Photo Safaris By Region AFRICA - Botswana Wildlife - Madagascar - Masai Mara Wildlife Reserve, Kenya ANTARCTICA - Ultimate Antarctica ASIA - Essential China—Iconic Landmarks & Landscapes - India—Rajasthan & Puskar Fair - Japan's Winter Wildlife - Laos & Vietnam - Mongolia—The Golden Eagle Festival EUROPE - Best of the Greek Isles - Eclectic Holland - Finland's Arctic Wildlife - Turkey—Continental Crossroads - Tuscany - White Horses of France's Camargue NORTH AMERICA - Alaska Overland - Aurora Borealis—Fairbanks, Alaska - Bald Eagles of the Chilkat River, Alaska - Bosque del Apache & White Sands, New Mexico - Brown Bears of Katmai National Park in Summer - Brown Bears of Katmai National Park in Autumn - Colorado Fall Colors - Denali National Park in Autumn - Exploring Lake Powell - Florida Birds—Best of the West - Grand Canyon at Havasu Falls - Great Smoky Mountains - Horses & Icons of the Wild West - Humpback Whales of Alaska's Inside Passage - Mexico's Colonial Heartland - Monument Valley & Slot Canyons - Nova Scotia—Photo Tour for Women - Olympic National Park, Washington - Predatory Animals of North America - Springtime in Callaway Gardens, Georgia - Ultimate Wolves - Ultimate Yellowstone - Washington's Palouse Country - World's Best Raptor Shoot - Yellowstone & Grand Tetons in Autumn - Nature & Digital Photography Seminars with John Shaw PACIFICA - Midway Atoll SOUTH & CENTRAL AMERICA - Galápagos - Patagonia's Mountain Landscapes - Ultimate Dolphins Wildlife Models Shoot - Wildlife of Brazil's Pantanal Photo Safaris By Date JANUARY - Ultimate Wolves - Nature & Digital Photography Seminars with John Shaw, Dallas, TX & Raleigh, NC - Ultimate Yellowstone FEBRUARY - Japan's Winter Wildlife MARCH - Florida Birds—Best of the West - Nature & Digital Photography Seminars with John Shaw, Phoenix, AZ & Boston, MA - Midway Atoll - Aurora Borealis—Fairbanks, Alaska - Monument Valley & Slot Canyons - White Horses of France's Camargue APRIL - Springtime in Callaway Gardens, Georgia - Galápagos - Finland's Arctic Wildlife - Patagonia's Mountain Landscapes - Eclectic Holland - Great Smoky Mountains - Grand Canyon at Havasu Falls - Mexico's Colonial Heartland MAY - Wildlife of Brazil's Pantanal - Turkey—Continental Crossroads - Ultimate Dolphins Wildlife Models Shoot - Best of the Greek Isles - Tuscany JUNE - Washington's Palouse Country - Predatory Animals of North America JULY - Brown Bears of Katmai National Park in Summer - Olympic National Park, Washington AUGUST - Washington's Palouse Country - Humpback Whales of Alaska's Inside Passage SEPTEMBER - Masai Mara Wildlife Reserve, Kenya - Denali National Park in Autumn - Alaska Overland - Essential China—Iconic Landmarks & Landscapes - Brown Bears of Katmai National Park in Autumn - Madagascar - Yellowstone & Grand Tetons in Autumn - Botswana Wildlife - Colorado Fall Colors - Predatory Animals of North America - Horses & Icons of the Wild West - Mongolia—The Golden Eagle Festival OCTOBER - Exploring Lake Powell - World's Best Raptor Shoot - Nova Scotia—Photo Tour for Women - India—Rajasthan & Puskar Fair NOVEMBER - Laos & Vietnam - Ultimate Antarctica - Bald Eagles of the Chilkat River, Alaska DECEMBER - Bosque del Apache & White Sands, New Mexico

		I have never been a member of NANPA (North American Nature Photography Association). Nevertheless, since NANPA's inception, my company, Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris, Inc. has been a supporting business associate of the organization, renting exhibit booths and participating at six of the Annual Summits and allowing NANPA free of charge access to our entire mail list for membership recruiting purposes during its formative years. I have followed NANPA's evolution through contact with a number of members I encounter throughout the year, as well as from business correspondence with the NANPA office in Colorado. After seven years of NANPA's growth to "over 2000" members (per the NANPA website), NANPA needs to consider redefining and refining its stated mission in order to keep itself fresh and viable. Presently, NANPA's stated mission is to..."provide education, foster professional and ethical conduct, gather and disseminate information, and develop standards for all persons interested in the field of nature photography. NANPA further seeks to promote nature photography as an art form and a medium of communication for the sciences, nature appreciation and environmental protection." NANPA's purpose has always been an enigma to me, and a series of early events during its formation convinced me to watch from the sidelines. After a flurry of membership activity in its first two years, the membership momentum of NANPA has slowed substantially. The 2000-plus members who currently comprise the organization reflect only a small percentage of the paid circulation of nature photography related magazines like Outdoor Photographer, or the number of "top professionals in the nature photography field, [including] aspiring pros, advanced amateurs and newcomers, top stock agents, photo editors, publishers, educators and students" that are open to its membership. Almost as conspicuous as the list of the association's professional enrollment is the list of those who are absent. Now, after seven years and as many Summits, photographers are beginning to talk off-the-record about NANPA. NANPA is starting to be perceived as an organization of limited substance, one that is not moving forward with enough meaningful projects that will improve or enhance the working environment for nature photographers, nor is it making significant progress in the tasks it currently sets out for itself. Because of this creeping perception of a waning organization, NANPA's membership may be headed for a decline. Almost anyone can see the tremendous amount of effort and dedication it takes to get an organization like NANPA off the ground, and it takes even more work to maintain any momentum. Within the framework of the management responsibilities of an organization like NANPA, it is possible for its leadership to become isolated from the very membership the organization is designed to serve. As an external observer I would like to present an assessment of what the organization looks like from the outside and make specific recommendations for its future. I believe the NANPA membership should consolidate its goals into a more focused enterprise and decide if the organization should 1) serve as a social alliance for nature photographers to get together on an annual basis or 2) become an association with a mission of doing "good works" that benefit amateurs and professional nature photographers, and the environment. Both of these are worthy and useful objectives, but NANPA currently does not seem to be on track to provide the membership numbers, financial clout or the professional full-time manpower to tackle both objectives. Social Alliance If NANPA were to become primarily a social alliance or "Nature Photography Fraternity," as a social organization it could focus all of its attention on being the finest showcase for nature photography and address the photographic needs of nature/outdoor photographers, and the Summits could become a bit more like an annual "party." If the NANPA membership decided that the social aspect of a photographer's annual get-together (the Summit) was the principal path the organization should follow, I would offer the following recommendations: 1. Downsize the organizational leadership and committees and reduce some overhead costs. 2. Present the Summit as a forum of like-minds who will hear from top professionals. Hire those professionals as you would top entertainers. Keynote speakers, in particular, should be selected for their entertainment and "message" value — not necessarily for their ability to impart photo facts. Use Dewitt Jones or Wayne Lynch as models of excellence in this category. A professional job calls for real professionals. A great photographer can often be a terrible program presenter. Keynote speakers and those who offer "Break-out Sessions" should be screened in advance to be sure they can teach, speak and entertain. Presenters should be paid commensurately, like the professionals they are. 3. Decide whether it should be a goal of this social organization to include aspiring young photographers and educators (as is stated in the current NANPA website) in these Summits and adjust accordingly. Young photographers cannot afford to attend Summits requiring high enrollment fees, expensive airfares, four-star hotels, possible car rentals and pricey restaurant meals. If you want to attract the younger generation (and a broader attendance in general), downscale the facility where you hold the Summits. Discontinue workshops on "How to Break Into the Stock Photography Market" if you cannot attract quite a few younger shooters to the Summit. Pros, doctors, high tech millionaires and retirees who frequent these Summits have limited need for this information. Make sure students are aware of the increasing difficulties of making a living in this field and do not "sugar-coat" that reality. If attracting educators is a goal, some Summits need to be planned around the schedules of educators. Unfortunately, spring and summer dates conflict with the plans of many pros who need to be in the field at those times in order to shoot for a living. 4. Consider holding a shorter Eastern and Western gathering, along with the big Annual Summit — and keep them inexpensive. 5. Shorten the main body of the Annual Summit by a half day so attendees can fly home on Saturday afternoon. The "long" schedule as it now stands is physically draining for a number of attendees. 6. Limit the Exhibition Hall to two consecutive days only. Have the hall open throughout both of those days. Exhibitors (and probably attendees) would prefer to have two intensive days of activities rather than waiting for limited exhibition hours over three days. The NANPA Summit is a very small trade show with low numbers of participants. Exhibition hall costs, airfares, car rentals, hotel and meal bills, display shipping charges, electricity and union labor make NANPA Summits a financial stretch for small companies. Corporate interest in NANPA will wane if the time and expense is perceived as unproductive. 7. Consider a "Summit for Professionals." Define the group that would be encompassed. NANPA is organized as a professional, 501(c)6 nonprofit organization. With this in mind, more should be done for the professional sector of the membership. Service Organization If NANPA were to concentrate its efforts on becoming primarily a service organization, there is a great potential for serving both the public good and the needs of photographers under one umbrella. If the NANPA membership decided that the mission of NANPA should exemplify public service as the principal path the organization should follow, I would offer the following recommendations: 1. Redefine the organization's priorities and mission statement. 2. Recruit professional leadership with the time, experience, zeal and where-with-all to increase NANPA membership and carry out the new mission of the association, over time. 3. Eliminate any for-hire "association management consultants" who are not full-time NANPA employees and, as such, may not be fully dedicated to the mission of the organization. 4. Disarm the acrimony between some members of the National Park Service and photographers by having NANPA become a highly visible supporter and financial contributor to targeted national parks like Yellowstone, Yosemite, Denali and Everglades. To quote Erwin Bauer in an interview I did with him in 2000: "I'd surely get more money, somehow, to spend on the national parks to repair the facilities. Some of them are going to hell. We have to treat these places like the wonderful spots they are. I doubt that this will happen, politicians being what they are." BUT politicians notwithstanding, NANPA could play a substantial supporting role in addressing public awareness of the plight of our public lands, generating money for our most beleaguered national parks and promoting nature photography at the same time. The NANPA membership has many of the world's top photographers in its ranks. Using the organizational skills learned by running Annual Summits and the techniques of master slide show producers like George Lepp, John Shaw, Art Wolfe, Rod Planck and a host of others, NANPA, in conjunction with wilderness organizations, could provide the mechanism and photographic talent to produce large-scale fund raising events for the National Park Service in major cities around the country. Many of the big name photographers today should be occasionally drafted into service to do "Carnegie Hall" sized slide presentation fund raisers — while lesser-known shooters can serve in their own regions where they may be better known to the public. Other projects like museum or gallery events, "shoot-outs" where many photographers could come together to promote a conservation cause, or even a highly publicized nature print auction on a website like e-Bay could be organized. Over the past twenty years a respectable number of "baby boom" nature shooters have made a decent living in nature photography, often using our public lands. Many of them would be willing to give something back to the environment that has provided them that living. Tap them now before they get too much older! Few people can organize these events by themselves. NANPA, possibly in conjunction with Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society or The Nature Conservancy, could provide the logistical organization and support to make programs like these possible. As an added bonus, it would be a little more difficult for the National Park Service to continue to impose tightening restrictions on the membership of one of its most visible supporters. 5. Make the next generation of nature photographers a NANPA priority — help them and the environment at the same time. Instead of having "ten high school students selected annually to share breakfast with Art Wolfe, Galen Rowell, or photo editors of well-known nature magazines" (paraphrased per the NANPA website Student Scholarship Program), NANPA could become the clearing house for small environmental organizations, nature centers and local and national environmental issues that need photography to support their programs and causes. NANPA could link budding photographers with these organizations and provide these young shooters the opportunity for meaningful volunteer work. This could be accomplished by NANPA's active solicitation of regional nature/conservation agencies using the NANPA committee system already in place. Young and/or beginning photographers would gain experience, recognition and credit lines for their photographic endeavors; small conservation agencies with limited funds would get the some of the support they need to further their cause; and NANPA would get another "feather in its cap" as well. NANPA could become a clearinghouse for amateur nature photography programs that these young photographers could present to schools, nature centers and retirement communities in their local areas, giving the students training in presentation skills in a public arena and public recognition that could enhance their careers while also promoting nature photography and environmental awareness. 6. NANPA should maintain the most informative nature photography related website on the Internet. With so many talented people to draw from, the "Protips" section of the Membership Benefits area of the NANPA website should be unparalleled. Currently, it is "undistinguished." 7. To address issues like airlines and carry-on regulations, NANPA must be able to back up their words with actions. Be able to show an airline how much traffic nature shooters produce for them by illustrating how many of the NANPA, ASMP, NPPA and OWAA members are in the upper echelons of their frequent flyer programs. Demonstrate the economic impact if professional and serious amateur photographers boycotted their respective companies. If these numbers lack credibility, remove the three-year-old FAA letter from the NANPA website and NANPA should not promote it as a membership "benefit." (Note: The 1999 date on the published letter to the Federal Aviation Administration as it appears in the "useful documents" area of the website conflicts with the chronology in the "History of NANPA" portion of the NANPA website.) 8. In the next 30 years a substantial number of NANPA's current professional and advanced amateur membership will be long retired or will have died. NANPA should take a leadership role in accumulating, organizing, maintaining and disseminating information relating to the disposition of the enormous amount of nature imagery that will ultimately survive these photographers. NANPA can be instrumental in suggesting or setting up ways for these shooters to plan tax strategies for the futures of their families and for the charitable organizations that could benefit from the images that outlast them. My Recommendation Personally, I believe NANPA's membership is probably best served as a "Nature Photography Fraternity" focused primarily on the professional sector of the nature photography community. This is, by far, the easier of two paths. With the amount of time nature shooters spend in the field and then in the office, very few have the time to be actively involved in a substantive service organization for very long. An annual get together has merit in and of itself. A NANPA "Fraternity" requires a much smaller leadership, and a smaller budget, to tend to a few annual events than would a service organization. Meaningful service organizations require a colossal amount of time and money to accomplish their goals. The motivation would have to be strong enough to go the distance to put together a full-time staff that would be able to gradually create the infrastructure to carry out these projects. However, if NANPA decides that service is their primary goal, send me a membership form — I want to be a part of that organization — and I would be willing to devote some of my time and some of the resources of my company to that end.

	Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris, Inc. P.O. Box 655, Vashon Island, Washington USA 98070 Phone: (206) 463-5383   Fax: (206) 463-5484    Email: info@photosafaris.com Copyright © 2008, Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris, Inc.