Congratulations to Cameras for Conservancy Member Barb Ashton for your exhibit in Wisconsin. It looks amazing!

Many Cameras for Conservancy members said this was their favorite photo shoot this year. And what is not to love about acres of green grass, a beautiful day, and many gorgeous horses?

On their website, Unbridled Spirits says, “Unbridled Spirits is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2012 and based out of Lisbon, Iowa.This is the ONLY off-track thoroughbred retirement sanctuary in the entire Midwest whose transition process includes a full-time pasture retirement option! Yes, there are some amazing facilities that offer career transitioning to an other sport like dressage, eventing, hunter jumper, and more…. But there are no other sanctuaries that allow the horses to run free on over 100 acres and just learn how to be horses again! The mission is to preserve the honor and dignity of these amazing athletes by offering a retirement option to these racing thoroughbreds whose racing, breeding, and competitive careers come to an end. When a racing star leaves the track or the breeding shed, they still have a large fan-following and a tourist appeal… not to mention a desire for love and affection, same as any horse! We care what happens to these horses, and so many others do as well.”

All photos taken that day were donated to Unbridled Spirits for them to use in social media, on their website, and other fundraising activities.

Cameras for Conservancy had their annual meeting on October 20th, 2019. We discussed achievements this year, goals for the coming year, and what its like to be a member of Cameras for Conservancy.

Old members, new members, and visitors all attended.

At the end of the meeting many of us took a walk around Jester Park for our first ever “Foto Flashmob” where we all took photos and donated them to Jester Park. You can see our photos of the event and photos we donated here.

Some highlighted items that were shared from the meeting:

1. Our last year has been successful in creating an impressive “resume” for the organization. We have proven that we have the ability and the passion to do photo jobs for conservation organizations and have featured many of those in our blog.
2. Many conservation organizations have expressed their appreciation for our work. We have included some of those comments on our testimonials page.
3. At this time all members are participating on some level, attending events, contributing photos, helping with social media, helping with the newsletter, and much more. However, president Kristie Burns has been managing the website, e-mails, and organizational part of CFC on her own. CFC is seeking more members to participate on the organizational level as well as the photography level. The organization will grow as fast as we want it to. Every time a member volunteers to help we move along more quickly.
4. Now that we have proven need and ability, next year we will focus on fundraising and are seeking members to help in these efforts.
5. We will be planning a lot of exciting events for members next year and continue to run our private member photo shoots as these are very popular.
6. Four new members joined at or after the meeting!
7. We are planning a yearly calendar and other ways that members can earn money for both themselves and the organization.
8. Our core goal is to provide photos for conservation organizations to help them communicate their message on a wider scale in a more effective manner. Having insights into how many of these organizations run, Kristie has mentioned it is important to provide images without taking money away from conservation work these organizations are doing. Many people do not realize how tight the budgets are for many of these organizations. However, a secondary goal is to provide an income for photographers. We are hoping to be able to pay some photographers for some jobs in the next year once our fundraising gets underway.
9. We will be opening a job page and a photo sale page for photographers in 2020. People will be able to hire photographers and purchase prints from the website with only 15% going back to CFC.
10. Kristie will be traveling to Madagascar to take photos for Conservation Fusion in November and December as part of CFC. Conservation Fusion is sponsoring the trip. There will be other chances for CFC members to travel in the coming months and years. Priority will be given to those members that have already taken on enough volunteer jobs that we are able to assess their work with CFC.
11. We finally got our official 501c3 paper with our number on it!

Cameras for Conservancy is honored to be part of the inaugural year of exhibits at the Jester Park Nature Center in Granger, Iowa. From September to December 25th Jester Park Nature Center is displaying photos exclusively from Cameras for Conservancy Members.

On the opening night Polk County Conservation director Richard Leopold spoke a bit about the mission of the center and President of Cameras for Conservancy, Kristie Burns, spoke a bit about the mission of Cameras for Conservancy. Opening night was well attended and we continue to receive positive feedback about the exhibit.

You can see the exhibit until December 24th. Be sure to visit the images both upstairs and downstairs!

Joe says, “Have you ever experienced a love for something so intense that it wakes you up at night? And you can’t stop thinking about it, so you just have to get out of bed and do it? Photography is that for me. Since realizing my passion for photography, I have become an entirely different person. I have found my purpose and I see the world in a whole new light. A light that makes me want to capture it and share it with you.”

Mark says, “I have been interested in photography since I was young, but it is only since my retirement in 2009 that I have been able to devote time and energy to developing my photography in a more studied way. I worked for 31 years at Bowling Green State University, first as a faculty member in genetics and evolution, and then as Vice Provost for Academic Programs. Freed from those responsibilities and with our children grown and out in the world, I have undertaken photography trips to a variety of locations. I have concentrated on landscapes of the natural world and wildlife photography.”

Phillip says, “I am a wildlife ecologist and photographer. Most of my professional background has been in preserve and natural parks management focused on ecosystem restoration and management. My photography experience has been mostly with nature, with some occasional portrait, wedding, fashion, and newspaper projects thrown in.”