The Newsletter of Rocky Mountain Outdoor Writers and PhotographersSeptember - October 2014

Rocky Mountain Outdoors

Photography Winners01 Image from Last Conference

1st William Horton “Sunrise in the Monument”

2nd Fred Lord “Colorado National Monument Sunrise”

3rd William Horton “Sunrise in the Canyon”

Honorable Mention Al Perry “Colorado National Monument”Terry Guthrie “Mountains and Clouds”

Linda Bundren “Collared Lizard”

Mark your calendars forCONFERENCE 2015

Ouray, ColoradoMonday - Thursday

September 21-24see rmowp.org

2 0 1 4 C o n t e s t R e s u l t s

Those who have submitted entries to the annual RMOWP contest and even casual observers of the contest can attest to one thing: the entries get better each year, which must give the judges more and more head-aches trying to select the best.

Thirty-three members submitted 428 images and 33 written pieces to this year’s contest. The newspaper/magazine and newsletter and web writing categories each received more than ten entries, a nice increase over recent years.

Reflective Morning © Jim Baker1st Place, Members’ Choice

see Winners... page 3

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OfficersPresident, Al Perry, Evansville, INVice President, Kenita Gibbins, Denver, COSecretary, Diane McKinley, Bryn Mawr, PATreasurer, Maryann Gaug, Silverthorne, CO

Board of DirectorsTerry Guthrie, Alpharetta, GA (2015)Kent Taylor, Richardson, TX (2015)Linda Martin, West Glacier, MT (2016)John Thornton, Stillwater, OK (2016)Sherry Zurey, Golden, CO (2017)Fred Lord, Frisco, CO (2017)

Rocky Mountain OutdoorsPublished bi-monthly by

Rocky Mountain Outdoor Writers and Photographers, Inc.

Editor: Don LaineLayout/Design: Barb Laine

Send editorial materials to Don Laine, info@rmowp.org; or snail mail to 76 Eototo Road, El Prado, NM 87529.

Deadline for newsletter submissions is the 20th of the month preced-ing month of publication. Newsletters are published: Jan/Feb Mar/Apr May/June July/Aug Sep/Oct Nov/Dec

www.rmowp.org

Copyright © 2014 by Rocky Mountain Outdoor Writers and Photographers, Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without written permission from the author or editor.

Table of Contents2014 Best of Show Winners ........................... 6Contest Judges ......................................... 2Glacier Conference Highlights ....................... 7Humorous Challenge .................................. 6Members’ Choice....................................... 7Photography Winners .................................. 1Writing Winners ........................................ 5

The JudgesPhotography - Tom Ulrich

A freelance photographer since 1975, Tom Ulrich is highly acclaimed around the world for his nature photography skills. Many of his more than 350,000 images have been used by numerous magazines and other publications. Tom has been the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the North Ameri-can Nature Photographers Association Fellow Award and the Outdoor Writers Association of America’s “Best of the Best” photography award. For many years Tom has lead photo tours to remote parts of the world. Additionally, Tom conducts photography seminars and workshops around the country and lec-tures at numerous universities.

Writing - Mary Taylor YoungAward-winning nature writer Mary Taylor Young has been writing professionally since 1987, and has published 15 books and hundreds of articles in periodicals such as Ladies Home Journal, Outside and Wildlife Conservation. Two of Mary’s books have been regional bestsellers and two have been final-ists for the Colorado Book Award. Her titles include Rocky Mountain National Park, The First 100 Years; On the Trail of Colorado Critters: Wildlife Watching for Kids; and Land of Grass and Sky: A Naturalist’s Prairie Journey. Her “Words on Birds” column ap-peared in the Rocky Mountain News from 1993 until the newspaper’s demise. Mary writes from her home in Castle Rock, Colorado, where she lives with her husband and daughter and many wild neighbors.

Sphinx Moth Dahlia 2013 © Fred LordHonorable Mention, 04 Fauna

Writing - Russ BrombyRuss Bromby was Editor of Colorado Outdoors maga-zine and Chief of Communications for the Colorado Division of Wildlife during a 30-year career with the State of Colorado. He retired from the Division of Wildlife in 2002.

Want this newsletter e-delivered?Let us know: info@rmowp.org

subject: E-mail RMOThanks!

Contest Winners at ConferenceStanding L to R: Al Perry, Gayle Biggs, Jack Olson, Fred Lord,

Katherine Horton, William Horton, Linda Bundren, Beto Gutierrez, Jo Dodd, Frank Zurey, Sherry Zurey,

Barb Laine, Kenita Gibbins, Virginia Staat, Cecilia Travis. On floor: Maryann Gaug, Cheyenne Mease.

© Don Laine

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02 Scenics1st

William Horton “Sunset in Cornwall”2nd

Al Perry “Northern Lights and Moon”

3rd Gayle Biggs “Swiss

Glacier”Honorable Mention Al Perry “Sunset On Lake Superior From

Inside Ice Cave”Frank Zurey “Denali”

Ken Papaleo “Clouds”

03 Flora1st

Kent Taylor “Wildflow-ers In Motion”

2nd William Horton “An-

cient Ponderosa”3rd

Frank Zurey “Princely Daisy”

Honorable Mention Al Perry “Fall Color in Alaska”

Gayle Biggs “Quiet Pond”Beto Gutierrez “Hibiscus”

04 Fauna1st

Beto Gutierrez “Fly Fishing”2nd

Frank Zurey “Black Skimmer”3rd

Beto Gutierrez “Reaching for Gold”

Honorable Mention Frank Zurey “Crested Caracara”

Fred Lord “Sphinx Moth Dahlia 2013”Frank Zurey “Purple Gallinule”

05 People in Nature1st

Al Perry “Ice Cave in Iceland” 2nd

William Horton “Isn’t This Just Great!”3rd

Beto Gutierrez “On the Edge”Honorable Mention

Al Perry “Young Girl Entering Ice Cave”Richard Youngblood “A Whale of a Tail”

Ken Papaleo “Wake Maker”

06 Historical1st

William Horton “Crossing the Animas River”2nd

William Horton “Before the Pilgrims”3rd

Fred Lord “London Bridge 2013”Honorable Mention

Jo Dodd “Guiding Light”Terry Guthrie “Old Town Main Street”

Sherry Zurey “Canyon Pintado Pictographs”

07 Cultural1st

Kenita Gibbins “Hindu Women’s Celebration of Family”2nd

Gayle Biggs “Artist at Festival”3rd

Ken Papaleo “Being Roped”Honorable Mention

Frank Zurey “Grand Marshall”Linda Bundren “Our State Fair Rodeo”

Al Perry “Church on Hill in Iceland”

Hibiscus© Beto Gutierrez

Honorable Mention03 Flora

Sunrise in the Canyon© William Horton

3rd place, 01 Images from Last Conference

Guiding Light © Jo DoddHonorable Mention, 06 Historical

Winners... cont. from page 1

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08 Events1st

Fred Lord “Fireworks 2013”2nd

Frank Zurey “House Fire 2”3rd

William Horton “Lunar Eclipse”Honorable Mention

Al Perry “Large Coronal Mass Ejection from Sun”Gayle Biggs “Late Night”

Al Perry “Beginning of Geyser Eruption”

09 Altered/Composite1st

Beto Gutierrez “Psychedelic Turkey”2nd

Kent Taylor “International Water Lily Collection at San Angelo”

3rd Katherine Horton “Plateau Tableau”

Honorable Mention Linda Bundren “Neon Swan”

Fred Lord “Crane Moon”Beto Gutierrez “Neon Buck”

10 Black and White1st

Beto Gutierrez “Making Whoopi”2nd

Fred Lord “Family of Cranes”3rd

Frank Zurey “Love Birds”Honorable Mention

Beto Gutierrez “Safe Landing”Terry Guthrie “Arches”

Beto Gutierrez “Santa Fe Chili”

11 Novice Photography1st

Gayle Biggs “Resting”2nd

Virginia Staat “When Momma Gets Mad”3rd

Cheyenne Mease “Up Close and Personal”Honorable Mention

Gayle Biggs “Ready for Work”Cheyenne Mease “Even the Shadow Tells the Story”

12 Published Images1st

Fred Lord “Sandhill Crane” American Furniture Warehouse, Jan. 2014

2nd William Horton “Bursting Bubble” 2014 Proceedings of the

ACSA, published online 3/15/143rd

Katherine Horton “Sanctuary 13” Camera Obscura, Fall 2013

Honorable Mention Al Perry “Ice Cave Photo” Evansville Living 300 Words

Blog, 26 Feb. 2014Fred Lord “Loki Running” Textbook Alamy Stock, 02/13

Plateau Tableau © Katherine Horton3rd place, 09 Altered-Composite

Hindu Women’s Celebration of Family © Kenita Gibbins1st place, 07 Cultural

Canyon Pintado Pictographs © Sherry ZureyHonorable Mention, 06 Historical

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Blends first and second person effectively to create imme-diacy and put the reader in the moment.

3rd Maryann Gaug “Time to Get Psyched for Glacier National

Park” Rocky Mountain Outdoors, Mar/Apr 2014Opens with an engaging lead. Good, straight-up how-to or-ganized with bulleted directions that are easy for the reader

to follow.

28 Unpublished Written Works1st

Cecilia Travis “Beware the Carrot”Light-hearted style that engages the reader while discuss-

ing the very serious possibilities of gathering and eating the wrong wild food. Dishes up a little sweet with the sour!

2nd Maryann Gaug “An Interesting Read about Glacier NP

Shrinking Glaciers”Nice review of a book about the vanishing namesakes of

Glacier NP. A lot of info packed into a short, concise piece.

30 Video1st

Al Perry “Northern Lights in Motion”This video is visually stunning. With eerie music accom-paniment used with permission of Peter Gabriel, it is a mesmerizing study of the aurora borealis. The flow and

brilliant changing colors of the northern lights is fascinating. Al Perry keeps it fresh by mixing in different camera lenses

on his subject.2nd

Al Perry “Birds, Bees, Butterflies and Insects in Slow Motion”

Patience is a virtue, and also a requirement for the filming of this study of these smaller creatures. The extreme slow motion reveals secrets of flight of these bugs and

birds. The bumblebees are es-pecially intriguing in the way their

wings move. The colors of the flowers add to the visual appeal and

music by Lisa Gerrard rounds out the video.

3rd Al Perry “Night Skies in Motion with

Star Trails”This is another entrancing video by Al Perry. Swirling stars, the North

Star, and the Milky Way are all dis-played, with a peek at the northern

lights toward the end. The video features music by Enya.

31 Books1st

Don & Barbara Laine “Frommer’s Easy Guide to National Parks of the

American West”

Writing Winners24 Newspaper, Magazine articles/columns/

editorials1st

Robert Good “Freedom to Harvest” Chaffee County Times, 4 July 2013

Lively “account” of Friar Tuck and Robin Hood hunting the King’s Deer, leading into a patriotic nod to the American

concept of common, rather than royal, ownership of game. Appropriately published on the 4th of July!

2nd Virginia Staat “Moab Woman Hikes 2,650 Miles to Raise

Money” The Moab Times-Independent, 10 Oct 2013Well-written, straight-forward newspaper feature piece that informs and interests. Excellent use of

quotes interwoven with information.3rd

Kathy Mattoon “Big Game Meat: Don’t Grind It, Jerk It” Gunnison Country

Times, Sep 2013 Hunting GuideInformative and persuasive how-to that

tells readers why and how to make their own jerky.

26 Newsletter and Web Writing1st

Virginia Staat “The Power of Punctua-tion” Rocky Mountain Outdoors, May/

June 2013Great use of a fun and surprising quote as a lead, balanced by another quote to close. Presents everyone’s less-

than-favorite topic in an amusing and engaging style.

2nd Jack Olson “Weathering the Storm” Rocky Mountain Outdoors, Sep/Oct

2013Opens with a lead that engages and takes the reader right into the piece.

Up Close & Personal © Cheyenne Mease3rd place, 11 Novice Images

Swiss Glacier © Gayle Biggs3rd place, 02 Scenics

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This book promises that it is “Quick to Read, Light to Car-ry” and it delivers on those promises. The guide includes

concise, yet complete, descriptions of five national parks in Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, as well as an introductory planning chapter that sets the tone. Included are summa-

ries of each park, directions, tips to avoid the crowds, fees, day hikes and where to stay and dine.

2nd Robert Stone “Day Hikes Around Monterey & Carmel”

The “Day Hike” series of books covers the breadth of hikes for each locale and this book is no exception. Logically organized and easy to use, the book describes each of

the 127 hikes in detail including distance, time needed for each hike, and the all important elevation gain and difficulty

level. Easy-to-read maps are included.3rd

Andy Lightbody & Kathy Mattoon “Winter Trails: Colorado”This entry in the Falcon Guides, Where to Ski Series, takes us to the best cross-country ski and snowshoe trails. The book covers 51 trails in the state and contains details on distance, terrain, difficulty, elevation and time necessary

for each trail. Other useful information describes fees and permits where necessary, directions and GPS coordinates. The section on equipment and survival gear is essential.

ArtVirginia Staat “Tasunka”

A special thanks to Virginia Staat for sharing her art. Virginia tells us that Tasunka (ta-shoon-ka) is a word from the Lakota language meaning wild horse. Five wild horse portraits from the herd at Theodore Roosevelt National

Park in North Dakota are the subject matter of this artist’s book. The Lakota name was chosen for the book because these wild horses are believed to be direct descendants of Lakota Chief Sitting Bull’s warrior horses. Prized for their

strength and endurance, they are native to the Great Plains and considered by many to be a breed unto themselves…

now known as Nokota horses.

This Tasunka is made of silk, wood, and leather, with metal accents. The pages include portraits of two stallions, two mares, and a filly printed on silk organza and framed front and back in stained balsa wood. Page leafs are bound to dowels with leather strips and patinaed fasteners. Seven

dowels comprise the spine of the artist’s book and are wo-ven together with leather lacing. Tasunka can be displayed by standing the book on its end in a star pattern or semi-

circle. It may also be used as a coffee table book.

Photography

Al Perry “Ice Cave in Iceland”Category 05 People in Nature

WritingRobert Good “The Christmas Mink”

Chaffee County Times, 19 December 2013“This folksy vignette opens with a good lead and takes the reader on a nostalgic memory of boyhood. The story engages with drama and pathos and concludes in a way to wrap the whole piece nicely. A surprise award because this article was chosen as Best of Show before determining the category awards and then was not given an additional first place award.” writing judge, Mary Taylor Young.

This year’s humorous judge was Virginia Staat, who added to the fun with some very creative awards. See for yourself…

AMCP (Animal in Most Compromising Position) ~

tieMy Cell Phone is a Pain in the Back © Frank Zurey “I should have checked my luggage.”

The World is Upside Down © Sherry Zurey “Is there a chiro-

practor in the house?”Roof Stander © Ken Papaleo

“Sleepwalking nightmare.”

MIG (Mind in the Gutter)Carrot Boy © Kenita Gibbins “Not Michelangelo’s David.”ACMP ~ tie

Roof Stander © Ken PapaleoSleepwalking Nightmare

The Angelo Sciulli Humorous Photo Challenge

B e s t o f S h o w

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1st Jim Baker “Reflective Morning”

2ndAl Perry “Yosemite After Snow storm”

3rd - tieAl Perry “Northern Lights”

Beto Gutierrez “Reaching for Gold”Honorable Mention

Beto Gutierrez “Sunrise Takeoff”Linda Martin “Bosque del Apache Sunrise”

MLBAE (Most Likely to be Bitten, Attacked, or Eaten) ~ tie with self

Two old geezers kissing © Beto Gutierrez “In love with the almighty buck.”Here’s looking at you © Beto Gutierrez “It’s not the size of the hat, it’s

what’s in it that counts.”

MOSH (Most Ob-scure Sense of

Humor)One small step © Jack Olson “Don’t

let grass grow under your feet.”

MPPGB (Most Perfect Photo Gone

Bad)Flying by the seat of

your pants © Al Perry “Unless you’re the

lead goose, the scenery never changes.”

MRCC (Most Ridiculous Commentary on Culture) ~ tieClassy Santa © Don Laine “Santa’s bad tattoo idea.”

Who Knew © Bill Horton “The death of common sense.”

MRCC ~ tieWho Knew © Bill Horton

The death of common sense.

MLBAE ~ tie with selfHere’s Looking at You

© Beto GutierrezIt’s not the size of the hat, it’s what’s in it that

counts.

MLBAE ~ tie with selfTwo old geezer’s kissing

© Beto GutierrezIn love with the almighty buck.

M e m b e r s ’ C h o i c e

Fifty-five RMOWPers and friends gathered in West Glacier, Montana to explore Glacier National Park with RMOWP’s local guru Tom Ulrich.

It was unforgettable. Tom shared his phenomenal knowledge of the flora and fauna, his vast experi-ence in the outdoors, and some very funny stories. One of the lucky people who snagged a spot in the all-day pre-conference tour of the park said she was amazed at how frequently Tom would say something like “up ahead is a good place to see a moose”, and sure enough, right after he stopped the car a moose stepped out of the trees, right on cue!

Beto Gutierrez’s auctioneering antics inspired both laughter and bids, raising over $6000 from the truly amazing donations by both RMOWPers and our corpo-rate friends.

The Saturday night awards banquet was a fitting close to a won-derful conference. Thanks to everyone who attended and contributed. See you next year!

G l a c i e r C o n f e r e n c eH i g h l i g h t s

Silhouette at sunset on Lake McDonald

© Don Laine

more photos on Page 8

Big horn sheep along Going-to-the-Sun Road during the Red Bus tour

© Barb Laine

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Each day was packed with field trips, workshops, and presentations. Al Perry shared some intriguing night photography, Tom Ulrich gave us insights into macro

photography, while Hector Astorga showed us how he sets up some of his more intricate images. Katherine Horton

took us quickly through some of the ins and outs of online publishing, and Virginia Staat put us to work using words to paint a picture of place so clearly that one who might

never see it could visualize and experience it.

We thoroughly enjoyed seeing how three of our members express themselves photographically: Linda Bundren’s family takes center stage in many of her photos; pretty

impressive sports photography is Jo Dodd’s love; and Dave Pecoraro captured the Kentucky Derby in a grand action-

packed display.

Anne Sullivan Writer’s ForumParticipants L to R: Kenita Gibbins, Gail Jokerst,

Maryann Gaug, Cecilia Travis, & Jack Olson.© Russ Bromby

Popping out the top of the Red Bus to capture that perfect photo© Russ Bromby

Tom tells some stories after feeding the multitude.© Russ Bromby

Here’s Tom cooking the burgers and hot dogs.© Linda Martin

President Al Perryaddresses the

General Membership Meeting

© Linda Martin

Macro photography work-shop - Tom demonstrates

the “plamp,” one of his favorite tools

© Linda Martin

RMOWPer’s chow down at the opening reception, hosted by

Tom Ulrich and Linda Martin. They served up a terrific barbe-cue at their delightful cabin on the boundary of the park, com-plete with a pond and myriad huckleberry bushes laden with

ripe berries.© Linda Martin

M o r e G l a c i e r C o n f e r e n c e P h o t o s

Friday morning’s tour of Hungry Horse dam just down the road from

the park offered a change of pace with an important engineering feat

plus scenic photo ops.© Don Laine

A rainy boat ride on Lake McDonald preceded one of Jack Olson’s famous sunrise/sunset photo opportunities

that didn’t: heavy clouds blocked the sunset. But the

next night, after a spectacular ride along Going-to-the-Sun

Road in the historic open-topped Red Busses, the skies cooperated with a great bal-ance of light and cloud at the south end of Lake McDonald.

for more on the conferencego to rmowp.org