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Her philosophy of life is wonderful: Love to all and Peace for all. She reads Rabindranath and loves to perform Tagore Dance Drama along with the Sattriya Dance of Assam. She is out and out an academician but never finds it a problem to write poetry in Assamese or to get engrossed in dance which is a passion for her and her daughter.
She had a penchant for academics and extra curricular activities from her youthful days. She got second position in the State Level Science Exhibition and got selected for National Level Science Exhibition, Delhi in 1997 for her research titled "Role of Auniati Sattra of Majuli as a Center of Neo-Vaishnavism in Assam, India (Majuli is one of the largest River Island).
She worked as an Executive (Human Resource / Admin ) at L.B. Enterprises Pvt. Ltd., a renowned CFA of North East, an ISO 9001-2000 certified organisation, since last one and a half years. It has fifteen companies under it like Cadila Health care, Elder Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Torrent Pharmaceutical Ltd and Medley Pharmaceuticals Ltd. to name a few.
She worked as a research investigator on the project titled "Independent Survey to Monitor Performance at close of 2nd National Leprosy Eliminating Project". The project was initiated by the Indian Institute of Health Management Research, Jaipur, India, and sponsored by World Health Organisation.
She worked as academic Co-ordinator at Euro Kids International Pvt Ltd. For Northeastern States, India and as teacher at Kidzee, a play school chain. She worked as a research investigator on the project "Human Resources in Call Centers of Bangalore," conducted by National Institute of Mental Health and Department of Psychology, Bangalore University and sponsored by NASSCOM.
She worked as a research investigator at TALEEM research foundation on a project titled "Reproductive and Child Health" sponsored by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi. She worked as guide captain at Axam Jatio Vidyalaya, Noonmati from August 2001- October 2004 and as Manager - Administration at Magnum Intergrafiks Pvt. Ltd. Chennai, India.
Recently I had a dialogue with her and wanted to know the activities as an Indian Emissary in Sri Lanka from the North East, namely Assam, upholding the cultural heritage of Assam and focusing on the fauna of Assam especially Elephant and other animal life preservation.
Dr. Ratan Bhattacharjee: Hello Dr. Gitanjali. You are an outstanding personality but you look so simple and innocent with a girlie look.
Dr. Gitanjali Himanka: (Smilingly) Yes dada, I love simplicity of life and avoid complicated people and things. I am very happy with my husband and daughter Orgha.
RB: Yes, you are a wonderful performing artist and you trained your daughter well.
GH: Oh! thanks a lot for the appreciation. It is a passion for me and now my daughter too loves dancing.
RB: How did you develop this great feat?
GH: I used to develop this knack since my childhood days while I participated in various recitation and extempore competitions. I joined dancing school and started performing since my childhood days. After marriage, I came to Sri Lanka and here I get enough invitation to perform on various occasions. We organise Dance Drama and dance programmes for the public show.
RB: I have come to know that you have a huge experience of research and project work.
GH: By God's blessings it was possible dada. I joined in the S.E.I.L. Project (Student Experience in Inter- state living in the year 2003- 2004) for a month to know the Socio-cultural life of West and South Indian people. The places I visited that time were Gujarat, Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore, Hubli, Mysore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Nagpur and Jamshedpur. I joined Himalayan Tracking from Bharat Scout's & Guides, Delhi. I also took part in the "March of Nation" at Rajpath, New Delhi on 14th of August 1997 on the occasion of "Golden Jubilee of Indian Independence".
RB: I am thrilled to know all these about you. You have achieved a lot. It is a rare feat that you did so much and still remain equally agile and active.
GH: The praise is really inspiring me. You know I tried to learn even Punjabi and Bengali besides three common languages I knew i.e. Assamese, English and Hindi, which all Indians are born to know.
RB: You are now staying in Sri Lanka, but I know you belong to Assam but which place? Will you tell us?
GH: It is a pleasure for me dada. On July 25th, 1980, I was born in Guwahati, the gateway of the north east. My father's native is Bongaigaon, a small town in Assam and my mother hails from Beleuguri, a small village in Nagaon district of Assam. Most of my childhood memories are from my father's and mothers native. Whenever I visited my mother's native place, I feel excited and happy as I could roam here and there.
RB: You are a lover of nature and a poetic mind. You write poems also and one is published in the Amravati Poetic Prism recently, an anthology launched by Hon'ble Chief Minister Sri Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh. It is a nice Assamese poem.
GH: Yes, I love the idyllic beauty and become poetic. Nature is Assam's pride. I love large green paddy fields. They were my favorite place, which still continue to be one of my most loved sights. My father's home was right on the foothills of the Bageswari hill and I just enjoyed climbing hills, fishing on the nearby lakes, going through the lush green tea gardens and cycling.
RB: Where did you study? It will be inspiring for our readers to know that.
GH: Oh! sure why not. I shall be too glad to share it. I studied at T.C. Govt Girls School and later Cotton College and Gauhati University.
RB: Suddenly how do you take interest in agricultural research and Zoology too?
GH: Good question Sir. You know my great love for green expanse of the meadows. I planned to continue my studies on the Agriculture side and after my Higher Secondary examination, I tried for the same but due to some reason my application did not reach the destination in time and I could not study in that stream. For the first time in my life I felt dejected; later I thought l would continue my studies by taking Botany as my subject. At that time, Anthropology was my pass course but since I had a love for Anthropology as it deals with people, I changed my subject to Anthropology and took Botany and Zoology as my pass course subject.
RB: Anything to say about your teachers ?
GH: You raised a good point here. I would like to mention about my teachers of Cotton College who inspired and created motivation in me, who loved me like their own child and who always boosted my confidence that I could do anything.
RB: I heard you were actively associated with the College Students Union.
GH: Hehe .. ye, yes. During those times I was the Assistant General Secretary of the Students Union of my college. Those were the golden times in my life. However, times flies very quickly. I completed my B.Sc in 2001.
RB: You did any expedition like trekking?
GH. Oh! so lovely to recall it. I went to the National Trekking Camp at the same year of my graduation. During the trip, I proudly wore the T-shirt of my college and on reaching the top I felt like being at the top of the world with my alma-mater.
RB: Ok, tell us more about your Post Graduation and other academic works.
GH: Yes, after my B.Sc, I went for my higher education in Gauhati University in M.Sc Anthropology. I planned to join Shantiniketan for MSW programme, but due to difference of timing for admission I would have lost one year if I had gone there. Hence, I decided to continue my studies in Gauhati University only.
During that time, I also joined Axom Jatiya Vidyalaya as a Guide teacher (Guide Captain). Most of my students are now well settled in different places and I feel proud of them. In 2002, for M.Sc dissertation we went to Majuli, which was one of the turning points in my life.
RB: Yes, Majuli is a turning point of your academic and research career. Can you tell us in details ?
GH: Majuli is the largest river Island of the world. In Majuli, I just fell in love with the island and the people there; they were so innocent and simple that it gave me a reason to think about reasons to do something for the people there. After M.Sc. I joined a government sponsorship project and continued to work there for two years before I moved to Bangalore for MBA in HR. At that time I got a project work titled "Human Resources in call centers of Bangalore" conducted by National Institute of Mental Health and Department of Psychology, Bangalore University and sponsored by NASSCOM. During the course of the project I fell ill and had to return to Guwahati. For few years I worked in Guwahati and in 2008 I moved to Chennai and joined as Manager -Administration at Magnum Intergrafiks Pvt. Ltd. in 2009.
RB: If you don't mind, please tell us about your marriage and family?
GH: No not at all. My husband is my friend, a real friend. We got married and returned back to Guwahati as my husband was posted in Guwahati. I could have comfortably passed my life as a housewife.
RB: But why you came back again to your work even after marriage?
GH: Work, work and work for the society, this thing motivated me always. I love people and the society. After spending 6 months at home, my mind asked me a question as to why I should not continue my further studies and I began to think about Majuli. The people of Majuli had always supported me in their own best way and in 2010, I joined Ph.D ( under ICHR with JRF scholarship) on a topic related to Majuli. I was very happy that I was able to work for Majuli again.
In 2010, a small cute angel came into our lives. It was tough managing both Ph.D work and home, but my family and my little baby through her own ways helped me a lot. At some point I was very tired and even I cried and my husband was the best support at that time. During my Ph.D, at that time I published two papers on Majuli. The papers' titles were: A Study of the seasonal Foods of Bhakats of Auniati Sattra of Majuli, published in an international journal: JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE HUMANITIES AND LITERATURE, ISSN-2277-842X. Paper titled: Tourism in Assam, its status and prospects with special reference to Auniati Sattra , Majuli, published in a revered journal with annual periodicity promoting research in literature, culture and humanities, ISSN:2321-4791. In 2012, my husband got transferred to Kolkata and my situation began tough again. However, with dedication and support, I submitted my thesis to the university in 2013 and got the Ph.D degree. 45957998
RB: Can you throw some light on your stay in Kolkata?
GH: For me, Kolkata is a 'City of Joy' in the real sense. We had a good time and we enjoyed a lot. We were very attached to the Kolkata Assamese Cultural Association and celebrated all the festivals and programmes with great enthusiasm. At that time I was involved with a project on Kumartuli and I wrote a paper on it titled "Idol making heritage of Kumartuli, Kolkata, India" which was presented in SSEASR (South and Southeast Asian Association for the Study of Culture and Religion), 6th International Conference, 2015, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. In 2015, my husband got transferred to Colombo and we all shifted there.
RB: Kindly tell us something about your life in Sri Lanka.
GH: Yes, in Sri Lanka the sphere of my work extended. I started going to the University of Kelaniya. During the course of interaction with the local people, I found that my native Assamese language had close similarity with the Sinhala language. I also wrote a paper on this, titled "Acoustic similarities between Sinhala and Assamese". During my stay here, I observed that the local people love and respect Elephant a lot. We attended the Perahera festival of Colombo and Kandy, which showcased the elephants in full royal fervor.
I wrote about my native experiences through a paper titled, "Tradition of Domesticating Elephants and its Inherent Association With the Folklore of Assamese Society", that got published in Asian Elephants in Culture & Nature, 2016, ISBN:978-955-4563-84-1. My recent lecture was on Majuli in an international Lecture Series at the Centre of Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. The topic was Majuli: An Enchanting Heritage of Assam. Here, I focused to trace the similarities with my land.
RB: Oh! that is all fantastic When away from Assam you still mentally stay here. This is the love for the native land.
GH: You are correct. I am an Indian, I am an Assamese and no one can make me forget this great fact. Long live India. Long live Assam.
RB: Thanks for your time and space. You are doing wonderful job as a cultural emissary for Assam nay India in Sri Lanka.
About the interviewer:
Dr. Ratan Bhattacharjee, the trilingual writer (Assamese, Bengali and English) and academician, is Associate Professor & Head, Post Graduate Dept of English at Dum Dum Motijheel College, Kolkata and Guest Faculty at Rabindra Bharati University. He is also Member in the International Advisory Board of International Theodore Dreiser Society, USA. He is a regular columnist in The Shillong Times, The Sentinel, Dainik Statesman, Kolkata and Book Reviewer of The Telegraph and The Statesman. Known as Oleander Poet of India, he has to his credit a number of poetic volumes including Melodies and Maladies, The Ballad of the Bleeding Bubbles, Oleander Blooms and Our Daughter, Our Princess and his first book is translated into Assamese as Raktakta Burburanir Malita.
The most popular citizen journalists' reports on merinews chosen automatically on the basis of views and comments


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www.LowPrim.com 1 Prim Mesh Decor by PrimPossible Side Projects
Land rank 64: Radio Dreamscape Club, Beach & Sci-Fi
Land rank 66: The Wondery
Land rank 66: The Wondery
Unfortunately the owner of this land Ample Clarity doesn't have a Gold Hunt Vote Station installed yet, so we can't show you their parcel image.
Land Rank #65 (150,488 votes)
1,226 more votes to overtake Radio Dreamscape Club, Beach & Sci-Fi Voting Station Votes also produce Land Points which can be gained in 2 ways:
- Players voting through their player HUD or through VOTE STATION
- When a coin is collected your land gets votes/land points (higher value coins more and coins with less value less but players can collect smaller value coins more often).
Note that land can loose more then just 1 LAND POINT if a player votes THUMB DOWN through his HUD so always make sure you also have lover coins placed on your land aswell as they respawn more quickly.
Parcel Description
or copy to your chat in Second Life:

subset: commoncrawl


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These were commissioned by the Danforth Aparments for their space. It was an immense honor to create nautical themed art for this area. here are some progress shots.
Acrylic & Gouache on Wood Panel, 2018
20" x 30'"
This painting plays of the theme of the garden of Hans Christian Andersen version of The Little Mermaid. Here is where she laid her treasures. I thought to hide little details like a little anemone and ruby to show the preciousness of the anchor, but also that the anchor has been resting for some time. Seaweed and kelp intertwine it as a sun rests in the background. This theme play off the print of the nesthome I did for Danforth's. In this scenario, home is where you lay anchor.
Acrylic & Gouache on 2 Wood Panels, 2018
1" x 3" each
This piece I chose to do from the perspective of looking up through the waves to the golden sun above. I chose bright teals and greens with a touch of purple to accent the shapes and flow. This very much is painted to reflect rays of sun and light going through the panels very similar to how light behaves when you're underwater. I chose to paint the seaweed off the canvas and split the scene into 2 separate panels so it really gives a sense of movement, flow and growing with the tides.


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Mary Eileen Williams, career expert, discusses with Brenda Bernstein, certified resume writer, about how to explain gaps in work history in your resume both on paper and in an interview. They also talk about what to do during that gap period to keep your skills sharp. Get Brenda's book How to Write a WINNING Resume… 50 Tips to Reach Your Job Search Target in our bookstore here.
How To Explain Employment Gaps in Your Resume
November 26, 2013 Leave a Comment


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On a slow news day, a couple Today show notes, both concerning Matt Lauer.
Readers will recall, as described here, that on the eve of the confirmation hearings Lauer branded Sam Alito an "ultraconservative." No mea culpas from Matt this morning in the wake of Alito's vote splitting from the court's conservative wing and staying the execution of a death-row inmate. Today did label Alito's decision a "Supreme Surprise." Observed Katie Couric:
"Everyone expected Alito to be a reliable, consistent conservative on the high court which is why so many are a little shocked that he sided with liberals and moderates in his very first vote on the high court last night."
Any such suprise reveals much more about the liberal view of the courts - that they should be results-oriented rather than deciding strictly on the law - than it does about Sam Alito.
On another note, as described here, just yesterday Matt was expressing skepticism at President Bush's reference to "radical Islam" in his SOTU speech. Lauer suggested to Brokaw that radical Islam was "just some term" that the president used to garner political support.
But there was Matt this morning interviewing NY Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman regarding America's reliance on foreign oil. In the course of their conversation, Lauer himself twice spoke of "radical Isam" with no hint of irony. Did Matt discover radical Islam overnight, or could it be that, for Lauer, the term is only suspect when used by a Republican?


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There are dozens, if not hundreds, of plumbers in Toronto. At least, they call themselves plumbers but that doesn't necessarily mean they are qualified. And homeowners contract them to do specialized work, pay them good money and then wonder what went wrong when they are left with damages their insurance won't cover and the "plumbers" have disappeared into the night. That's because they were never real plumbers, to begin with, and their credentials are shady at best. To find the best plumbers in Toronto, you need to do some work and be prepared to pay a reasonable price. If you don't, here are some examples of the risks you take:
Taking Short-Cuts
One Toronto homeowner recently used a handyman contractor to install a shower pan liner and strainer, which requires the use of pitch material under the liner. The contractor claimed that in spite of years of experience installing shower pans he had never used pitch material, so the installation was completed without the extra cost and labor. Within a short period of time, the water seeped from the pan into the surrounding area causing creeping damp and cracking, which required extensive – and costly – repairs to the home's infrastructure.
Using Inferior Materials
Quality plumbing materials aren't cheap, and anyone who says he can do the job with something purchased at Home Depot needs careful checking out. Sure, even the best plumbers in Toronto occasionally pop into their nearest hardware store to pick up the odd part, but large scale jobs need to be done using industrial-quality equipment and materials. Otherwise, you're likely to have to foot the bill for the same job to be done all over again in the not-too-distant future.
Carrying Insufficient Insurance
Unqualified plumbers in Toronto don't have access to the same type of liability insurance as a qualified plumber does. Put simply, you aren't covered if they cause damage to your home. Consider this scenario: your old copper piping inside the wall of the home is leaking. You call a contractor or handy person out to fix it, and he pulls out a plumbing torch. Without the right level of experience, the contractor lights the torch without having sufficient air inside the wall and the dust catches fire. Your home burns down. The "plumber" does not have adequate liability cover and your insurance very quickly realizes the contractor is unqualified and denies your claim.
Lack of Knowledge
Regardless of the type of job you need to be done, using an unqualified plumber is a risk you can't afford to take. Unqualified plumbers in Toronto installing a hot water heater without the appropriate relief valves can leave your family in danger if the heater explodes, which is possible if the thermostat malfunctions. Imagine paying several thousand dollars to have foundation waterproofing done, only to find that the next time it rains you have a flood? Try claiming from your insurance under those circumstances!
It simply isn't worth it to use an unqualified contractor to do plumbing work. Examine the credentials of the plumbing company you want to use and check the insurance
I once knew a plumber that had the best outdoor front door mat I ever saw. Apparently, he got it from outdoorfrontmats .com where they have a ton of them. He was always one for quirky things, too. His t-shirts were always hilarious.


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The organiser of King's Gate race, BigMountainSkate from Austria, had to cancel the event due to the heavy damage the track has suffered this winter.
The surface of road got worst in this so far really cold and snowy winter here in Austria. It wouldn't be fun or safe to skate this road, its not accurate for a world class race. ~ BigMountainSkate via Facebook
King's Gate was supposed to be one of the two IDF World Qualifying races in Europe. Now only the Transylvania IDF WQ race remains next to the World Cup races Kozakov in Czech Republic and Verdicchio in Italy.
As the announcement was published, the organiser of Transylvania race, the DEVAstation Longboard Crew decided to extend their event with additional freeride days.
With one event down, BigMountainSkate is now left with two of their most popular events in Austria, Alpenrauschen and Bela Joyride. With more time on their hands, we can expect BigMountainSkate to focus more on the remaining events and deliver even better experience.
To join Alpenrauschen and Bela Joyride visit bigmountainskate.com.


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THE REVEREND ROBERT BUSHYHEAD, who has died aged 86, was a Cherokee linguist whose efforts to preserve his native Kituhwa dialect, spoken by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians until government attempts to stamp it out in the early 1900s, brought the language to a new generation of Cherokees - fewer than 1,000 of whom now speak the dialect.
Robert Henry Bushyhead was born in 1914 and brought up in a one-room log cabin in the Birdtown community of the Qualla Boundary in North Carolina.
Bushyhead's ancestors had been among the Cherokees removed from their homes there, and in Georgia and Tennessee, in 1838, and forcibly resettled in the Indian Territory of what is now Oklahoma. The 1,000 mile march to their new location had killed more than 4,000 members of the tribe and was remembered as the "Trail of Tears".
In young Robert's household, light and heat were provided by a large fireplace at one end of the cabin. As well as being used for cooking, it provided the medicine man with hot coals to warm his hands. He would lay them on the sick and chant his formulas in Kituhwa.
Kituhwa, the only language used by Bushyhead's family and friends as he grew up, was a tongue especially closely linked with nature. Bushyhead often reminisced about his father going out to the fields, saying: "I must go now and talk to my corn."
Bushyhead first heard English when he was six, a year before he was enrolled in a government boarding school. The emphasis there was on discipline and the children were forbidden to speak Cherokee.
Bushyhead and his friends would sneak down to the furnace room to talk Cherokee. They were frequently caught and punished with a severity normally reserved for illicit smoking or chewing gum. Almost all the children punished later declined to teach their children Cherokee for fear that they might suffer similar punishment.
Under this regime, Bushyhead mastered English and, after graduating from Carson Newman College, was ordained as a Southern Baptist minister. He became first a home missionary to the Eastern Cherokees and afterwards worked as a travelling evangelist.
In his sermons at various churches he began to draw on Indian lore, and later taught Sunday School in Kituhwa at the United Methodist Church in the Qualla Indian Boundary.
Bushyhead always regretted his decision not to teach his five children Cherokee. But since the 1960s he had been collecting menus, grocery lists, maps and stories written in Cherokee after a friend had expressed concern that so few in the Eastern Band knew Kituhwa. These later proved invaluable source material.
Despite losing his left leg to diabetes, and suffering from fading eyesight and hearing during the last eight years of his life, Bushyhead worked tirelessly with his daughter, Jean Blanton, a teacher in Cherokee schools, to record the sounds and grammar of Kithuwa on both video and audio tape. The recordings are now used as part of the Cherokee Language Project in schools to allow Cherokee children to hear the language spoken correctly and fluently.
Bushyhead's determination to see Kituhwa revived involved arriving in his wheelchair early each morning at a small log cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains to repeat word after word until each recording was accurate. He also taught Cherokee history at the Steiner-Bell Institute in Tennessee.
For this work, which was partly funded from the proceeds of casinos on Indian reservations, Bushyhead received the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award.
"No other language sounds exactly like it, and we want to preserve this," he explained. "At my age, it is one of the last things I will ever be able to leave for my people to keep after I'm gone . . . Cherokee has a flow, it has a rhythm that is beautiful. And once you lose that rhythm then, of course, you're lost."


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Wildlife Winner
Royal King
This is an adult male Asiatic Lion, taken with golden sun light in the evening in Sasan Gir. I was lucky to get a calm pose of him during the golden evening light.
Tapan Sheth
Location » Sasan Gir, Gujarat, INDIA
Camera model » CANON EOS 5D MARK III
Lens model » EF 500mm F/4L IS II USM
Shutter speed » 1/250
F-number » 8
Film speed (ISO) » 640
Flash model » NA
Tripod< » NA /p>
Wildlife Highly Honored
Tigress Slips While Carrying her Cub
A naughty cub kept running away from its mum to cross the stream. She got exasperated and caught the little one and brought him over to where she wanted him to be. While bringing the cub over across the stream, she slipped on a rock and that's when I took this image.
Krishnan V
Location » Ranthambhor Tiger Reserve, India
Camera model » Nikon D3
Lens model » Nikon 300mm F 2.8 G VR
Shutter speed » 1/160
F-number » 8
Film speed (ISO) » ISO 1600
Flash model » NA
Tripod » NA
Wildlife Sliding
In the middle of a slightly overcast spring day in Ubud on the island of Bali, I headed to the Monkey Forest, a tropical rainforest of densely growing bunyan trees. Within the forest, I found an enormous, even more magnificent tree that was viewed as sacred, and had countless long aerial roots hanging down. A macaque was playing in the roots, swinging around from one to the next like Tarzan. At one point it slipped and fell, and though it was extremely tricky with a handheld camera, I was able to follow it, and capture its fall from top to bottom. The photos were taken raw.
Yoshihiko Mizutani
Location » Indonesia, Bali
Camera model » Canon EOS 40D
Lens model » EF70-300 f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM
Shutter speed » 1/6
F-number » 5.6
Film speed (ISO) » 800
Gift of Winter
Being nocturnal, it's rare for Siberian flying squirrels to be active during bright daytime hours in February in the middle of winter. In order to capture this rare opportunity, a great deal of time was spent searching for a location. The Siberian flying squirrel is small, and it glides very quickly, so catching one on camera is very difficult, but success was achieved here through a thorough understanding of the animal's movements, and determining a specific point to aim for in its flight. I feel that the animal's gliding motion and the surrounding area have been very gracefully captured in a single frame here.
Masatsugu Ohashi
Location » Hokkaido, Japan
Camera model » Nikon D750
Lens model » AI AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED
Shutter speed » 1/1600
F-number » 6.3
Film speed (ISO) 450
Salmon Falls
A beguilingly beautiful image of the spray from a waterfall and the masu salmon jumping within. Even when they're in pain or faced with difficult challenges, these fish never give up. Quitely and indifferently, they continue to jump. This is a message from wildlife. What you take from it may well vary based on not only your own sensitivities, but your very way of life. The space that the masu salmon jump through is like a world floating in a tiny cosmos. Within, one can find absolute beauty, amazement, and amusement. And within, there is even the courage not to give up.
Makoto Ando
Location » Shari River Hokkaido
Camera model » Nikon D4s
Lens model » AF-S Nikkor 300mm F2.8G ED VR
Shutter speed » 1/3200
F-number » 8
Film speed (ISO) » 2500
Flash model » NA
Tripod » NA
A non-hibernating pika storing food in winter scenery. The animal bites off pieces of plants without using its hands, and carries them to its food store in its mouth. Winter is the most active season for pikas. This photo depicts a moment where one is carrying a piece of Japanese clustered gentian flower in its mouth to its food store.
Hironori Watanabe
Location » Hokkaido
Camera model Nikon D4s
Lens model » 300mm f2.8
Shutter speed » 1/1000
F-number » 7.1
Film speed (ISO) » 800
Flash model » NA
Tripod » NA
Jaws of Death
A brief drizzle provided respite to the floundering fish in a rapidly-drying waterhole in Kirinda, Sri Lanka. The relief though was short lived for this one particular fish that found itself in the jaws of a young crocodile (Crocodylus palustris). I had mounted my remote-controlled camera on a tripod, and was monitoring the scene for several days, waiting for the perfect natural moment. I particularly like the streaks of water that slant across the frame, the clearly visible diaphanous fins of the fish, the texture of the crocodiles scales and the overall wet gleam of the image.
Lalith Ekanayake
Sri Lanka
Location » Kirinda, Sri Lanka
Camera model » Nikon D4
Lens model » Nikon 70-200mm F2.8
Shutter speed » 1/800s
F-number » F2
Film speed (ISO) » 2000
Flash model » NA
Tripod » Gitzo
Orangutan in The Rain
I was taking photos of orangutans in Bali, Indonesia, when it started to rain. Just before I put my camera away, I saw this orangutan take a taro leaf and put it on top on his head to protect himself from the rain! I immediately used my DSLR and telephoto lens to preserve this spontaneous magic moment.
Andrew Suryono
Location » Bali, Indonesia
Camera model » Nikon D300
Lens model » Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR
Shutter speed » 1/500
F-number » 2.8
Film speed (ISO) » 400
Flash model » NA
Tripod » NA
The Face Off
Young bulls (Indian Elephants) were play fighting, it was a friendly tussle, but there is a fine line between play and fight. But they were friendly for sure, that's why I could take full frame head shots.
The image was converted into B&W and given sepia toning, like we used to give in chemical darkroom.
Jagdeep Rajput
Location » Corbett National Park, India
Camera model » Canon 30D
Lens model » 500mm F 4.5
Shutter speed » 1/320
F-number » 4.5
Film speed (ISO) » 400
Flash model » NA
Tripod » Bean Bag
Landscape Winner
Bromo in Heaven
Bromo in Heaven' was taken early in the morning at a vantage point overlooking beautiful Mt. Bromo which is an active volcano. The essence of this photo is the sea of clouds below the mountain in the early morning and the smoke emitted from the crater. These two elements come together to give to create a truly mysterious landscape.
Location » BROMO, JAVA INDONESIA
Camera model » Nikon D810
Lens model » Nikon 24-70mm
Shutter speed » 1/50 sec
F-number » 8.0
Film speed (ISO) » 64
Flash model » NA
Tripod » NA
Landscape Highly Honored
"Wishing to photograph this dreamlike moment, I spent a number of years calculating the necessary timing, and left the house at 1:00. However, due to an avalanche blocking all of the routes to the shoot site, I had to spend an hour and a half walking with winter mountain hiking gear, and wound up reaching the site at 6:30. I waited for my chance in the biting cold, and as soon as the moment that the sunlight stretched out across the scenery arrived, I began to carefully photograph the columns of light one by one as they appeared for a moment and then promptly disappeared, all the while crying out with excitement on the inside as I stood alone on the pure white plains.
I photographed the scene for around an hour, and selected the best shot among the thirty that I took."
Nobuhiro Yamauchi
Location » Nagano, Japan
Camera model » Nikon D800
Lens model »S igma APO 70-200mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM
Shutter speed » 1/640
F-number » 2.8
Film speed (ISO) » 100
Flash model » NA
Tripod » GIZO GT4542LS
Small Waterfall in the Forest
"Pa-Ngam-Ngon" waterfall is a small waterfall located at "Khun Dan Prakan Chon Dam" within Nakhon-Nayok province, Thailand (northeast of Bangkok). The waterfall is surrounded by clear water from the dam, and lush, pristine rain forest. I have chosen the month of November to be the perfect time to capture this image, it is when the jungle and waterfall is most alive. The only way to reach the waterfall is by a 20 minute boat ride, departing from the dam's ridge, then a hike through 700-800 meters of jungle terrain.
The stunning waterfall flows down from a high cliff, initially I was stunned by the beauty of the waterfall and stood in bewilderment for a moment, absorbing my surroundings before I proceed to raise my camera and capture the moment. What I wanted to achieve in this image, is to capture the richness and abundances of the surrounding rainforest. I started scouring the area for the best angle, until I found a fallen tree trunk surrounded by moss and fern covered rocks, I then decided to use the fallen trunk and rocks as foreground and utilized the trunk as a line of sight to the waterfall.
To capture the perfect image I waited for clouds to block out the sun to reduce lens flare, and continued to mount my DSLR full frame Cannon 6D on a tripod. I chose the EF 17-40 mm f/4L USM lens and 17 mm distance to capture the lushness of the surrounding jungle, I also utilize CPL filter to reduce light reflection on leaves and waterfall. I set my F-stop to f/16 to create a deep depth of field through-out the image. With the exposure time set at 8 seconds and ISO speed at 100, I was able to capture the flow of the waterfall while leaves and surroundings remain still. Due to a low light environment at the time this image was taken my camera lighting calculations are "off" which result in over exposure. I then chose to set the Exposure bias to -0.7 to counteract and find the balance between light and dark.
Other than a lens hood on my camera, I also used my hand to block out any additional lens flare, and when the clouds drifts across the sun, a small breeze flowing through the lush jungle, I knew that this is my golden moment, then……Snap!
Wattanasak Khamjuang
Location » Nakhon-Nayok Province, Thailand
Camera model » Canon 6D
Lens model » EF 17-40 mm f/4L USM
Shutter speed » 8 Sec.
F-number » 16
Film speed (ISO) » 100
Flash model » NA
Tripod » Manfrotto 190xProB
Monochrome Patrol
A Wild Fox Chase – a journey in search of a fox. Foxes are known to be elusive creatures, but there was a certain hill where I always saw their footprints in the snow. As creatures who preyed on the wild mice to be found between the snow and the soil, it seems they knew that there were delicious mice to be found beneath the snow on the hill. I would wait patiently in front of the hill for them to appear. And on this day, one was kind enough to appear, walking along the ridgeline below the pale evening sky. The handful of footprints I had seen just might have been his.
Hiroki Inoue
Location » Hokkaidō Kamikawa-gun Biei-chō
Camera model » SONY_ILCE-7RM2
Lens model » FE70-200mmF4G_OSS
Shutter speed » 1/200
F-number » 14
Film speed (ISO) » 100
Flash model » NA
Tripod » NA
Wuzhi Sunset
This photo was taken at Wuzhi mountain overlooking the countryside of Guilin and its Li River. The essence of this photo is the beautiful light rays beaming down across the rice fields situated in the valleys through the clouds at sunset. This created a totally awesome landscape that is unique to Guilin.
Min Tan
Location » Guilin China
Camera model » Nikon D810
Lens model » 14-24mm
Shutter speed » 1/50
F-number » 8.0
Film speed (ISO) » 64
Flash model » NA
Tripod » NA
Yading Beauty
"Yading Beauty" was taken at Yading National Park in Sichuan China during the autumn.
The essence of this photo is the Tibetan monastery seated in front of the majestic snowy mountains in the beautiful woods that displayed rich fall colors. Tibetans living in the area regard this area as a holy land.
Min Tan
Location » Yading, Sichuang China
Camera model » Nikon D810
Lens model » 24-70mm
Shutter speed » 1/50
F-number » 8.0
Film speed (ISO) » 64
Flash model » NA
Tripod » NA
Blue lake
"Amidst the heavy snow, I found a still deserted Blue Pond. Reaching the spot for the shoot across the virgin snow, still devoid of footprints, a beautiful scene of white and blue appeared before my eyes.
It was still the dim hours of the early morning, so I feel I've been able to better capture the blue of the pond here with time lapse photography. I thought it might be best to use a wide lens, but decided to be brave instead, and have strong memories of shooting with a telephoto lens and cutting it myself."
Hiroshima Munetaka
Location » Hokkaido Blue Lake
Camera model » EOS-1DX
Lens model » EF24-70F2.8L
Shutter speed » 10
F-number » 8
Film speed (ISO) » 200
Flash model » NA
Tripod » NA
Ocean Winner
Squid are very active at night. I enjoy watching squid wriggle their tentacles into slithering spirals while hovering, and thrust them straight out like a bouquet of tails to swim. Squid can darken and lighten their pigmentation at will, an ability which becomes obvious when they are illuminated by a night diver's light.
This photo was taken in the Waigeo island of Raja Ampat, which is on the northwest tip of the Bird's Head Peninsula of West Papua. Raja Ampat translates into English as Four Kings and gets its name from a local mythology about four kings that occupy the four big islands; Salawati, Batanta, Waigeo and Misool.
It is easy to find squid in Raja Ampat. Squid generally hold in mid-water, especially active at night, looking up and down for prey.
This squid was encountered at 5 meters depth and displayed its deadly fangs and claws trying to scare me. It is very difficult to focus in these conditions. I tried many shots, but this was the only successful one.
Jim Chen
Location » Raja Ampat, West Papua
Camera model » Nikon D800E
Lens model » Nikon AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm F2.8G ED
Shutter speed » 1/200
F-number » f/22
Film speed (ISO) » 100
Flash model » Dual INON Z-240 Strobes
Underwater Housing» SEACAM
Ocean Highly Honored
Into the Light
At the end of a dive in Papua I noticed a jetty with local kids and fishing lines. Thinking there may be an opportunity for some images I jumped in again. There was a huge school of Ikan-Puri (Bait fish) hiding from predators under the Jetty. I know the image I wanted in my head so I adjusted the settings and then gently herded the fish with my strobe arms. They would make these amazing formations. I lie on my back and shot straight up into the sunlight.
Digant Desai
Location » Papua, Indonesia
Camera model » Canon7D
Lens model » Tokina 10-17mm fisheye zoom
Shutter speed » 1/250
F-number » 16
Film speed (ISO) » 100
Flash model » Twin Inon Z 240
Tripod » -NA-
This picture was taken at Havelock Island, Andaman, India. Underwater photography has been my dream for 20 years. It was my first experience of underwater photography and in the first dive I used an underwater camera. It was a difficult task for me as lot of things troubled me during this dive including technical faults, physical stress, mental imbalance, strong currents and so on. Unlike wildlife photography, you don't have to wait for a long period or sit in one place quietly so as not to disturb the subject. As you dive you find an 'ocean full' of subjects to shoot so you get confused and it is easy to waste time. Buoyancy control is very important in underwater photography and as I was a beginner it troubled me a lot but I was firm and had a passion for this so I gave it my best. Underwater panning photography is the most difficult type as shutter speed is slow and flash gets fired so photos get over exposed. In this photo all the fish are moving and only one of them is still. As I dived all of them started to swim near me so, I got scared and due to this I did not set the camera to the required setting and the photo resulted into a panning shot.
Vinod (Baiju) Patil
Location » Havelock Island, Andaman, India.
Camera model » Nikon D7000
Lens model » Nikon 12\ 24mm f/4
Shutter speed » 1/6
F-number » 22
Film speed (ISO) » 100
Flash model » NA
Tripod » NA
All You Can Eat Egg Buffet
When I found this nudibranch (Favorinus tsuruganus), it was lying on the rock inside the eggs. Tried a few "normal" shots and didn't like the effect. It then starting crawling around the eggs and then back to the wall and then back to the eggs slowly and I knew I wanted it standing right in the middle as if it was looking out of the window so I waited and waited and it finally walked to the exact position where I wanted it to be. I then adjusted my strobes on both ends of the eggs so the thick layer of eggs would block the lights out creating this dramatic effect.
Vania Kam
Hong Kong
Location » Anilao, Philippines
Camera model » Nikon D7000
Lens model » Nikon 105mm
Shutter speed » 1/125
F-number » 16
Film speed (ISO) » 100
Flash model » Inon Z240 x 2
Tripod » NA
Big Mouth
I had brought a wand lens intending to shoot a different creature, but instead encountered a sixty centimeter deep sea fish; a monk fish, who lay unmoving with his mouth open on a night in Osezaki. When its mouth was open, I could see countless mysidacea inside, so it could have been a rare moment of the mysidacea cleaning the fish's mouth. When winter comes, monk fish are spotted from time to time
Kazushige Horiguchi
Location » Shizuoka, Japan
Camera model » Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro
Lens model » Tokina AT-X Fisheye 10-17mm F/3.5-4.5 DX Lens For Nikon
Shutter speed » 1/125
F-number » 11
Film speed (ISO) » 400
Flash model » INON Z-240 Strobe ×2
Tripod » NA
Oriental Sweetlips
A school of Oriental Sweetlips swim together on coral reef.
This photo was taken of Mansuar island in West Papua. I dove on a sloping reef with a strong and rising current. Visibility was reaching almost 20 meters. I spotted many fish as I drifted down the reef. The highlight of the dive was a big school of Oriental Sweetlips. These Oriental Sweetlips were encountered at a depth of 38 meters. I took this photo in portrait mode, because I hoped to get the school of Oriental Sweetlips in the photo.
Jim Chen
Location » Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Camera model » Nikon D800E
Lens model » Sigma 15mm F2.8 EX DG Fisheye
Shutter speed » 1/100
F-number » 7.1 Film speed (ISO) 200
Flash model » Dual INON Z-240
Tripod » NA
Small World Winner
Frog Prince Bow Tie
There were some water lily leaves in the pond just above the surface, a small frog happen to be lying on the lotus leaf. I was lying on the ground and slowly moving forward to take a picture parallel with the frogs eyes. After I took the photo I made a new discovery, the lotus leaf and the frog's head look like the shadow of a shirt collar and tie. Perhaps this is a frog Prince tie.
Minghui Yuan
Location » Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China
Camera model » Nikon D3S
Lens model » Tamron AF 180mm/3.5 macro lens
Shutter speed » 1/200
F-number » 11
Film speed (ISO) » 800
Flash model » NA
Tripod » NA
Small world Highly Honored
I wondered what these insects do at night so I entered the valley at night to see. As a result I saw a lot of sleeping insects. However this mantis was different. It seemed as if this mantis was playing a game with me. I was impressed so I rushed to take the photograph. In order to separate the mantis from the background I used two flashes. I later learned that mantis eyes turn black to collect light. This mantis taught me that there are interesting subjects in my area to photograph.
Honami Aso
Location » Kaeda Valley, Miyazaki, Japan
Camera model » Nikon D600
Lens model » TOKINA AT-X M100 PRO D
Shutter speed » 1/125
F-number » F/13
Film speed (ISO) » 100
Flash model » Nikon SB-800
Tripod » NA
Top of the world
I like to lie on the grass looking at nature photography objects because doing so lets me get close to nature which sometimes gives unexpected results. I saw a little mantis climb to the top of the leaf then look back at me. I was lying on the ground when I shot this mantis on the leaf against the sky. It's like it is standing on top of the world, which at the moment it was the king of the microscopic world.
Minghui Yuan
Location » Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China
Camera model » Nikon D3S
Lens model » Tamron AF 90mm/2.8 macro lens
Shutter speed » 1/100
F-number » 13
Film speed (ISO) » 800
Flash model » NA
Tripod » NA
Hooded Grasshopper
The Hooded Grasshopper (Teratodes monticollis) is a grasshopper with an elongated hood on its thorax. Camouflage is the main feature of these beautiful insects. They can be seen in green color during the monsoon and a dull brown color after the monsoons.
I had visited Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary, Goa Forest in winter. It was November, but the weather was still cloudy. It was very difficult to find this Nymph Hooded Grasshopper amidst the tree leaves. It was camouflaged so well as a dry leaf. The color and texture of leaf was exactly the same as its body. The wing pods could be seen but the entire wings were not yet developed. Nymphs and adults of this species are green in color. Nymphs' colors can be variable depending on environment, age, etc.
Hooded grasshoppers feed on tree leaves. This species of grasshopper is distributed in India and Sri Lanka.
Vishwanath Birje
Location » Goa, India
Camera model » Nikon D90
Lens model » Nikon 85 mm Macro
Shutter speed » 1/100 Sec
F-number » 8
Film speed (ISO) » 200
Flash model » NA
Tripod » NA
Helping Hands
We the Homo sapiens boast of our civilization and culture and in this pride we tend to forget, that there is this tiny kingdom of weaver ants which has a thriving colony which is full of life. They are predominant members of forest insect communities and found throughout the entire tropical world except America and belong to a relatively old genus Oecophylla in the subfamily Formicinae of hexapod order Hymenoptera with 11 fossil species reported from Oligocene and Miocene periods and two extant species; Oecophylla longinoda occurring widely across Afrotropical region and Oecophylla smaragdina is found in the Oriental, Palaearctic and Australian regions. Oecophylla smaragdina was diverged between 3.6 and 7.8 million years ago somewhere in China.
These ants exhibit marvelous architecture and intelligence to build their nest with leaves. When a new nest is required, individual workers scout for suitable clusters of leaves, which they grab with their mandibles and attempt to draw together.
Meanwhile other workers made their attention to the site and presumably by the success of the first workers and join the effort. To join the two leaves, ants form chains by holding each other's waists and thus pull the leaves together as is depicted in the picture. In the image one ant is helping another in turning the leaf in suitable position so as to fit the requirement. The ants make their nests with the leaves of the tree sewn together. Subsequently a number of leaves were stretched in to position for binding, each held in place by rows of workers. As soon as all the leaves were brought together the process of stitching of these leaves commenced and the mature and experienced workers capture white colored and transparent late instar larvae with quite delicacy in their mandibles and move them to and fro on the edges of young tender leaves. In response to this movement or tingling feeling, the larvae release sticky material from their glands and a white sheet of silk joins the leaves one by one. This behavioral characteristic of 'stitching or weaving leaves' for nest formation is unique among these ants and the reason behind their name 'Weaver Ants'.
Singh Satpal
Location » India
Camera model » Nikon D90
Lens model » Nikon AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8
Shutter speed » 1/160
F-number » 16
Film speed (ISO) » 400
Flash model » NA
Tripod » NA
Water Droplet Play
The amantis nawai egg I brought home during autumn hatched at room temperature, and this photo was taken of the creature against the a background of the tulips blooming in the garden. A droplet of water on the flowers was caught in the frame, and as if curious about the droplet, the creature stood in front of it and stared at it, moving its feelers. I captured this captivating scene with a slow shutter, using the natural light from the garden.
Shinichi Saeki
Location » Japan
Camera model » Canon EOS6D
Lens model » MP-E65mm Shutter speed 1/6
F-number » 9.0 Film speed (ISO) 640
Flash model » NA
Tripod » Velbon mini-F
Birds Winner
Brahminy Kite with Weed
T G Halli (Tippagondanahalli) is a reservoir which used to supply water to Bangalore during 1980's. Now due to reduction in catchment area and a disturbance to the flow of rainwater into the reservoir the water level has gone down. However fishing has continued and is a good place for bird watching as well. On a weekend bird watching trip, I noticed a pair of Brahminy Kites were busy fishing close to a fisherman's boat. I parked my car close to the bank and set up my tripod and camera so that I was sitting in the shadow of the car so the bird didn't get distracted with my presence. At once the bird skimmed the water and picked up a weed thinking it is food and after inspecting it dropped the weed back. I had managed to click this image while the Brahminy Kite was inspecting the weed during flight.
Prasanna Venkatesh G
Location » T G Halli (Tippagondana Halli)
Camera model » Nikon D4
Lens model » Nikkor 500mm f4
Shutter speed » 1/5000
F-number » 4
Film speed (ISO) » 400
Flash model » no flash used
Tripod » Gitzo GT5542LS
birds Highly Honored
Free Style Hunting
I visit this place regularly. This is a sweet water lake and at the time of sunrise the water was very still and the wind was not blowing. Everyday River terns come here to hunt but this day the wind was not blowing. First this bird tried to catch the fish but failed it turned again to catch the prey so I got ready to shoot. You need to sacrifice your deep sleep, be at a higher elevation than the subject and 5 to 10 minutes before the sunrise at the location to get a perfect reflection picture. After getting this picture I tried for more 15 days to get a situation like this but Mother Nature did not cooperate. The challenge here was the low light; it's difficult for action photography of birds. The location was 2 hours from my place. I used to wake up at 3 in the morning and travel for 2 hours and barely shoot for half and hour.
Vinod (Baiju) Patil
Location » Jayakwadi Bird sanctuary, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India.
Camera model » Nikon D4
Lens model » Nikon 400mm f/2.8 VR2
Shutter speed » 1/8000
F-number » f/4
Film speed (ISO) » 2000
Flash model » NA
Tripod » NA
Every winter these birds migrate to Khichan in the thousands and I wanted to create something different. After a day of studying their behavior I was able to capture this satisfying shot.
Sandeep Mall
Location » Khichan, Rajasthan,
camera model » Canon 7d Mark ii
lens model » Canon 200-400
Shutter speed » 1/800
F-number » 16
Film speed (ISO) » 1000
Flash model » NA
Tripod » NA
River Watching
The Tama River, which flows through Yamanashi prefecture, Shinagawa prefecture and the Tokyo metropolitan area has a number of areas whose banks are unprotected despite the river's status as one of the major rivers in the area surrounding the capital, and the river is thus rich in natural beauty, offering one the chance to see many wild birds and riverside plants. Many wild birds – mainly herons – fly by the weir at the river's midstream point, preying on fish trying to swim against the rapid currents. In the short space of time between the sky beginning to grow light and the dawn breaking, one can capture magical scenes of the water painted in a pale blue. Using a slow shutter, images were captured of the weir's egrets repeatedly over the course of a year.
Yasuhiro Kanazawa
Location » Tokyo, Japan
Camera model » Nikon F6
Lens model » AF NIKKOR 80mm-400mm
Shutter speed » 1.5
F-number » 5.6
Film speed (ISO) » 100
Flash model » NA
Tripod » Gitzo
Head » Husky
Darter at Sunset
It was my 4th day in Bharatpur during last year's winter and I was wondering if I could get the shot that I have been trying to get for the last two years. I was trying to get a shot with a darter spreading its wings with an orange sunset background. The darters or snakebirds are mainly tropical water birds and have long thin necks, which have a snake-like appearance. To dry their feathers after diving, darters move to a safe location (generally a nearby tree) and spread their wings. I was positioned right where I could see the sun going down and there was a tree where Darters usually come to dry their wings. After waiting for 15-20 minutes, the sun was getting very low and there were no signs of any Darters. Suddenly I saw Darter coming out from water and sit on the lowest branch of the tree. The Darter was still not in line with sun and I was hoping that she would move up by 4-5 feet so that I could frame the correctly. After waiting for a few more seconds the Darter moved up and came to the top of the tree. But at the same time, the sun had already gone down and this was the best shot I could get. Getting such shots is always challenging as we have no controls over such situations and there is a lot of waiting involved.
Amresh Mishra
Location » Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India
Camera model » Nikon D7000
Lens model » Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD
Shutter speed » 1/200
F-number » 18
Film speed (ISO) » 640
Flash model » NA
Tripod » NA
Get Closer
During bird migration I was in the desert expecting to see eagles but this time a griffon vulture surprised me which it is not common to see vultures in the desert of Kuwait. He was exhausted as birds migrate from Europe to Africa crossing Middle East which is more than 5000 Km. Vultures' necks are very long but I had the chance to take a shot face to face while his neck was not appearing.
Omar Al-Asem
Location » Kuwait
Camera model » Canon 7D Mark ii
Lens model » Canon EF500mm IS II USM
Shutter speed » 1/500
F-number » 6.3
Film speed (ISO) » 160
Flash model » no flash
Tripod » Bean bag
I Will Bite You
Greater Flamingos are social birds, like all flamingos. Their flocks can be very large and numerous. The great number of flamingos residing in a single area leaves room for aggressive behaviour between the members of the flock. Sometimes Greater Flamingo males fight over nest grounds or mates. The males can use their bill to fight or they have been observed chasing each other in the wild. They have other mechanisms of protecting and threatening other small birds. Sometimes due to space reasons they bite each other to go away. I found these flamingos in my hometown lake and was fortunate to capture their movements and aggressive calls so perfectly.
Bhavya Joshi
Location » Rajkot, Gujarat, India
Camera model » Canon EOS 550D
Lens model » Sigma 50-500mm OS
Shutter speed » 1/2000
F-number » 8.0
Film speed (ISO) » 400
Flash model » NA
Tripod » NA
Blue Tailed bee Eater Landing
After going to Naguvanahalli near the banks of River Kaveri around Mysore every March – April for Bee Eater photography for many years, it was finally time for me to capture the Blue Tailed Bee-eater's courtship ritual. It was a Friday morning during the 3rd week of April that I took a trip to Naguvanahalli. It's never easy to photograph these birds without a hide as these birds get disturbed when anyone closely approaches. I did set up a hide keeping a comfortable distance and ensuring I didn't disturb their nests. Mounted my Nikon D4 and 500mm lens on a Gitzo tripod connected with Yongnou wireless remote trigger and fixed my camera focus on a perch where most of the activity was happening. As a courtship ritual the male was getting food for its partner and at this point I was able to capture this moment.
Prasanna Venkatesh G
Location » Naguvana Halli, Mysore
Camera model » Nikon D4
Lens model » Nikkor 500mm f4
Shutter speed » 1/3200
F-number » 4
Film speed (ISO) » 400
Flash model » no flash used
Tripod » yes
Video Winner
Spooked Out by Bobbit Worm
The Bobbit worm is a marine polychaete worm which can have a size of nearly 3 metres in length. The body diameter average at 25mm. Everything about it seem unreal. Rainbow colour body, giant claws, and bizarre behaviour which ambushing prey from underground. It does look both fascinating and scary at the same time. To search for one, you have to scanning through some specific dive site during night dive since they are nocturnal and love to stay at the soft ocean floor. At a one of a divesite in Lembeh Strait, I spend almost 45 minute with this worm. Most of the time is waiting and observe its most natural behaviour. This poor toby fish (Canthigaster sp.) just swim by and give me a scary but special moment.
Chutinun Mora
Sony Handycam HDR-SR12; UW housing
Video 2nd Place Winner
Dance of Scaly Thrush Catching Earthworm
Usually, scaly thrush shifts its weight from left to right foot repeatedly to scare the earthworm underground, chasing them outside to capture them. This movement is where the hula originated from. In addition to the hula, this animal demonstrated a new move of spreading its tail feathers to hit the earth's surface. I was able to capture multiple still images of the creature dancing. However, I felt that was not capturing the whole scene, and on the next day, to represent enthusiastic performance, I decided to film the scaly thrush dancing.
Kunihiko Suzuki
CAMERA:Canon EOS 1DX
LENS: Canon EF500mmF4L ISⅡUSM+Canon EF1.4XⅢ
Video Highly Honored
Winter Passion
This video was created, experimenting with the use of mirror lenses and classic lenses that are not used very often.
From the daily shootings, I was fascinated by the animals from the Kushiro Marshland, and after the use of numerous frames, I began to frequently use zoom lenses in my work.
For one cut, I have used a ring blur using the Kenko Mirror Lens, as well as a unique blurred foot representation using the Zeiss Biometar.
I hope you will enjoy watching this.
Thank you for your support.
Hiroyuki Uno
Canon 5Dmk2,
Tamron SP150-600 mm F5-6.3,
Kenko mmirror lens 800mm F8 DX,
Kenko mmirror lens 500mm F6.3 DX
Carl Zeiss Jena Biometar 85mm F2.8,
Carl Zeiss Jena Biometar 120mm F2.8
Panasonic AG-AC160A
Whales of Sri Lanka
In the past years, we have noticed that many rare whales have been gathering in Sri Lanka. I have been making several visits every year to capture this moment. Please enjoy the 4K picture using a drone and underwater camera of Sri Lanka's little-known cetaceans/whales such as the blue whale, sperm whale, bryde's whale, and short-finned pilot whale.
Taichi Maruyama
Two wild dolphins full of curiosity
200km south of Tokyo is an island called "Mikurajima." Near this island, there are over 100 wild bottlenose dolphins living in the water. These dolphins are full of curiosity and will swim together with humans, and if they are interested, they will approach you to play together. I am swimming right next to the dolphin, less than a meter away from myself. If I can't keep up the pace with the dolphin, they will swim back towards me as though they are asking, "Why are you not following me?" As a result, I was able to represent the curiosity and affection towards the human of a parent and a child dolphin.
Tetsuji Akimoto
CANON EOS 5Dmark
EF16-35mm F4 L IS USM
Swan Lake
The theme of this video is whooper swans. They live on a beautiful lake in the dead of winter and are very white and I was grateful to be able to film their elegant appearance. Juvenile swans plumage is a greyish-brown color.
I believe that the reason why people might be fascinated by the beauty of these white shining figures is because they survive the cold winter in northern of Hokkaido.
Couji Ogawa
Panasonic LUMIX GH4 & Panasonic AG-AC160A


text:
Ok, lets take a small break from the game creating. I assume you already know about Flash and AS3 but if you haven't worked with 3D programming before it would be good with some foundational theory. Let's start with the dimensions (no, kidding! a third??)
As you can see by the figures the 3D coordinate system differs in many aspects. First of all, there is a third axis showing the depth of the image. Imagine the screen as the 2D image a normal FlashMovie can project. Now think of the Z-axis as if you could put in your hand in the screen and push that movie further away or drag it closer to you. The movie would then move on the Z-axis. (I know this is not the whole truth but will you please pretend for a while, ok?)
Now, something is new with the other "normal" ones as well. It seems like the origo (0,0) has moved away from being in the topleft corner to the absolute middle of the screen. Ok, fair enough, so as soon as you want things to move to the left of the screen you will set the X-value negative. The last thing that might be easy to forget for you "Flashers" is that Y-axis is now pointing upwards meaning that negative values are below the 0,0,0 (origo). So whenever you want something to move upwards you increase the Y-axis.
There are many ways to use this 3D space but in my game I will look at the 3Dworld as if Y is the altitude of everything meaning that the flat arena we will create and all the units moving around will mostly be stretching out and move through the X and the Z-axis.
Today I will not dive deeper into 3D and how the models are built up rather then just present the core objects that are needed to even display something in 3D. Lets begin:
There is no real 3D. You know that, right? I mean, we're only simulating a 3D environment but in the end it will be projected on a 2D surface (the screen). The viewport is exactly that. It's the 2D area where all this simulating will take place. For now, just think of it as a small rectangular MovieClip that you will just add to the displaylist just as normal. It's what will be within this rectangle that is the cool stuff.
A camera is nothing else but your eyes in the 3D world. Think of it as an object in this 3D environment I just explained above that could move around in all axis and also rotate around. Wherever it is located, from that angle all objects in the scene will be projected. The projected image will be visible in the Viewport explained above. (aaaah so the camera is the camera, and the viewport is like the TV showing whats catched be the camera?? … yes)
Now this is the objects that will be visible in the 3D-world. Damn, you know this already. It's just like using DisplayObjects in flash. Actually, the PV3D team has worked hard for you to be as comfortable with this new technique giving you almost the same methods to work with 3D as with 2D. Want to add a DisplayObject3D in the scene? use addChild(). Want to move it to the right? Increase the X parameter. It's that simple :)
Also, while we at it. DO3D is very much a container just like it's cousins DisplayObjectContainers. This means that you can put other DO3D's into other DO3D's just like you would add a Sprite into a MovieClip etc. Works like a charm (because charms work, right?)
Now this one is somehow new to some of you 2Dguys. Creating 3D projections is a lot about fooling the eye and mind with small tricks just to come closer to the "real thing" and what we expect to see in a 3D environment. One crucial thing that adds to the illusion of depth is light. If all sides of a green shape were litten equally, the viewer have a really hard time both getting the feeling of 3D-depth and to make out the correct form of that shape. See the image below:
We will work with PointLights (Pointlight3d) that as the word hints is a light placed in a point in the world. This means that you will be able to move that light just as you move objects and cameras around. With a good light you can enhance a 3D-environment to extreme standards!
Now that you are introduced to the basic components of a 3D-world, lets start the engines up and create our first bad ass scene!
First, lets create a FLA. Just create a new AS3 FLA in Flash and set the document class to 'Main'
Now let's create our Main.as class and make it as simple as possible. I've always liked to keep the document class as clean as possible and as soon as it gets cluttery I move most of the code into a new class, cleaning Main up again.
package { public class Main extends Sprite { private var view:View3D public function Main() { view = new View3D() addChild(view) } } }
View3D will be our class with all fancy 3Dstuff. To make it very (VERY) simple I will now extend a class called 'BasicView' and turn it into my View3D.as . Basicview's only purpose is to take one viewport and one camera and put it all in one scene so that you are ready to go immediatly. Let's have a look at it:
package { import org.papervision3d.lights.PointLight3D; import org.papervision3d.view.BasicView; public class View3D extends BasicView { private var light:PointLight3D public function View3D() { super(); createSomeObjectsOnTheScene() this.startRendering() } public function createSomeObjectsOnTheScene() { light = new PointLight3D() light.x = 1000 light.y = 5000 light.z = -6000 scene.addChild(light) var tSphere:Sphere = new Sphere() scene.addChild(tSphere) } } } }
Now let me take you through what just happened. First when View3D is created, I call super() meaning I call the BasicView constructor. BasicView class creates a 'scene' and puts a 'camera' on that scene. It also places the camera on z:-1000 so that it can view all objects from a fair distance (camera is by default "looking" towards 0,0,0). I then call my own function 'createSomeObjectsOnTheScene' where I first create a light and locates it somewhere fairly random. In the end I create the first really visible object and puts it in the displaylist using addChild. As i don't locate it somewhere it will be placed on 0,0,0 (where camera is looking). taddaaa… but when running you will find the sphere looking kind of .. wireframed. Yes, and thats actually the correct term for that look as well.
It is as simple as if you havent specified HOW the surface will look on the sphere it will draw it in wireframe mode (as a sign of not having any material wrapped around itself. Tomorrow I'll show you how to set some materials and then we will also head back to the game. Otherwise I will never be able to finish it!


text: On Wed, 26 Jun 2002, Henrik Beckman wrote: > I´ve got a openmanage problem after installing openmanage and rebooting > i have several processes running. > But I can´t get acces to the 1311 port to monitor the machine. it looks as though openmanage server was installed but the web server part was not installed or there was a problem in the installation phase for it. try going back through your install steps and make sure the web server stuff is installed and running. regards, -jason


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Your Path to an Academic Career in Strategic Management
Some of our seminars in Strategic Management include:
Capabilities, Vertical Alliances and New Product Development
This course is designed to focus on the interaction of theories on resource-based view (RBV) and capabilities and the literature on corporate governance in vertical alliances. The intent is to have students develop a point of view about how they see the evolution in RBV and capabilities literatures by tracing the key articles over time. These theories underpin competitive advantage and sustainable competitive advantage in the field. The course also explores the well-developed field of transaction cost economics (TCE) and the relational view on vertical alliances. Both core theories and empirical work is examined. The course further seeks to explore the theoretical and empirical interactions of these fields.
The topics explored through the interaction include new phenomena of potential research to upcoming researchers. The changing opportunities for outsourcing, alliances, and the virtual firm all represent business practices that can benefit from a more careful and empirical examination. One such change in vertical alliances is an opportunity to change new product development capabilities for firms linking product lifecycle management software to suppliers and vertical alliance partners. The theory is that the new product development is more open to suppliers and alliance partners but this also raises very controversial issues surrounding how to protect intellectual property in the context of this more open exchange. Governance practices have to be recalibrated to do so. Exactly how to do this, and the subtle mix of governance and the potential for creating new capabilities that emerges shows the importance of the interaction of governance and capabilities in the course. Another domain in which these theories could be brought to bear is on the alliances in business platform competition in the context of two sided markets.
The expectation is that students will identify a problem of outsourcing or changing vertical alliances and explore this from the theoretical and empirical domains studied in the course. A project proposal should include theory on both capabilities and alliances and propositions and hypotheses that could be examined empirically.
Corporate Strategy
The course is designed to address the concept of corporate strategy in strategic management research, theory and practice. Corporate strategy, as distinct from business strategy, incorporates practices that are distinctive for the multiple business firm as it manages and seeks to achieve competitive advantage beyond what would be achievable by the businesses alone. So in some respects there are activities that could also be pursued by single business firms such as acquisitions, alliances, etc., but which have a potentially broader scope in a multiple business firm as it expands and grows beyond a single industry or business domain.
The course starts with a review of Philosophy of Science and Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions to understand how we know what we know. This is useful as we think about multiple theoretical lenses interacting with corporate strategy and how they have changed the thrust of the field over time. In particular the history of the field is traced through Rumelt's early work on diversification, stressing different organizational configurations and management practices, to an industry structure approach to diversification, to an RBV approach to diversification, to a management capability emphasis. Much of the empirical work comparing these different theoretical research is examined through the work on whether industry or corporate strategy matters for understanding business unit performance.
Given this background on theoretical lenses in understanding the changing domain of research in corporate strategy, the course touches on key topics to see how these theoretical perspectives have been used in corporate strategy research. Research trends in acquisition/entry, agency, governance and compensation, and corporate restructuring topics are all considered. It is expected that students will pick a topic among these latter areas and write research proposals that are informed of the theoretical debates considered in the early part of the course.
Collaborative StrategyThis PhD seminar provides an overview of the major theoretical and methodological approaches used to study the strategies of collaboration between organizations. In particular, it covers issues related to partner selection, relationship development, the role of trust, the tensions between cooperation and competition, or the interplay between relational and formal governance mechanisms. The course specifically aims at developing skills to evaluate this literature and think critically about how this area of research has evolved. It also provides many opportunities for students to discuss future research directions.
Psycho-Cognitive Foundations of StrategyThis course is an advanced research seminar on the psycho-cognitive foundations of strategy. In complement to the rational analytical models, it focuses on the links between cognition and strategic diagnosis and decision making. The seminar introduces the interpretative approach to strategy about how individuals and organizations interpret information, how their interpretations affect actions, and how actions generate market outcomes. It covers micro-level issues related to individual socio-cognitive processes as well as macro-level issues related to organizational and market processes. This interpretative approach is interdisciplinary in nature, drawing upon related and organizationally relevant literatures in cognitive and social psychology.
Economic Perspectives on Business StrategyAt its core, the strategic management field asks two intertwined "big picture" questions about business: Why (or perhaps how) do some companies persistently earn substantial profit, while others do not? And what, if anything, can managers actually do about it? Basic economics teaches that, under price competition, profit is expected to trend toward zero, so in a competitive capitalist economy, any large sustained profit should be rare. In the big picture, this is certainly true: In the U.S., over half of all new businesses fail within their first four years, and only about 25 percent of all U.S. businesses achieve enough success to expand beyond the proprietors themselves and hire even a single employee. So, when we ask the question of why/how profit persists in a competitive capitalist economy, we are focused on a rare "outlier" phenomenon -- a small number of companies that beat some rather long odds. Economic theory offers four basic causal mechanisms to explain why some firms succeed while others fail -- rivalry restraint, competitive advantage, information asymmetry, and commitment timing (preemption versus flexibility). This course reviews both theoretical and empirical research about how these four theoretical mechanisms function individually and how they interact with each other, challenging students to identify opportunities to extend research on these topics in interesting ways.
The Analyses of Value Generation Versus Value Capture in Interfirm PartnershipsIn this course, we mainly focus on the tension between value creation and value capturing in interfirm relationships and related effects on the formation, governance and partners' performance. In the first part we focus on the contingent benefits and risks associated with different types of interfirm-relationships. In the second part we focus particularly on strategic alliances as an important form of inter-firm relationships, where first analyze the formation, and governance of strategic alliances under high uncertainty, adverse selection risk and conflict of interest. In particular, we discuss the value creation benefits through accessing partner's limited resources and hazards associated with conflict of interest, appropriation risks, and within-portfolio competition to access partner's limited resources. In these analyses we cover different theoretical perspectives such as transaction cost theory, property rights theory, theories on networks and informal governance mechanisms, as well as bargaining power perspective, in determining the formation and governance of alliances. We also analyze the tensions between value generation and capture in venture capital/corporate venture capital (VC/CVC) investments and differential performance effects on the investors -VCs/CVCs- versus investees – and startups. Finally, we have a session on the selection bias problem in interfirm exchanges and econometric approaches to address it.
Recent Topics in EntrepreneurshipThis course is an advanced research seminar related to various topics in entrepreneurship. Hence, our unit of analysis will predominantly be the entrepreneur or entrepreneurial team, but may take the perspective of the established firm when discussing corporate entrepreneurship. This focus necessitates some attention to the psychology, the sociology and the economic and technological contest of the entrepreneur. The seminar introduces the recent phenomenon in entrepreneurial settings that includes as venture capital, corporate venture capital investments, spin-offs, spin-outs, founder CEOs, family businesses.
Corporate Governance Issues in StrategyThis course is an advanced research seminar related to strategic issues focusing on corporate governance of the firm. Hence, our unit of analysis will predominantly be the CEOs, top management teams, board of directors and shareholders. This phenomenon driven approach is interdisciplinary in nature, drawing upon related and organizationally relevant literatures in psychology, the sociology, and economics. The main goals of this seminar are to become familiar with relevant research on corporate governance, develop related research questions, and design empirical studies by the end of the class.
Additional Courses
To help doctoral students broaden their knowledge base and pursue interdisciplinary research, Krannert's PhD program in Strategic Management also provides opportunities to take seminar courses from related fields such as finance and economics as minor coursework. Finance minor coursework includes seminars in managerial and corporate finance, which covers topics including capital structure, financial market, corporate governance, international finance, and equity investments. Economics minor coursework includes economics of information, labor economics, industrial organization, and game theory.
As a research-methods requirement, doctoral students can take research methods courses in two different tracks: Econometrics track and Advanced Statistics track
Guest Speakers
We invite scholars from around the world to present their current research programs. They come to share their insights on a wide range of research topics in strategy. Faculty members and doctoral students benefit from this unique opportunity to be exposed to current research trend and refine their own research.
Guest speakers include:
- May 2019 Evan Rawley (Univ of Minnesota)
- April 2019 Francisco Polidoro (UT Austin)
- April 2019 Hanna Halaburda (NYU)
- April 2019 Zeki Simsek (Clemson)
- March 2019 Felipe Csaszar (Univ of Michigan)
- March 2019 Gwen Lee (Univ of Florida)
- February 2019 Hart Posen (Univ of Wisconsin)
- February 2019 Brian Uzzi (Northwestern)
- January 2019 Jay Anand (Ohio State)
- January 2019 Mahka Moeen (UNC Chapel Hill)
- October 2018 Samina Karim (Northeastern)
- October 2018 Yue Maggie Zhou (Univ of Michigan)
- September 2018 Jiao Juo (Univ of Minnesota)
- April 2018 David Hsu (Univ of Penn)
- April 2018 Zeke Simsek (Univ of Conn.)
- April 2018 Nan Jia (USC)
- March 2018 Kyle Mayer (USC)
- March 2018 Aseem Kaul (Univ of Minn)
- January 2018 Mike Ryall (Univ of Toronto)
- November 2017 Sunkee Lee (CMU)
- November 2017 Deepak Hegde (NYU)
- October 2017 Nat Balasubramanian (Syracuse University)
- October 2017 PK Toh (Unif of Texas)
- October 2017 David Gaddis Ross (Univ of Florida)
- April 2017 Jay Anand (Ohio State University)
- March 2017 Deepak Somaya (Univ of Illinois)
- March 2017 Razvan Lungeanu (Penn State University)
- February 2017 We She (IUPUI)
- February 2017 Ethan Mollick (University of Pennsylvania)
- January 2017 Brian Wu (University of Michigan)
- November 2016 Martin Ganco (University of Wisconsin at Madison)
- October 2016 Mike Mazzeo (Northwestern University)
- October 2016 Hong Luo (Harvard University)
- April 2016 Ronald Burt (University of Chicago)
- March 2016 David Gaddis Ross (University of Florida)
- January 2016 Henry Sauerman (Georgia Institute of Technology)
- January 2016 Gurneeta Singh (University of Minnesota)
- November 2015 Janet Bercovitz (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
- November 2015 Guatam Ahuja (University of Michigan)
- October 2015 Myles Shaver (University of Minnesota)
All the faculty and students of the Strategic Management area convene in round-the-year pro-seminar meetings in an intimate setting to brainstorm research ideas, critically evaluate developments in the field and nurture academic partnerships. Some of the specific activities include:
- Presentation of recent research ideas to seek critical evaluation and feedback. It also serves as an avenue to strike-up future collaborations.
- Discussion with both in-house faculty and visiting speakers in an informal conversation. It often helps PhD students to understand the complex origins of careers, research papers, collaborations, and dissertations.
- Discussion about various methodologies to improve existing skills and develop new tools with specialists in the respective areas from both inside and outside of Purdue.
- Review of books, which deal with various stages of academic career such as PhD life, dissertation, job market, and tenure.
- Ad-hoc discussion about best practices for framing a research paper; giving an effective presentation; and navigating the journal review process
Teaching Opportunities
Our doctoral program is primarily intended to prepare students for careers in academia. In order to help our doctoral candidates develop their teaching skills, we require them to teach two undergraduate classes (e.g., Strategic Management, International Business).


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Whether you're young or old, male or female, healthy or unhealthy, the flu can burden us all. It can spring on anyone at any time and turn a bright and cheery day into a dreary miserable one. And while we all become haunted by stuffy noses and achy joints at one point or another, the flu for a senior could be a lot more dangerous.
Keeping seniors' immune systems strong is important because they're more vulnerable to infections. Older immune systems tend to be weaker which allows the flu to turn into more serious conditions such as bronchitis and / or pneumonia. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 90% of seasonal flu-related deaths and more than 60% of seasonal flu-related hospitalizations in the United States each year occur in people 65 years and older.
The best thing you could do for an elderly parent when it comes to the flu is not let them get it, period. Prevention becomes essential with age, especially during flu and cold season. The following are tips children and caretakers should keep in mind when trying to keep an older adult healthy.
1. Get vaccinated
With a simple prick of a needle, seniors can have a significantly lower rate of sickness and death. The flu shot is readily available and highly recommended, especially for seniors.
2. Exercise
Exercise has a number of benefits for the elderly. Physical activity promotes circulation, heart health, and relaxes the body and mind, all which can help boost the immune system.
3. Sleep
It's easy, it's relaxing, and you can do it anywhere! Sleep is a natural immune system booster, helping us respond better to stress and inflammation. It's also shown to improve our response to the flu vaccine.
4. Wash your hands
Wash, wash again, and then wash again. We come into contact with hundreds of thousands of germs A DAY! The spreading of germs is one of the most common ways of catching an illness. So how do we escape these pesky little buggers? You guessed it, wash your hands!
5. Incorporate superfoods into your diet
Diet still matters, no matter how old you are. Foods such as kale, broccoli, avocados, certain mushrooms, and berries have shown to improve seniors' immune system performance. Some even boost cognitive function and help fight Alzheimer's disease.
6. Reduce stress
Stress can take over in many different forms, including stomach problems, heart disease, and a poor immune system. Though stress is hard to avoid at times, as a senior, stress reduction is extremely vital for proper health.
7. Try multivitamins or herbal supplements
While there are many goodies we should be taking out of our diets, multivitamins and herbal supplements can be very beneficial to add to them. As a senior, multivitamins and herbal supplements can help increase nutrients and fight off infections.
8. Stay hydrated
Sip some tea, slurp some soup, or savor some coffee, either way, drink water! Keeping mucous membranes moist lowers your chance of getting the flu or a cold. Although staying hydrated is important for all ages, seniors tend to sense thirst less than younger people. They need at least eight or nine glasses of fluid a day.
9. Keep your distance
If you're a social butterfly, it's probably best to spread your wings and fly when it's not cold and flu season. Being a little anti-social can work in your favor during this time since germs and illness are lurking about everywhere. Elderly individuals should consider keeping their distance in cars and elevators or in areas where large groups of people congregate, such as malls.
10. Stay positive
There's no better medicine than happiness. A healthy outlook on life boosts endorphins, making us feel good. Seniors who stay active with hobbies they enjoy have a better chance of staying positive, healthy, and flu-free.
The flu can be sneaky; you never know when it might strike. But luckily, we can take effective steps to preventing it. For seniors, flu prevention is essential to a healthy and happy life.
Click the following link to read about how to keep your senior safe from falling, or visit www. tarponspringshomecare.com to learn more about senior home care.


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The Senate failed to pass legislation again this year that would legalize non-smokable forms of marijuana under the state's medical pot program. That means nearly 180,000 medical marijuana patients in Michigan remain in limbo, as do their caregivers and suppliers.
It's unfair to patients working within the law, adopted by a 2008 ballot initiative, to continue withholding safe access to their legal medicine. The Legislature must legalize edible, topical and other forms of the drug, and approve a regulatory structure in which the industry can operate.
Editor's Note: This article is an editorial/opinion piece from the Detroit News. The author states "It's unfair to declare medical marijuana legal, but then not provide the regulatory framework to assure that patients and their caregivers don't become accidental criminals." Read the full article for more details.
Source: Editorial: Protect access to medical marijuana | The Detroit News


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29th Sunday in Ordinary Time October 22, 2017
Exodus 33:12-23 Rev. Rona Kinsley
Ministering Together
Our reading from Hebrew Scripture reminds us that leading a congregation can be challenging. Moses had to put up with a lot of whining and complaining from the People of Israel, after he led them out of captivity in Egypt. There was a fair amount of bad behavior among them, too. But at the time of today's passage, their wandering in the wilderness— with all its trials and tribulations— is almost over, and they are about to enter the Promised Land. Moses, though, is feeling insecure in his leadership, and he wants some reassurance that God is really with him. I've had moments like that!
Ministry is often described as a mutual relationship between pastor and congregation, but it's easy for both the pastor and the congregation to forget to see themselves as partners. We clergy often take on more than we should, not realizing that this can disempower a congregation. And congregation members, all busy people themselves, are often willing to let a pastoral leader do most of the work Now that your search for new leadership is complete, and you are ready— you really are ready— to enter into a new ministerial partnership with Ed Sunday-Winters, I'd like to share a few thoughts, from the pastor's side, on how to keep your partnership happy and healthy.
We pastors learn a lot, through study and experience, about how to take good care of a congregation. The following are some tips for the congregation on how to take appropriate care of your pastor. Many of these are things you already know and do. I have enjoyed my partnership with you, because you have been good partners in ministry. So please consider this as more of a refresher course, although you may hear some new information, too.
To begin with, remember that Ed's first relationship is with God, and his first responsibility is to God. Moses never forgot where his primary commitment lay, even though there were times when it made him unpopular. I remember the time, in my first pastorate, when a church member came into my office to express his unhappiness with something I'd said in a sermon. After he finished telling me off, he pointed his finger at me and said, "Don't forget, you work for us."
I was somewhat shaken by this encounter, and so I shared the story with a trusted friend. "He's wrong, you know," she responded. "You don't work for them. You work for God." This doesn't mean that we are above reproach. You may have heard the quip that the task of preaching is to "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." In our prophetic role, there are times when we pastors do feel that, to be true to God, we have to say something uncomfortable to a a congregation. Ideally, if there are differences, you and Ed will turn to prayer, discerning together how God is at work, in and through this congregation.
Try to remember than Ed is not God Jr. Please don't try to make him into God Jr. Unfortunately, we clergy are very susceptible to the temptation to try to be God Jr.— wishing we could meet all your needs and heal all your ills. Someone once described Protestant pastors as "quivering masses of availability," which is why so many of us burn out. Let Ed know that you don't expect him to overwork. When he has had an extra busy week, let him know that you do expect him to take comp time. And make sure he takes all of his vacation time. He will need it.
Ed will be arriving with his wife. Patti needs him to have time for her, too. Please don't hesitate to invite them, as a couple, to your homes and to plan joyful congregational gatherings. Having fun together is a great way to get to know Ed and Patti. At the same time, allow them privacy. Honor their right to regard the parsonage as their personal space— their home— and not as an extension of the church.
Don't expect Ed and Patti to be a twofer. Allow Patti to freely decide on her own level of involvement in the church. Once upon a time, a clergyman (yes, it was almost always a man) generally came with a wife (at that time, always a woman!) who was expected to play the organ, direct the choir, teach Sunday School, lead the woman's fellowship and take meals to the sick and homebound. Being a clergy spouse was a full-time unpaid job. Nowadays, we understand that clergy spouses have lives of their own.
Encourage Ed to spend time, outside of his pastoral responsibilities, doing the things that feed him— activities he finds fulfilling. Recognize that whenever he is with you, any of you, or out and about in this community, he can never really take off his "pastor" hat. He needs to find people with whom he can take that hat off and be himself. A pastor who maintains healthy boundaries does not expect congregation members to take care of his or her emotional needs. Expect him to build and maintain strong friendships outside of the congregation.
In his worship and pastoral leadership, anticipate that he will change things and do some things differently. Try not to be too attached to the way Anthony did things, or to the way I did things. I know that change can be difficult, but there's nothing more stifling to a pastor's creativity than the words, "We (or our former pastor) always did it this way." It's fine to talk about cherished church customs, and I'm sure he will want to know what those are, but I hope you will also be open to the new ideas he brings.
Remember that Ed is human, and he will make mistakes. If something he does troubles you, please discuss it with him directly before you discuss it with anyone else. Don't say anything about him that you are not willing to say to him. If there is a problem, Ed needs to know what it is so that he can work with you to address it.
You have called a pastor with an open and outgoing personality, a good sense of humor, a great love of God, and a passion for justice. I think that you can look forward to a loving and productive partnership. Just remember that when it comes to this wonderfully messy business of being the church, you're all in it together.
Next Sunday,we will do a Litany of Farewell to mark the ending of my role as your Interim Pastor. During the coming year, I will keep my distance in order to give Ed time to establish his ministry with you. I know that this seems hard to many of you, but respecting these boundaries will help you to connect with Ed as your Pastor. I've been asked to explain why these boundaries are in place, and so I'm going to share with you a couple of the scenarios used for discussion in Healthy Boundaries, Healthy Relationships, Healthy Churches, a Boundary Awareness Training for Lay Leaders, developed by the Vermont Conference, UCC. These scenarios were developed by the Rev. Susan Craig, Associate Conference Minister in the Maine Conference, UCC. The first addresses the situation of a pastor who has retired and remains in the community:
Pastor is grocery shopping and runs into members of the Pastor's former congregation in the supermarket. Pastor greets the friends and begins a conversation. Soon the conversation moves from what is for dinner to "have you heard what is happening in the church?" The pastor takes an interest and listens intently. Sighs of frustration are heard as the conversation continues. [A] long standing tradition . . . is being changed . . . the Pastor lets [their dismay] be known. Other church members arrive, and soon, the salad bar is buzzing with church gossip.
There can be a tremendous temptation, on both sides, if a former pastor is in the community, to engage in conversation about how the church is doing now, especially if there is unhappiness with something that the new pastor is trying. If the former pastor has even the slightest negative response, this can cause division in the congregation.
The second scenario responds to a common question, one I've been asked by Greensboro church members, about a former pastor conducting a wedding or funeral:
The former pastor of a congregation has resigned and moved out of town. The former pastor is contacted by a family in the congregation to please come and do the memorial service for their grandmother. Out of loyalty to the family, the former pastor accepts their invitation but says that he can only come and do the service if the present pastor says that he can. The former pastor sees no problem in this, and is simply trying not to disappoint a family with whom the pastor has had a long relationship while serving the congregation. Certainly the former pastor knows this family better than the new pastor.
When the family asks the present pastor IF he will give permission for the former pastor to return and do the service, the present pastor feels caught between a rock and a hard place. There seems to be no way to graciously say no without creating hard feelings— at least with this family in his new congregation— and perhaps others. The arrival of the former pastor is startling to other members of the congregation who see the former pastor leading the service without knowing what had happened. It is difficult for the new pastor who was not invited to participate, but no one wants to upset the family. However, there is murmuring— as to who is so special that the pastor would come back for them . . . how about for our family? — as to what's wrong with our new pastor that they would even think of inviting the former pastor to return.
This church has a policy— one that predates my time here— that the current settled Pastor will perform baptisms, weddings, and funerals. There are many good reasons for such a policy. I hope you can see, from the story I just shared, some of the problems for your new pastor, and hurt feelings among the congregation, that can arise if this policy is not respected. A wedding or funeral can also be an excellent way for your new pastor to get to know a family and for the community to get to know him.
I've sometimes thought that a congregation whose minister has resigned or retired is a bit like someone who has just gone through a divorce. And the incoming pastor is like a new spouse, trying to find their place in an unfamiliar community. Think how hard it will be for this new couple if the ex is present at every social event they attend, and how particularly hard it will be for the new spouse if their partner still seems to be emotionally tied to the ex. Whatever your pastoral needs may be, it will now be time to turn to your new pastor, rather than a former pastor. This is how you will build the partnership between you.
All UCC clergy agree to abide by The Code for Authorized Ministers in the United Church of Christ. This code outlines how we maintain our own personal and family health and the healthiness of our relationships with our congregations. The following provisions define the commitments we make to respect our successors, after a pastorate ends, and to promote the well-being of the new partnership between pastor and congregation:
I will not perform services within a parish or for a member of a parish without the consent of the pastor of that parish.
I will not, upon my termination and departure from a ministry position, interfere with nor intrude upon the ministry of my successor.
Just as there is an ethical code for ministers, in the United Church of Christ, there is also an ethical code for congregations, titled, The Code for the Local Church in Relation to Its Pastor. I've placed a copy in your bulletins. I recommend that you read it, ponder it, discuss it among yourselves, and, hopefully, commit to follow it, as you prepare to begin a brand new partnership in ministry.
I am grateful for the partnership we have shared over the past two years. I will continue to pray for you, as I hope you will for me. I have been changed by my time here, perhaps you have been too, and that's something we get to keep. It doesn't go away. And the love that we have shared? That doesn't go away either. I give thanks, to God and to you, for the time we have had together, and I pray that God will richly bless your new ministerial partnership with Ed.