Sebastian 'Seabass' Kennerknecht's Blog

For this weeks sale of the week, I chose the sea otter portrait fine print.

It’s available in quite a few different sizes:

11×14 Matted – Normally retails for $45, this week it is available for $32 for new buyers and $28 for previous fine print customers.

16×20 Matted (2) – Normally retails for $115, this week it is available for $92 for new buyers and $82 for previous fine print customers.

18×24 Matted – Normally retails for $165, this week it is available for $132 for new buyers and $117 for previous fine print customers.

18×24 Framed – Normally retails for $235, this week it is available for $188 for new buyers and $167 for previous fine print customers.

22×28 Framed – Normally retails for $345, this week it is available for $276.00 for new buyers and $246 for previous fine print customers.

The sale ends on February 12th, 2013 at 8pm. If you are interested in purchasing any of these fine prints, please email me, or call me at 510-673-3194.

In an effort to free up physical storage space and increase our conservation efforts I am implementing “Sale of the Week” (for the weeks I am not in the field at least). It will highlight one picture that I may have as matted and/or framed fine prints in stock. It’s called sale of the week because for that week the highlighted item(s) will be available at a 25% discount for new customers and at a 40% discount for people who have already purchased a fine print from me before.

This weeks fine prints are:

16x20 and 22x28 Framed Fine Prints

and

The 16×20 framed fine print is a 15×10 print with a 16×20 custom black wood frame with archival matting and glass. It normally retails at $155.00 so for this week, for new buyers it is available at $124.00, for previous fine print buyers it can be bought for $110.00.

The 22×28 framed fine print is a 21×14 print with a 22×28 custom black wood frame with archival matting and glass. It normally retails at $345.00, for this week, new buyers can purchase it for $276.00, for previous buyers, it is available for $246.00.

The 11×14 matted fine print is a 10×7 print with an archival 11×14 mat. It normally retails at $40.00 so this week it can be bought for $32.00 for new buyers, and for $28.00 for previous fine print buyers.

If you are interested in buying any of these fine prints, please email me. This sale ends on Monday the 21st, 2013 at 8:00pm.

It’s almost time for Open Studios again!

Quick Facts
Santa Cruz Open Studios
Artist #106   (South County)
Location: 1174 Brommer Circle, Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Dates and Times: October 6th and 7th from 11am until 5pm each day.

There are a few changes this year. One, I will only be open the first weekend of Open Studios which is the 6th and the 7th of October. The Open Studios calendar states that I am open on encore weekend which is not actually the case due to a film project in which I am participating, so please note that in fact the above dates are the only times I will be available. The doors will be open from 11am to 5pm each day.

Secondly, I will be doing open studios at a new address:
1174 Brommer Circle, Santa Cruz, CA 95062

The 2013 calendars will be released, we have some new greeting cards this year, and of course new fine prints. I also decided to re-implement my offer for a 40% discount on your whole order for anyone donating $50 to the Foundation for the Protection of the Arabian Leopard in Yemen (cash only please, cashing checks in Yemen bears tremendous bank charges). It was a huge surprise to the foundation when I handed in all the donations last year and being there personally I saw the increased conservation opportunities for the people who are working hard to create the change needed to protect the Arabian Leopard. I will have a donation box at Open Studios for this purpose.

As usual there are a few friends of mine whose work I would recommend seeing as well:
Stacy Frank (North County, open the 13th–14th, 21st–22nd) – etchings, lithographs and monoprints of natural scenes
Gero Heine (South County, open the 6th–7th, 21st–22nd) – nature photographs, mostly from Africa and India

If you are unable to attend, you always have a chance to order online.

I hope to see you on the sixth or seventh of October!

Finally, as a heads up….no Bavarian pretzels this year; the pretzel baker (aka my dad) has moved back to Germany.

Finally, finally the Santa Cruz Open Studios are organized by the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County. They do an amazing job each year and all participating artists are better off due to all their hard work. Please check them out at http://www.ccscc.org/

Arabian Leopard looking through bars, Sana'a Zoo, Sana'a, Yemen

As most of you remember, I went to Yemen to try and photograph the critically endangered Arabian Leopard. Sadly, there were no leopards in sight. Even more disappointing was the fact that we could not find any signs that they are still present in the area. My fieldwork in Hawf leads me to believe that the sighting of a leopard in June 2011 was possibly the last instance of leopards occupying the region. This proves that there is an even greater need for the protection of these amazing animals, as well as the ecosystems they occupy, than I had previously expected. Arabian Leopards are barely hanging on, their existence depends on us humans. The picture above exemplifies this exact point to me. Taken at Sana’a Zoo, in a cage filled with concrete and little space to hide, the beauty of this animal caught between the bars of its enclosure reminds us of how dire its situation is both in captivity and the wild. However, this zoo may soon be the only place in which Yemenis will be able to see Arabian Leopards. To help ensure the survival of its wild counterparts, 20% of all sales of this image will be donated to the Foundation for the Protection of the Arabian Leopard in Yemen. Since it’s an artist edition print, only 10 fine prints will be made of this image.

I SAID, DO YOU LIKE SEAFOOD.

The caption contest winner for the above winner is Stephanie Pearson with her caption “I SAID, DO YOU LIKE SEAFOOD.” Stephanie will receive an 11×14 matted fine print from either the Yemen Portfolio or another picture taken in Yemen that is on the blog, or if she has a Yemeni subject she particularly cares about, then I will make her a private gallery from which she can choose one image as the price.

Write your most clever, funny, smart, or otherwise interesting caption as a comment for the below picture. The winner of the caption contest will receive an 11×14 matted print from either the Yemen Portfolio or another picture taken in Yemen that is on the blog, or if the winner has a Yemeni subject they particularly care about (for example camels) then I will make them a private gallery from which they can choose one image as the price. Deadline for comments to be considered for the contest will be March 27th, 2012 at 11:59pm. That’s a week from now. Entries are limited to one per person.

Finally, this is also going on on facebook so the winner may come from there.

I have the right to amend any and all rules for this contest (basically to cover anything I may have forgotten above). Good luck!

Copyright: Sebastian Kennerknecht

Facebook comments:

• Jeff Swanson ARTHUR, BIG SECRET, I JUST SNUCK INTO CATHY’S BACK YARD AND ATE ALL THE LEAVES OFF HER DATE TREE. SOOOOOO GOOODDDD. TELL HER IT WAS MARK IF SHE ASKS.
• Dave Herzstein ‎”Yummy!”
• Stephanie Pearson I SAID, DO YOU LIKE SEAFOOD.
• James Smith ‎”BWAAAAAAAAAAAA.”
• Alexandra Courtois ‎”Dude…I can’t heee, I can’t FFeel mah tongue…Wha’ did you give me? Last time I play ‘Close your eyes and trust the monkey!’ “
• Kailani Polzak ‎”She said, ‘Ye, can we get married at the MALL?’”
• Amanda Doster Kleha Seefood. Neenerneener.
• Jeff Herzstein Got grub?
• Malini Pittet ‎”wanna see an accident in a tunnel?”
• Matthias Kennerknecht Real house wifes of Yemen season 1.
• Victor Gallet Uhh… Do you know of a good dentist around here??
• Mallory Moore I’m ready for my make out session. – Marshall

In a sentence, lots and lots and lots of work, but really fun work at that!

Endangered Neighbors

The Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History and I have been working on the Endangered Neighbors exhibition for the last four years. I approached them with the idea of having an exhibit about the threatened and endangered wildlife of the central coast with information about why they are endangered, what people are doing to protect them, and what easy steps we can all take to ensure their survival. They loved the idea so I started to photograph for it while also fundraising for the project.

The photography was probably the easiest part of it all, plus it meant I was doing what I really loved. The great thing about having such concrete goals about what images you are trying to capture means you concentrate your efforts on getting those pictures which I truly believe leads to better photographs in the end. It is almost like having your own magazine assignment were there is a deadline and a shot list comprised of must have images. I can only highly recommend coming up with your own photographic project, I can assure you that your images will be better than if you just photograph things aimlessly.

In terms of the fundraising, let me tell you, trying to get people to give you money is not an easy thing. In total the museum and I wrote over 40 grant applications but got rejected every single time (well that is if you are lucky enough to get any kind of response)….I do think this speaks for my lack of ability to write a proper grant proposal as well though. Then, a year ago we signed the project up with kickstarter which turned everything around. Kickstarter is a site where people can safely make donations towards a project and depending on how much money they donated they get a reward that you have pre-determined. Over 50 people donated a total of over $6000. I will never be able to thank all of those people enough!

So at this point we have the digital images and the money, sounds like all the bases are covered, right? Man is that wrong. Now it’s time to choose the images, create metal prints, create marketing material, thank you lists, products to be sold in conjunction with the exhibit, interactive materials, and labels that are very readable, brief, yet informative. All of this takes about another six months with five people working on it. Thank you to the museum staff!

Finally, the time has come, the exhibit opens up in a little over two weeks and I can’t wait!

In conjunction, the museum is also offering a few programs to go along with the exhibit, including a Nature Photography Class, Gallery Walk, and Panel Discussion. To get more information on these you can visit: http://www.santacruzmuseums.org/education/public/index.htm

I hope you get a chance to visit the museum between June 11th and September 10th to see the Endangered Neighbors exhibit!

We have formed a new partnership to help in the conservation of California Birds and their habiats  through the Conservation Past the Archival Print program.

All online sales in the next three months from the Birds of California Portfolio will benefit the Peninsula Open Space Trust or POST as most people know them as, with 15% of sales going directly to this organization.

POST is an amazing non-profit organization. Since its founding in 1977, POST has been responsible for saving 64,000 acres as permanent open space and parkland in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties. I have used many of these lands, and have taken a number of my favorite images on land that is protected due to them. It is crucial to support POST’s land conservation efforts in an area that is so highly populated as the Bay Area. These sanctuaries provide safe havens for many species and can act as rest areas for migratory species and as wildlife corridors for dispersing mammals.

Much of the land POST has protected is open to the public.  In addition POST sponsors the annual Wallace Stegner Lectures.  For a list of places you can visit, go to http://www.openspacetrust.org/activities/outings.html

We have formed a new partnership to help in the conservation of Brown Pelicans through the Conservation Past the Archival Print program.

All online sales in the next three months from the Brown Pelican Portfolio will benefit Channel Islands Restoration, with 15% of sales going directly to this organization.

The Channel Islands Restoration organization protects rare and endangered plant species by restoring habitat in sensitive and unique natural areas on the California Channel Islands. These islands are the only US west coast location where Brown Pelicans breed. It is absolutly crucial that their nesting habitat is comprised of native plants to increase chances of succesful fledging. We are able to enjoy Brown Pelicans in Santa Cruz because of organzations like this.

They offer volunteer opportunities for both individuals and groups on single and multi-day trips to plant native species, build fencing to protect rare plants from non-native animals, and eradicate high-priority invasive weeds. Please visit their webpage at: http://www.channelislandsrestoration.com

I decided to start a new program called “Conservation Past the Archival Print” to increase our conservation efforts. Basically, 15% of all online sales from a portfolio will be donated to a non-profit organization that is involved in conserving habitat or the wildlife featured in that portfolio. For example, our first non-profit organization is The Friends of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge who will receive 15% of all online sales within the next three months from the Bosque del Apache Portfolio.

The non-profit organizations are chosen very carefully and we partner with the ones that are having the greatest conservation impacts on the wildlife and habitats that need our help so desperately. Friends of Bosque help to protect the critically important habitat for not only Sandhill Cranes, Ross’s Geese, and Snow Geese, but also all the other inhabitants of the refuge. In fact, in May 2007, they successfully purchased the 6,272 foot Chupadera Peak and the surrounding 140 acres and added it to the refuge in New Mexico.

They also provide  specific birding information through its website and additionally offers educational events including workshops, programs, seminars, classes and lectures. Please visit their webpage at: http://www.friendsofthebosque.org/

We will add additional non-profits as we begin to build partnerships with them. Conservation is the end and utmost important goal!