Looking Past the Surface of Pictures

Friday evening I had the pleasure to attend this year's Armsby Honor Society dinner at the Penn Stater Hotel.  At events like these I see first hand the support and commitment to our college by friends and alumni that reflect not only academic experiences but the vital network of professional friendships that last a lifetime.  When someone asks me why their son or daughter should come to Penn State I think of these activities which don't appear in recruiting materials and are really hard to quantify.

The picture above looks innocuous but reflects a connection of academics and career for me.  The photograph of the horses was made by Gerald Lang, professor emeritus of Integrative Arts at Penn State, and a member of my graduate committee when I was in school.  Years ago Jerry began working on a project photographing horses in the college's herd as well as others.  A series of his exceptional images made with a big wooden camera are on permanent display at the Penn Stater.  His love of horses also led to creation of the book The Horse: Photographic Images, 1839 to the Present.  His work continued into the digital age as was documented in Research Penn State.

There's more to the picture though.  The three people in the picture from left to right are College of Ag Sciences Alumni Society president Nelson Loftus, Don Ace, retired Dairy Extension faculty member, and his wife Lil.  When I think of the best photography assignments I have had the pleasure to undertake I always think of Don.  As is the case with many faculty members their expertise reaches beyond their day-to-day work.  Don is the author of the famous Penn State publication Winemaking as a Hobby.  This 89-page revised book explains wine grape species and varieties, equipment and chemicals, other ingredients, and processes for producing wine at home. Recipes for most wines are provided.  When the book was updated and required new photographs I was able to travel with Don to wineries in the Erie area and see some magnificent sites.  And sample some wine in the process.  I asked Don when he was going to do another update and he says it's being considered.  It was only right that I volunteered to help.

There is always more to a picture than meets the eye.

Challenges in the Sensory Evaluation Lab at Penn State

It’s hard enough to keep my brain engaged creatively in making pictures without having to step through research minefields. I was documenting a recent event on food safety when I came upon this message on the board in the Sensory Evaluation Lab in the new Food Science Building. What’s a photographer to do? On the one hand I have a group of government officials touring the pilot plant, microbiology labs, and the processing plant for the Berkey Creamery at Penn State. On the other the siren song of candy.

I’m not sure exactly what the message meant but I suspect it referred to some sort of reward to volunteers who take part in sensory evaluation tests of various food products. Ever the professional I left the building with photographs but no candy.

Next time I’ll have better contingency plans.

Specialty Crops Research Initiative

Last week I was at the Fruit Research and Extension Center at Biglerville, Pennsylvania to make a portrait of Tara Baugher, tree fruit extension educator in Adams County. We needed a picture of her for the article I’ve written an article on specialty-crop research for the next issue of Penn State Agriculture. I won’t give away much about the story now – you’ll have to wait until the magazine comes out in January. If you don’t already subscribe you can get on the mailing list HERE.

Photography in the field is always a challenge, especially when using auxillary light. Thankfully there was no wind blowing. Tara waited patiently for me to get things setup in the peach orchard and we made some nice pictures. Now I have to wait to see what the designer of the magazine does with them.

If you absolutely can’t wait you can read more about the specialty crop research initiative HERE.

Natural Gas Leasing

Jamie and Annie Ulrich signed a lease with a drilling company allowing for the extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus shale thousands of feet beneath their property. I visited their home in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania to photograph them for an article in the upcoming issue of Penn State Agriculture magazine. That issue comes out in January 2009.

The Ulrich’s experience in the leasing process is featured in the article along with work done by Penn State Extension to help landowners understand the issues, opportunities, and pitfalls related to the gas exploration now underway in Pennsylvania. You can find a lot more information about this issue at the Penn State Web site Natural Gas Impacts.

If you want your own free copy of the magazine you can subscribe online HERE.