge" by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. The Arsenal has a brand new visitor center and Dave was commissioned to make two giant murals for its exhibits - his bison mural is 11x26 feet and is the first thing visitors see when they enter the building!

Dave then shifted to discussing his conservation photography work as a member of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP). His current conservation book project, "Sage Spirit", is planned for conservation of wild habitat and wildlife throughout the Intermountain West because the sage steppe has become one of the most endangered ecosystems on earth. Dave is working with Audubon and conservation leaders in the West to link important habitat and preserve wild lands for the future. "It is time to develop energy responsibly and recognize that some places are simply too wild and too special to drill" Dave told us.

For more information about both of these aspects of Dave's work, please consult his website. Dave Showalter's website is at daveshowalter.com.

Dave judged the competition for us and repeatedly commented on the great quality of the club members' work, saying "That's why you've won Nature's Best twice" and ended the evening by saying it had been an honor for him. Dave, the feeling is mutual. < Previous Meeting | Index | Next Meeting >