The Klamath: A Photographic Project
by

Here are a few questions and answers that some of you may be curious about.

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

How did these stories have their beginning?  How were they created?  And, who is paying it all?

Ron Reed and the men in fisheries was my first story.  I came to the Klamath area after reading about the dying off of thousands of fish in the river during September 2002.  I love photographing water and the river and all its tributaries provided that subject.  After making yearly trips for six years, I was able to meet Ron and the fisheries personnel within the Natural Resource Department of the Karuk Tribe with the help of Sandy Tripp, who also works for the Karuk Tribe. 

Ron was extremely suspicious of what my true interests were.  In a very gruff tone he asked, “Who are you?  Who are you with?  And, what exactly do you want?!” 

• Honestly, I was taken slightly aback, but didn’t feel like I was being attacked. I answered, “I’m a landscape photographer.  I am not with anyone but myself.  I am hoping to find locations to photograph.  Here is a self-published book of the work that I have already done along the river.  I am willing to give back. I am willing to photograph something that you and the fisheries department are doing that could be used on your Web site, in printed materials or as lecture illustrations in return for finding new locations that I could photograph.”

After a conversation, Ron looked at his watch and said that he might be able to show me around, but only for an hour – maybe an hour and a half.  During that time Ron showed me a few spots that I could photograph.  He also showed me a couple areas where the fisheries guys, himself included, were conducting coho captures and how they collected data from those captured fish.  I had never heard of or seen anyone doing this and was amazed at how meticulous they were at their jobs.

A tribal member of the Karuk, Ron further explained what was most in his heart – his passionate concern over the youth of the tribe not knowing or understanding who they are as Karuk. To understand what being Karuk means, one must first understand that he or she is from a people whose ancestry stretches back many thousands of years in this same area of the Klamath.  In means of understanding that their bodies are truly adapted for this landscape and the food provided by the land and river.

We finished up back at the fisheries office in Orleans, California – eight hours later I might add!  I explained that I was ignorant of what was going on in the Klamath region. They offered to take me the next morning to a couple of areas where they have collection sites. That began my education on one aspect of what they are doing to help monitor the health and numbers of salmon, coho mostly.  This is why you will see the stories of the Karuk Fisheries and Ron Reed first on the list.

On my trip during January 2010, the men of the fisheries department didn’t have anything for me to photograph, but I had already decided that I would like to do the same thing with others along the Klamath River.  I wanted to show positive activities that were being conducted on behalf of the coho, fish in general, water quality, water volume and usage, so Ron made a phone call on my behalf.

• This one phone call lead to introductions with Carolyn Pimentel, Siskiyou Resource Conservation District (RCD) manager, and it was through her efforts that I met many others in the Scott Valley. Others included:

• Adriane Garayalde, district administrator, Shasta Valley RCD, who went out of her way as well to introduce me to folks in the Shasta Valley. 
• Petey Brucker, founder and president of Salmon River Restoration Council in Sawyers Bar, California, on the South Fork of the Salmon River. 
• And finally, to Dick Carleton, a potato farmer in Merrill, Oregon. Dick is very active in the Upper Klamath Basin on all water and salmon issues, and he assisted me with a few stories on that end of the Klamath River.

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

What was your process?

Typically, I first made contact via phone and/or email to arrange a meeting time.  Usually, when I showed up the person asked, “What do you want to see?”  My usual response was, “Frankly, I’m not exactly sure why so-and-so sent me to you, but this is what I’m about and what I’m looking for.  Does that ring a bell of some sort as to why so-and-so sent me?  Great!  Can you show me?”  And, away we would go from there.  The “shorter” interviews only lasted about 90 minutes.  Some stretched over several meetings that lasted a couple hours or more each meeting.

I never took notes or recorded the conversations.  As soon as the meeting/interview was over, I would formulate the story in my thoughts.  About four times, I used a small voice recorder to make notes with because I didn’t want to forget a quote from the person.  Most of the time the stories would come back to me when I was working on the image files, and I would recall what they said. I then sequenced the images and wrote out the captions that would ultimately tell their stories.

Almost always, I only carried one camera body and only one lens, sometimes two lenses.  I never used flash or fill cards.  I shot as I observed, simply reacting to what was being said and what was taking place.  I would then spend a little time working on each of the files to make sure the person’s eyes or other important areas in the photograph could be seen. I have not applied any compositing of multiple images through Photoshop on the stories. I worked just as hard to keep the photographs authentic, just as my subjects did in keeping their stories accurate and truthful. 

All of the stories you will read here have the full cooperation and sign-off of the person being depicted.  I would send them a Word document with all of the captions asking them to please make changes and additions to ensure an accurate story was being told.  I did not want my opinion or erroneous statements to give a false impression of the person’s story.  In a few cases, we would sit together for 4-5 hours to write out the story.  What made this process long and a bit drawn out is that these people have very busy lives and very frankly, they do not like talking about themselves. But, it was done and here are their stories.  Well, the stories that I have been able to complete so far.  Check back for additional ones as they are approved and posted.

<><><><><><><><><><><><>

Who paid for all of your trips?

This is how all of these stories – and more that are yet to be completed – got their start.  My own curiosity led me to explore what positive steps were being taken regarding some of the environmental issues I was hearing about as I went about my life in Los Angeles.  I have grown weary through the years of hearing about all the negative aspects and impacts. Ron and the men of the Karuk fisheries showed me something new – a positive side.

Like Ron Reed on that first meeting, nearly each new person I met was very suspicious of what my true intentions were.  Nearly 100 percent of the time, I was accepted and the story produced.  I have photographed logging, ranching, farming, data collecting by the Karuk Tribe, Salmon River Restoration Council, a couple of governmental agencies, various water districts and an environmental organization.  I feel extremely fortunate in being accepted by such a diverse group of individuals, and I do thank each one of them for allowing me to come into their lives.

This is a personal project that I conceived and produced.  My wife Josie has been in full support of my leaving her for weeks at a time and spending our savings on other people’s stories.  I have never been awarded a grant or been given money from any organization, group, public/private, or governmental agency.  A personal friend in the Los Angeles area gave me a sum of money through a non-profit umbrella organization, simply because he and his wife wanted to assist me in making a couple of trips into the Klamath to tell some more positive stories.  I truly appreciate their kindness and support.
I have no agenda in creating these stories except to show what a small group of people are doing with positive intent. Through these stories, I hope to open doors of understanding – educating others about these few people and what the fish, water and land mean to them.  I believe these few stories are only a small representation of many others within the Klamath bio-region where there are many other people doing great and positive things for fish and water.

The landscape work is to provide a look at some of the natural beauty in the region and that surrounds the Klamath River.  The landscape work is for sale, so that I could possibly earn back some of the personal dollars spent on producing this project, which is yet to be completed.  I have not been able to make any contacts along the lower Klamath, at the coast to Orleans, CA. I need more in the upper Klamath as well.