February 1_Snow Moon
** My Own Rebuttal Of New Year's Rant **
It is very easy for me to stand on my soapbox and quarterback what I think NPS, Big Bend Conservancy, Rick Lobello, and Keep Big Bend Wild, and any other organizations should do. Knowledge is power, and so I have spoken with Rick, Bob, and Leo Tynan. I plan to talk to all of them much more to understand what we are all up against, and how I can get involved to hopefully move the ball towards the goal.
While I received a couple of negative responses, I got many positive ones. There is a groundswell, however small, to restore the Chisos Basin area as a primitive camp site.
My take away at this time is that you can’t put the Genie back in the bottle, and there is not enough individual or political support to achieve something like removing all the hotel rooms and restaurant. That goes for having the whole national park designated as a wilderness area as well.
I also perceived that NPS is keeping their heads down from the current administration.
The goal at the moment is to keep what we have.
I must confess that I am not pro tourism, and never was. National parks are government funded. They are not required to make money. Social media, all the magazine articles, BBNHA, Visit Big Bend, Friends of Big Bend, Visit Marathon, Visit Alpine, the list goes on, contributes to watering down what I love about the park. For me less is more, but that's a difficult concept to sink in to the mindset. I have had the good fortune to hike every trail in this park without another soul on it. Many times. There are secret places I have found, and petrified wood, and bones I’ve discovered. I've had many intimate moments where I was in coexistence with this land. With this Earth. I am not trying to be dramatic, but that bond and love pours through me, and surfaces in the images I produce. It's a deep love that I can only share with you through the images I make.
I have two big projects on my plate right now. The retrospective book, and finding a place for my archive. Once these are complete I will work towards my goals of getting the park designated as a wilderness area, and getting it designated as a quiet park.
I believe getting the quiet park designation could happen rather quickly if the organizations would get behind it.
I appreciate all the letters I’ve received pro and con, and if you can educate me in any way, I am very open to it. At the end of the day all of us love Big Bend National Park. If the goal was only to preserve its natural beauty, and take out the drive to keep promoting tourism, the natural wonder of the park could become the priority.
Thank you for hearing me out.
**Herb Kelleher**
In the early 90’s I had the pleasure and privilege of photographing Herb Kelleher, the CEO of Southwest Airlines for the New York Times magazine. Arrangements were made that I would have 30 minutes to do it.
I chose to photograph him on the observation deck, standing on a table, so I had a sky background and to make a portrait as a plane lifted off the runway. It was quite a shot to pull off.
To complicate matters Herb was 13 minutes late, and I asked him if I got it on the other end, and the answer was no, so I only had 17 minutes. I was set up and ready and made a few shots, then hurried with camera and lighting to do a portrait in his office.
Herb was quite a leader. He knew everyone’s name that worked for him, and when I mentioned I was photographing him to Southwest employees, they always had good things to say about him. Just last week a long time employee of his stopped by the gallery. I showed her the image and she too remembered him with such fondness,
I learned on Wikipedia that he was from Camden, New Jersey, and grew up in Haddon Heights. I knew these areas well, because I grew up there too. I can tell you, even as a kid, it was a rough neighborhood. It seems even rougher now. I wish I knew this about him prior to the photo shoot, maybe I would have gotten my 13 minutes back. These days when I visit my younger brother who lives in Maple Shade New Jersey, I always visit Walt Whitman’s grave, to me the only good thing about Camden. Learning that Herb was from Haddon Heights gave me a new sense of pride because he proves even if you come from humble beginnings, if you are committed and work hard, the sky’s the limit.
**Images From The Archive**
I am editing and editing and editing for this new book. Every image in this email has never been seen or printed, including the banner panoramic. I am having blast going through them. I just don't know how I am going to whittle it down to 300.