Tag Archives: research

Slices of Life

Bird Conservation

Biologist returning young purple martin (Progne subis) into birdhouse after conducting research for BC Purple Martin Recovery Program, Crescent Beach, British Columbia, Canada
Biologist returning young purple martin (Progne subis) into birdhouse after conducting research for BC Purple Martin Recovery Program, Crescent Beach, British Columbia, Canada

The largest swallow species in North America, the western purple martin (Progne subis arboricola), numbered fewer than six pairs in British Columbia in the mid-1980’s.  Because of habitat loss and competition from invasive birds such as the European starling, they were nearly extirpated from the province.

Purple Martin (Progne subis) bird banding and research.
Purple Martin (Progne subis) bird banding and research.

Through a volunteer nest box program, the local population has since grown to around 600 breeding pairs. Each summer, biologists along with volunteers check each nest box. They record the number of nestlings in each nest and apply leg bands to the birds to track their migration and dispersal.  It is part of the BC Purple Martin Stewardship Recovery Program, initiated in 1985. Many of these resilient birds will end up in South America, where they’ll spend their winter, before making their way back to BC the following spring.

Biologist cleaning out purple martin (Progne subis) birdhouse as part of BC Purple Martin Recovery Program, Crescent Beach, British Columbia, Canada
Biologist cleaning out purple martin (Progne subis) birdhouse as part of BC Purple Martin Recovery Program, Crescent Beach, British Columbia, Canada

Photographer Chris Kimmel spent some time with the biologists and volunteers, documenting their research and giving us an intimate look into a species that’s on the upswing! You can see the rest of Chris’ images here.

Announcements

Image Requests

Clients often come to us looking for something very specific, and our sales team combs through the archive to put together a lightbox that fits the research request. Sometimes, however, a client is looking for something ultra specific OR they have a broader, conceptual feeling they want the image to invoke, that we can’t currently match from the archive. At that point, we’ll send out a brief to our extensive roster of photographers to try to bring in exactly what the client is looking for. The results are often incredible, and even if the images aren’t purchased by that specific client, they get added to our archive for future requests. Here are some of the most interesting briefs we’ve received, and the amazing images that arrived as a result.

An electronics company was looking for “amazing action based images,” of a person in a “go for it” moment. Think shots that illustrate motivation, anticipation or the start of an adventure, like a BASE jumper running towards the edge, or a snowboarder about to hit a jump.

Adam Roberts jumps a massive ice cliff while skiing the technical North Face NW Ridge of Mount Adams. Clouds hover below, the sun above and Mount Saint Helens hides in the distance.

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Due to the lack of snow in the West for the past few years, many of our clients were hard pressed to find recent winter fun images at resorts. One ad agency was looking for a deep pull of images from Tahoe in the winter.  The idea was to highlight all of the different things you can do in Tahoe, from skiing and snowboarding to building snowmen to hot tubs to landscapes to admiring the scenics to roasting marshmallows. Photographers were told to imagine it was a shoot they were doing for a resort when pulling photos to send.

Reine Barkered and Jaclyn Paaso on top of Red Dog Ridge deciding where to drop in at Squaw Valley Mountain Resort.

One female snowboarder looking out over Alpine Meadows Mountain Resort at sunrise.

Group of friends taking selfies on the way up the gondola at Squaw Valley Mountain Resort.

A magazine / nature conservancy was looking for images of birds for an ongoing, extensive visual journalism project to show the relationship between birds and people worldwide.

Volunteer scientists and conservationists monitor migratory Rufous Hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) as a part of the Hummingbird Monitoring Network. Birds are aged, sexed, weighed, and tagged at a banding station in Widgeon Marsh Park Reserve, British Columbia,

Volunteer scientists and conservationists monitor migratory Rufous Hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) as a part of the Hummingbird Monitoring Network. Birds are aged, sexed, weighed, and tagged at a banding station in Widgeon Marsh Park Reserve, British Columbia,

An ad agency client wanted modern, candid photography of millennials, with REAL and RELATABLE being more important than the expected “hipster” or “cool/creative” crowd. As the brief we got was very broad and could cover a lot, we tried to narrow it down for our photographers. Style and age is more important than action, but some ideas to think about: adventurous travel, connections with people, glimpses into every day life, fitness outside of a gym, waiting in line at a food truck and talking, people at work, etc. You can also think about some potential archetypes, people of certain professions or hobbies like: beer brewer, carpenter, personal trainers, etc.

Amy Harris starts the morning off right, Reno, Nevada.

Joel Oberly tries his hand at the local dominos game, Havana, Cuba.

A carpenter works on a piece of wood with a hand planer.

If you’ve got an image that you’re looking for that you just can’t find anywhere else, or just want some help with a research request, try our new Photo Request form. We’d love to hear from you and get you the image or images that you need.