Category Archives: Uncategorized

Svalbard, An Arctic Wildlife Preserve

Gary Moore head shot
Gary Moore

by Gary Moore

“Svalbard, Svalbard, where is Svalbard?” my friends ask when I tell them I visited Svalbard last summer. Well, Svalbard is a group of islands, an archipelago, and way north of Norway in the Arctic Ocean. It is so far north that it was the launching point for many early explorers trying to reach the North Pole. Spitsbergen is the largest island and it hosts the only towns in the archipelago, Longyearbyn and Barentsburg. The total population is less than 3,000 people. Apparently the winters are very long and brutal, not exactly a winter paradise.

Bays along the north coast of Spitsbergen served as whaling stations as early as the 1600s. By the 1800s the whale population had been decimated and the whalers turned to seals. In less than a century the seal population was decimated as well. In the early 1900s coal was discovered on the islands and mining began and continues on a small scale today. In the 1970s, after centuries of environmental neglect, Svalbard, governed by Norway, began setting aside large tracts of land as national parks and nature reserves. As a result, nearly all of Svalbard is now an arctic wildlife preserve. No more hunting and the wildlife has flourished. Even the whales are slowly making a comeback. Continue reading

Backyard Photography

By Helga Skinner

Two years ago I entered a contest and won with my Hummingbird landing on a branch in my backyard.  It had its tongue hanging out. It ended up in the” Natures Best Photography” Magazine in the best backyards section.

A backyard can become a very fascinating place if one looks at it from many different directions.  Sometimes I move my camera while taking the picture, creating a sense of mystery and motion. Other times I print my image on cotton or blend fabric, and then add batting and quilt it. Stitching with metallic threads by machine creates another look of dimension. I use software to enhance my images at times but am still learning.  I give presentations on this technique as well as other topics. Continue reading

My Camera Does Not Focus

I just discovered you while looking for camera repair in Cookeville. You have AMAZING pictures on your site! Wow! Can you point me to help for my Canon Rebel T3? It tries to auto-focus but never looks quite sharp through the view window and often isn’t once dumped from the camera. I’ve had it for a over a year and this is a new thing, but I confess, I’m still very new to the camera! I did try cleaning the contacts and formatting. Thank you for any help you can offer me!

D Petree