Friends of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Special Event
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF CELEBRATION !!!
Alice Elshoff, 25 yrs a founding board member turns 90!
Friends of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge – 25 years a 501(c)(3)!
Terry Steele, (1944-2024), is remembered as his
iconic Greater Sandhill Crane image of 25 yrs is celebrated.
For more information, and to register to attend this FREE event on OCT 5th, follow this link:
Winter 2022-2023
An Otter Romp on the Middle Fork
The Day of the Otters
by Kay Scheurer Steele
Spring – 2022
Kitchen Window Bird Photography
by Terry Steele
Malheur Symphony – A Photographic Experience
– the animated video is available for sale through the Crane’s Nest Nature Center & Store online shopping.
https://malheurfriends.z2systems.com/np/clients/malheurfriends/product.jsp?product=30&
The USB-thumb drive version of “Malheur Symphony – A Photographic Experience” is available through Friends of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. This non-profit organization coordinates volunteer efforts on the wildlife refuge and it is the sole benefactor of 100% of all sales. In the end, we aim to heal the divisiveness that threatened this nature-centered world, and to value it as a secure place for wildlife, offering wisdom about the survival of our planet.
Making the Malheur Symphony
A Wildlife Photography Experience
(From Friends of Malheur Refuge, malheurfriends.org)
Written by Kay Scheurer Steele/Photo by Kay Scheurer Steele
The “Malheur Symphony” tells a gripping story of an amazing high desert oasis of the Northern Great Basin in southeastern Oregon known as Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. As you approach the vastness of that land (introduced through the recordings of howling winds and rolling thunder), it pulls you in and dampens down all the burdens of civilization within you. When you are finally quieted by its solitude, you’re ready to listen – and to see in ways that reveal the amazing story of Malheur Refuge: Dawning Light – a story of the Great Basin’s beginnings, its formation and first wildlife arrivals. Sacred Basin – a story of the earliest people, honors these ancestors of the Northern Pauite Tribe. Thunder – a reflection of darker times at Malheur Refuge. Curlew Scherzo – a story of wetland birds and this particular bird’s whimsical chorus in counter-play with the orchestration – stunning! The final movement, Awakening, is a celebration of challenges overcome by humans and beasts and, with the rushing rhythm of beating wings, ends on a high note – a hopeful future. It will leave you breathless!
The creation of the symphony began when naturalist-benefactors Jay & Teresa Bowerman reached out to Central Oregon Symphony conductor, Michael Gesme, and engaged composer Chris Thomas. Their mission? They wished to reclaim the identity of Malheur Refuge as an exceptional nature-centered world, while encouraging people to heal from divisive political tensions and to find common ground. Music is healing. It can elevate our spirits in ways that words cannot describe. Chris Thomas has taken us to those heights. In a TED Talk, he explained exactly how he did it.* The songs of birds recorded at Malheur Refuge were mimicked into musical motifs. They are counter-played with the actual bird recordings. These effects are striking; and for my husband (photography partner), Terry Steele, and me it’s been inspirational! We not only heard exciting music and comforting, familiar sounds of Malheur; we could pair those sounds with years of images pulled from our photography of that land.
With a nod from the makers of the original recording of “Malheur Symphony,” I took the leap to learn how to create an animated video version of this musical story. It is a visual accompaniment simulating a birder scoping the refuge through binoculars – using panning of the landscape, zooming in on anything that moved. Roughly 73 species are represented in over 330 still images. Several creatures travel along the storyline as “hosts” to the viewers experiencing the symphony movement to movement: the bobolinks in recorded songs; sandhill cranes nesting and in cloud-filled flight to transition the musical themes; the coyote pup just out from its den, gazing skyward with first views of the dawning light; the sora, great white pelicans, and the short-eared owl – all going the distance to the fanfare finale.
This audio-visual video titled, “Malheur Symphony – A Wildlife Photography Experience,” was produced to draw attention to the importance of preserving Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Originally, the Refuge’s purpose was to protect the staging and nesting location for hundreds of thousands of migrating and local birds. In the context of today’s reality, it is significant as a preserve for wildlife, as the historical ground of Indigenous people, and more than ever in its history, as a place of solitude and peace, offering solace to preserve the human spirit. Have we ever needed such places more in our lifetime?
*Tedx Talk: Composer Chris Thomas on Composing the Malheur Symphony
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge …
RENEWED!
Autumn on the Middle Fork
of the John Day River
October 2018
“SavingLand Magazine”
Spring 2018
We are partnering with
Land Trust Alliance and The Wetlands Conservancy
to support collaborations that provide for wildlife.
YELLOWSTONE
Sept 17 – Oct 1, 2017
Returning after 13 years, we found Yellowstone a very changed national park. It is no longer a photographer-friendly place. Why? The park is being overrun with tourists – baby boomers and Chinese guests by the busloads. All the same, we worked hard and managed some wonderful moments with wildlife. We hope you enjoy taking the visit with us through these blogs and slideshow.
Blog: https://www.terrysteelenaturephotography.com/yellowstone-national-park-2017/
https://terrysteelenaturephotography.com/yellowstone-national-park-2017/
https://terrysteelenaturephotography.com/moose-wild-side/
Many thanks to all who visited us at the county fair. We were rewarded by the opportunity to meet so many people and share our images. The images are available for your viewing here.
Thank you for visiting our site.
Terry & Kay Steele