Richard Mack – Page 2 – Quiet Light Publishing Blog

June 7, 2016October 8, 2016

The Sweetwater Seas in 100 Words

The Sweetwater Seas in 100 Words is a quick introduction to the feature-length documentary film. In it we reveal the beauty, majesty, and challenges faced by the Great Lakes, which we will cover fully in the hour-long documentary. We plan to enter this short version in this year’s “100-Word Film Festival.”

We have released several quick and delicious film clips for our documentary The Sweetwater Seas – North America’s Great Lakes so far and plan on releasing many more this summer which will be small episodes from those who live and work on the Great Lakes as we tell their stories. Some will be about the challenges the lakes face and have faced in the past, some about historic past events on the lakes, travelling the lakes and some will be about the beauty and majesty these lakes encompass.

THE SWEETWATER SEAS is a feature documentary that integrates science and fine-art videography to explore one of North America’s wonders. The film examines the latest thinking about the environmental sustainability of the Great Lakes Watershed and seeks to engage viewers into making a difference. Although 42 million people live within the Watershed, most have never been around their own lake, much less all five. We will take them on a voyage of discovery to rival Champlain’s.

The project will reveal the natural landscape and its geological history, the watershed’s cityscapes, and its vast industrial and agricultural areas. Humans started living near these immense bodies of water tens of thousands of years ago, but it is only in the last few centuries that human activity has impacted the environment of the lakes. To engage viewers THE SWEETWATER SEAS will offer both images of great beauty in the natural world that surrounds the lakes as well as video of the tides of pollution and invasive species that threaten this magnificent resource. By using the voices of scientists, environmentalists, political leaders, engaged corporations and everyday people around the lakes, the story of these extraordinary bodies of water—their history, their importance and threats to their health—will be explored and explained.

You can see more about this documentary at www.thesweetwaterseas.com

We hope you’ll enjoy each and every segment.

Cheers,
Richard

April 11, 2016May 2, 2016

Wrigley Field 1st Night Game

The First Official Night Game at the Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field

On 8/8/88 the Chicago Cubs tried to have their first night game at Wrigley Field but mother nature did not cooperate! The rooftop I had access to shoot from for the first night game had been bought out by National Geographic. But they didn’t secure a second night which gave me the opportunity to be there that night. I used a 2 ¼ 360 degree film camera to make this image during the game. It was a beautiful night and especially for us Cubs fans with the Cubs beating the Mets 6-4! Let there be lights…

You can purchase a fine art poster of this historic event at the Quiet Light Publishing store! Here is the link: http://shop.quietlightpublishing.com/products.php?product=Wrigley-Filed-1st-Night-Game

At $75.00 it is a great buy!

Cheers!

February 7, 2015February 7, 2015

Quiet Light Workshops 2015 Schedule Announced

We are pleased to announce the Quiet Light Workshop schedule for 2015 with three workshops, two in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and one in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore along Lake Superior!

Quiet Light Workshops offer Photography Workshops focused on nature & landscapes, travel and trips to some of the best places in the world. Geared to the amateur and advanced amateur photographer looking for the chance to learn from experts in the field. Our photo workshops are designed to take you to some of the best landscapes in the world. During each workshop you will have ample time both in the field and in the classroom to hone your skills with your camera and in the digital world of photography today. Learn tips on Photoshop and converting your images into great looking prints, workflow management, color balances and color calibration to get consistent results in your work.

These are hands-on, in the field workshops with Richard. You will be in surroundings that get your creative juices flowing and will serve as a wonderful photographic classroom. At the end of the day, images will be reviewed and discussed as a group. Techniques will be shared and Richard will work with each of you to improve upon what you’ve shot. The take-away from this workshop will be a better knowledge of how to make your equipment work to the best of its ability, a new understanding of composition, lighting, filters, etc. and a plethora of tips to make your images get the “wow” response.

Do you have a place you’d like to see one of our workshops in? Let us know!

Workshop Schedule

Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Spring Wildflowers
April 23-26, 2015

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Michigan
September 10-13, 2015

Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Fall Colors
October 22-25, 2015

For information about each of these workshops just click on the links. Each workshop is limited to twelve members so sign up fast! Check out more at Quiet Light Workshops!

Look forward to seeing you!

Richard

December 13, 2014

Great Gifts Found at Quiet Light Publishing!

Need to get some late shopping done? Well how about ordering a signed copy of one of our books – great gifts! You can choose from my first book The Lewis & Clark Trail American Landscapes which chronicles the journey of the Corps of Discovery like you were with them. The images were done at the same time of year the expedition past by these places and words for the journals of Merriweather Lewis and William Clark alongside many of the images describing what you are seeing.

http://shop.quietlightpublishing.com/the-lewis-clark-american-landscapes/

You can also purchase my second book Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Thirty Years of American Landscapes which looks at parts of our most visited National Park from a perspective those in the park have said is the best they have seen.

http://shop.quietlightpublishing.com/great-smoky-mountains-national-park-thirty-years-of-american-landscapes-by-richard-mack/

And Stephen Azzato’s book Their Love of Music. With over 100 musician portraits done in the quiet of the green rooms before a show and asked one simple question, “Why do you love music?”. Their answers accompany their portraits in this award winning book!

http://shop.quietlightpublishing.com/their-love-of-music-by-stephen-azzato/

Each book can also be purchased with another one of our offerings for a special price! Prints, Note Cards and Folio’s of small fine art prints are also available! Fine Art Prints from many National Parks, the Great Lakes Project, The Lewis & Clark Trail, Portugal, France, Italy and Argentina!

Quiet Light Publishing online shop: http://shop.quietlightpublishing.com/

Happy Holiday’s!

Richard

June 22, 2014October 7, 2014

The Sweetwater Seas – Sleeping Bear Dunes

Last week I had the pleasure of working in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore with George Elder as part of our Great Lakes Project The Sweetwater Seas a documentary on all five of the Great Lakes and their beauty and environmental issues and how we use these lakes.

We went to Sleeping Bear because it is not one of the most beautiful places on the Great Lakes it is one of two dunes which lay on bedrock so they have become tall and do not naturally sink back into the lakes. The other is the Au Sable Dunes on Lake Superior. We also went to shoot the story about of the US Fish & Wildlife and National Park Service has worked together to bring the Piping Plover back from near extinction to a growing group of birds. These tiny shorebirds nest right on the beach and continue to come back to the same areas they were born in. At one time they were down to about 7 pairs and are currently up to around 70 pairs. We were fortunate to have Vince Cavalieri and Sue Jennings worked with us. While we thought we might be able to see some parents sitting on their eggs they had all hatched the few days before we got there. But we were able to photograph and videotape hatchlings only a few days old along with their parents running along the beach. They are quick little birds so it took a lot to keep them in the frame! Especially as I was using a Canon 500mm lens, sometimes with a 2x convertor to make it 1000mm!

The dunes themselves gave us a look at the beauty found in Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. Sunsets along the north shore of Michigan were stunning with clouds and fog giving us stunning views and clouds to capture on film and a background to show how people enjoy these places. Above is the confluence of the Platte River and Lake Michigan where the waves meet the current of the river.

To see more of the still images I shot you can use this link: www.mackphoto.com/BlogImages/SleepingBear Fine Art Prints will be available soon in the Quiet Light Publishing shop!

Cheers,

Richard