Weekly Post, High and Wild: Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers

High and Wild: Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers

by Robert Glenn Ketchum

After receiving my MFA from CalArts, I was invited by Bill Lund, Sharon Disney’s husband, to come stay at the families' Diamond-D Ranch in Dubois, Wyoming. Bill thought I might like to photograph in the nearby Wind River Mountains, which I did, backpacking through them extensively over the next three summers. Welcome to a world of big granite walls and huge alpine lakes!

Monday, July 16, 2018

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #47:
Wind River, #47:  As Belle Starr (my black lab), and I work our way toward the Cook Lakes, we begin to gain more elevation and the trees become fewer and farther between. This is very different terrain from my experience in previous weeks hiking around Clear Lake. Clear Lake had many trees and was in a narrow canyon between towering peaks. On this trail I am already at a higher elevation than Clear Lake, and I still have some miles to go and elevation to gain. The landscape is broad, with expansive meadows and a stunning amount of clean granite EVERYWHERE. There are streams, tarns, and small lakes everywhere, as well. Ahead of me in the distant peaks, it appears that midday weather is beginning to build, but it is hot, so I welcome some cloud cover. My backpack is 10-day-heavy, and I am tired after several hours, but the rolling domes of granite bedecked with hanging gardens, energize me, and beckon me ever upward. Belle does not like her pack any more than I like mine, but she is ready to role because there will be places to play and trout to eat when we finally stop.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2018, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Weekly Post, "The Higher You Get, The Higher You Get" by Robert Glenn Ketchum

The Higher You Get, The Higher You Get

by Robert Glenn Ketchum

Growing up my parents had a home near Sun Valley, Idaho. It was there that I learned to ski. Over many years I befriended members of the Decker Flats Climbing and Frisbee Club, with whom I had both life, and art-forming outdoor experiences. I had my camera, and these are my adventures.  Enjoy!!  ~Robert Glenn Ketchum

Monday, July 16, 2018

The Higher You Get, The Higher You Get - Sun Valley and the DFC&FC, #115:

THE HIGHER YOU GET, THE HIGHER YOU GET, #115:  The hamadryads at Kane Lake usually begin to appear in the warmth of the afternoon, especially when there is good weather. Sometimes they are hard to see or find because they “disappear” amongst the rocks for sunning and swimming. In the case of the DFC&FC, these shy creatures willingly reveal themselves because we have been a “friend-of-the-lake” for many years. Shown here are two of my favorites, and they actually let me photograph them. The one in the lower image, warming on a log after swimming, is one of our favorites because she likes to picnic and drink wine. There is nothing better than great FRESH food and a bottle, or three, of lake-chilled wine to finish the day at lakeshore, after climbing about in the higher basin.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2018, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism Online:

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Weekly Post, The Daze of My Life: Robert Glenn Ketchum, An Autobiography

The Daze of My Life:  Robert Glenn Ketchum, An Autobiography

Biographies are studies of someone's life based on cumulative research. Good ones may reveal something, but probably barely scratch the surface of what actually went on. The internet is allowing me to do something VERY different. 
~Robert Glenn Ketchum

Friday, July 13, 2018

The Daze of My Life:  Robert Glenn Ketchum, An Autobiography #106:

Daze, #106:  Then, there is this guy. This is another lifelong friend and fellow artist, Philip Slagter, sitting in front of his farmhouse home in Connecticut. Work in Washington, DC, and a book project in New York, bring me to the East Coast frequently in the late 70’s. Work in NY, in particular, is causing me to stay for weeks at a time. My friend, the artist, Doug Metrov, has a huge warehouse-like studio just off lower 5th Avenue, and he is happy to let me crash there. At some point in one of my visits, it is late fall and Metrov has been talking to a friend of his that lives in “the country.” The friend mentions that the fall is spectacular, and says Doug should come visit. As it turns out, Doug cannot go on the coming weekend, but assures me that I should, AND that I should take my camera. Doug’s friend is a Philip Slagter. Philip does not know me, but seems comfortable with me coming to visit, so I leave Doug in NY, and head to the rolling hills and forests of Connecticut. Like Doug, Philip is a fantastic painter, and he has a big, rambling farmhouse as his studio. He stays in this house as “the property manager,” to a MUCH larger estate. The owner also has a larger house “nearby" on-property, but when the property is 1,500 acres, “nearby” is relative. Philip and I get along quite well. We eat, we drink, he paints, we stroll around the property while I take pictures, LOTS of friends stop by all the time, AND the fall colors just keep getting more amazing everyday.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2018 

@RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism Online:

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Weekly Post, FISHFARMS: Forming My World View Through Aquaculture in 1977 by Robert Glenn Ketchum

FISHFARMS:  Forming My World View through Aquaculture in 1977

by Robert Glenn Ketchum

In 1977, I was commissioned by Elisabeth Mann Borgese to help do research, interviews, and take photographs for a book she was writing about worldwide aquaculture. It would be published by Harry N. Abrams, one of the world’s premier publishing houses, famous for their beautiful books. It would also involve around-the-world travel to 8 countries, and some of the most remarkable places I would ever visit. SEAFARM: The Story of Aquaculture was a very successful publication featuring over 100 of my images, and an exhibit I assembled with support from Nikon, became a Smithsonian traveling exhibition for 6-yrs., viewed by over 6-million people.  ~Robert Glenn Ketchum

Friday, July 13, 2018

FISHFARMS: Forming My World View through Aquaculture in 1977, #12:
Fish Farms #12:  Elisabeth, I, our Russian colleagues, and some fishery administrators take a drive through the streets of Moscow to visit the popular, exclusively aquaculture product market where I will finally get a chance to make some pictures relevant to our proposed book about fishfarming. When we arrive, the market is, as promised, crowded and doing good business. This will make for some great pictures. At the entrance to the market, there is a statue of Poseidon that “talks,” and is silly-cute, so Elisabeth wants a picture. With my trusty Nikon and a big Vivitar flash in-hand, I shoot a few frames, which cause us to immediately be approached by employees that want to know what we are doing. The administrators with us explain everything, which send the staff running for the manager. The manager appears, again the administrators explain our purpose, and then something amazing happens. In a loud voice, he tells ALL the customers to leave the store, he sends the staff home, and he turns out the lights. He says I will take pictures to make it look like Russians are fighting over food, and he will be blamed. So now that everyone is gone, it is okay, and we can stay and take pictures. Our administrative colleagues are in disbelief, and Elisabeth thinks the whole thing is hysterical.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2018, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism Online:

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Weekly Post, Big Mountain and Glacier National Park: Expanding My Winter Consciousness

Big Mountain and Glacier National Park - 
Expanding My Winter Consciousness

by Robert Glenn Ketchum

In the early '70’s, I was doing a lot of winter adventuring with my friends in the Decker Flats Climbing and Frisbee Club, and a client invited me to take pictures at Big Mountain, a ski resort in Montana. Glacier National Park was not far away, so I thought that might be an interesting place to explore in the winter, as well. These two locations added important work to my exhibits and portfolios, and definitely expanded/sobered my winter consciousness.  ~Robert Glenn Ketchum

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Big Mountain and Glacier National Park - Expanding My Winter Consciousness, #50:
Big Mountain, #50:  Bob Tchirkow and I finally arrive at Avalanche Lake which is frozen over, and we are certainly in a BASIN. Except for the direction from which we have come, the sheer walls rise straight up all around us, and disappear into the snowfall that is not only heavy, but the flakes have become gigantic as well. The open expanse of the lake runs right up to the walls, and there is no gorge now between us and an avalanche. Still boggled by the one we witnessed as we came in, neither he nor I want to get any nearer to the walls than where we already are. We choose a huge tree on our side that has a wind hollow beneath it, and we crawl in there, out of the weather, to drink, snack, and occasionally poke my camera out and take a shot. The above image, “Avalanche Lake Basin (Headwalls in a Blizzard)” becomes another from this trip to be included in my future portfolio, “Winters: 1970-1980,” and a larger print of this will also be included in “Silver See,” a portfolio, published by the Los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies. Once again, unfortunately, Bob and I misjudge the short winter day. Our journey back down the trail is more dangerous than we expect. Going downslope with so many trees is pretty ragged, there is a lot of falling,..and then it starts to get dark. When we fall in the heavy, wet snow, it clings, making our clothes wet as well,..and we are tiring. Then, rather abruptly in the growing darkness, the roar of the creek is close once again, and the bridge appears before us. We are back! Crossing the bridge to head for camp, we encounter a BIG, shaggy, snow-covered mountain goat, that just stands and stares at us, then disappears into the trees. I am sure we surprised him. Camp is a mess, as the heavy snow has squashed the tent and covered equipment. One of our two stoves will no longer light, and almost everything is wet. We survive the night, ski out in the early morning hours, and have a GREAT breakfast in a cafe. One feature story in POWDER magazine, and three new images for my portfolio are part of my expanding winter consciousness, and I hope you have enjoyed these “visits” to Montana that helped to shape my career.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2018, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism Online:

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Weekly Post, Arctic: At the Cutting Edge of Climate Change

ARCTIC:  At the Cutting Edge of Climate Change

by Robert Glenn Ketchum

In 1993, I began traveling to the Arctic. I have been across The Northwest Passage by yacht; to the North Pole twice; to little-visited Russian islands; and aboard research vessels in Greenland, Labrador, Newfoundland, and Baffin Island, taking the opportunity to visit Iqualuit, the capital of Nunavut, the recently created Inuit nation and territories.

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

ARCTIC:  At the Cutting Edge of Climate Change, #100:
ARCTIC, #100:  Sitting in one place for several days because “Itasca” is ice-bound makes everyone (especially Bill Simon) a little stir-crazy. With the long daylight hours making time seem to go by even more slowly, there is a lot of napping and taking saunas among the guests. There is also a fair amount of alcohol consumption. John Bockstoce is SO particular about his beverage of choice, he had several cases shipped aboard, not leaving it to Bill to supply him. Now, in our lethargy of ice, he is consuming his precious rum in the morning coffee. Then, about midday, wearing only Bermuda shorts and a bathrobe, he grabs a long metal deck pole, announces he is going for a walk, steps over the lowest deck rail onto the ice, and he is off. That, in turn, sets off a frenzy. I follow him onto the ice to take pictures. Then the female staff appears in bikinis, and two of the men have a snowboard and a long rope. We are on a HUGE flow, so the guys take turns pulling each other on the snowboard, so they can say they rode at the top of the world (almost). John is wandering. I am looking for polar bears!

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2018, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism Online:

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2018 Venice Art Walk Featuring Robert Glenn Ketchum

For more than 20yrs. I have contributed to this event. It is VERY fun!. Because of some significant sales in the past few years, I have been allowed an “oversized” contribution this year, as the committee recognizes my images have amazing detail that is best viewed at a larger scale. “Rivers of Life” is stunning at 40” wide. Come to the Google offices - view all the work being exhibited and auctioned. Eat, drink, be merry, enjoy music, AND bid up my piece. Help support healthcare for all!

2018 Venice Art Walk Featuring Robert Glenn Ketchum

For more than 20yrs. I have contributed to this event. It is VERY fun!. Because of some significant sales in the past few years, I have been allowed an “oversized” contribution this year, as the committee recognizes my images have amazing detail that is best viewed at a larger scale. “Rivers of Life” is stunning at 40” wide. Come to the Google offices - view all the work being exhibited and auctioned. Eat, drink, be merry, enjoy music, AND bid up my piece. Help support healthcare for all!

Remembering Barbara Bush

"Never lose sight of the fact that the most important yardstick of your success will be how you treat other people -- your family, friends, and coworkers, and even strangers you meet along the way."
~Barbara Pierce Bush 
June 8, 1925 - Apri 17, 2018

In 1987, Aperture published my book, 'The Tongass: Alaska’s Vanishing Rain Forest', which was intended to support the proposed Tongass Timber Reform Act. In the ensuing years, I spent much time in DC, exhibiting, lecturing, and lobbying on behalf of the bill’s passage. The most significant timber reform legislation in American history passed in 1990, and was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. He then invited me to the White House in 1991 to acknowledge my contributions to the effort. For the photo-op, I was ushered into a room to find both he and Barbara awaiting me. We “socialized” while the pictures were being taken, and even in such a brief period, I was struck by Barbara’s presence. The president and I exchanged formalities, and he made sure I knew he had seen the book and knew my story, as I would have expected on this occasion. Barbara, however, was like speaking with my mother, in spite of the fact I am sporting a mohawk, a long ponytail, and a diamond-stud earring, and I am sure she was glad I was not her son. Nonetheless, she wanted to know if I was married, had kids, took them with me, were my adventures scary, did I enjoy sleeping in tents - you know, mom stuff - not a word about the politics of the situation. I have never had anyone make me feel some comfortable, in an otherwise “stiff” situation, so thank you Barbara Bush for meeting with me that day as well, and may you rest in peace.

To further this story a bit, I brought along my newest Aperture book, Overlooked In America: The Success and Failure of Federal Land Management which I gave to the President during the photo-op. Given the title of the book, and the nature of my politics, the President smiled broadly for a picture holding the book, and then put it aside. After speaking with me for awhile, Barbara turned and picked it up, opening it and leafing through the pages, complimenting my pictures and asking about their locations. She was a skillful weaving of necessary Washington formality, and honest, human interest.

~Robert Glenn Ketchum

H.R. 232, 115th Congress, 1st Session