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Summer
is un-officially over and the kids are heading back
to school but that's no reason to put your camera away.
Photo Fest 2002 is in full swing! Get out your camera
and bring the kids to the Refuge for the last of the
warm weekends. Or, look through the photos you took
here recently and consider entering them in our 2nd
annual photo contest. (See last page for particulars).
Speaking
of the children, how about encouraging them to enter
the contest. You say the kids don'thave a camera and
you don't trust them with your gadget laden, electro-techno-digital,
wiz bang, image-capturing device? It's not that expensive
to get children involved in photog raphy.
Start them with a disposablecamera. Give them a little
instruction then turn them loose. What kind of instruction?
For starters read or have them read the instructions
printed on the camera. (I know you've been taking pictures
for a long time and you know how to handlea camera but
they don't). If the minimum focus distance of the camera
is four feet, show them how to step off four feet so
they won't try to take close-ups of flowers then end
up with a dozen blurred prints that will frustrate you
and discourage them.
While
you're at it, tell them that taking five shots of the
same subject, without changing position or distance
is going to result in five prints that look exactly
the same. If the camera has a flash, show them how to
use it. Yes, it's ok to use flash outside, sometimes
it's even necessary; but you knew that. One of the most
common photo goofs is cutting off the heads of your
subjects. How do you avoid that? Teach the children
to hold the camera firmly, being sure they don't block
the lens or flash with their fingers, and to press the
shutter release gently without jerking the camera.
Grab your cameras, pick up some film, and a disposable
camera for the kids and then come to the Refuge. There
is still time before the Sept. 30th deadline to enter
the contest. Everyone who enters gets a free T-shirt
and a chance to win a cash prize. More importantly you
will be enjoying nature through a camera viewfinder.
Need
help with your photography? Come out for our
monthly Nature Photography Walk on Sept. 14th at 9:00
AM. Time is running out to enter the contest but photography
and the Refuge are always here for your enjoyment.
Photography Contest
Sponsored by Phillips 66 Refinery
All entries must be prints, recently taken at the Refuge.
Suggested subjects include:
People on the Refuge, Landscapes, CEEC, Animals, Wildflowers,
Sunrises, Sunsets etc.
Categories
/ Prizes:
Ages 12 years and under, no entry
fee
4x6, to 8x10, un-matted pictures
1st prize-$50, 2nd prize-$24, 3rd prize-$10
Ages
13 to 17 years, Entry fee $2 per print
8x10 only, picture must be matted
1st prize-$75, 2nd prize-$50, 3rd prize-$25
Ages
18 and older, Entry fee $2 per print
8x10 only, picture must be matted
1st prize-75, 2nd prize-$50, 3rd prize-$25
Deadline
to enter is September 30th. Everyone entering will receive
free t-shirt. Awards ceremony on Sunday, October 20th
at 1:00 pm at the CEEC. Must be present to receive shirt
& prizes. Refreshments will be served..
Contest
entry blanks are available at the CEEC.
"Nature
and books belong to the eyes that see them."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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An
Extraordinary Season
Story and Photo By Bill Buchanan
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September
11, 2001 has, for many, changed the way we live
and think about life. We may take less for granted,
and pay more attention to those "little"
things that can give us so much enjoyment.
Thank goodness we have places like the Refuge
where we can find our sense of direction, air
out our baggage, and re-connect with what life
is all about. Here, we become part of the brushstroke
that paints this wonderful island of nature, set
in a sea of urbanization. Amazingly, when we needed
that extra pick-me-up, it was there.
It was there in a pair of Bald Eagles, which for
almost a year made the Refuge a nearly daily stop,
sometimes with a "kid" in tow. It is
thought that the pair were setting up house across
the Delaware River, in New Jersey and seeking
new food sources in Tinicum.
It was also there in our ever popular Great Horned
Owlets that gawked right back at all of us as
we spied on them in their nest along the haul
road. Mom was an amazing sight as she patiently
sat through some of worst springtime heat, and,
along with Pop, made sure that the kids got plenty
of tasty morsels to eat. School kids, and adults
alike, "oohh'd and aahh'd" at that sight!!
And then, just recently, if for only a week or
so, a late nesting Least Bittern decided to call
home a spot a few feet from the bank of our Impoundment.
Even with "prying eyes" looking at her
through all forms of glass, this usually very
secretive mom brought dragonflies and other goodies
to her ever growing threesome, who resembled an
avian version of punk rockers "groovin' in
the marsh".
Little
vignettes of life, and death continue at the Refuge,
going on day after day, season after season and
from year to year and generation to generation.
So, to all who are seeking the flesh and blood
equivalent of the "Discovery Channel",
"Animal Planet" nd all those agreat
programs from "PBS", I say: "Come
to the Refuge to recharge yourself! Take a break
from a world sometimes gone mad and know that
life does go on despite the attempts of those
who would, and do, scar this extraordinary web
of life. Rest assured that there are many of us
who will always care for, nurture, and do all
we can, to heal the hurt, and be empowered through
knowledge of this wonderful place."
Page 8 
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P.O. Box 333 Folcroft, PA 19032-0333