The Lemon Lily Kids are there, and you can download the Lemon Lily Adventure Guide. You can link to my Grandmother Mountain kids book about the Lemon Lilies too. (“Dreams Come True – Idyllwild’s Lemon Lilies Come Home”)
My short film, “Idyllwild’s Lemon Lilies – Restoring a Community Treasure,” was an official selection of the first Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema in 2011. (Very cool!) It shows the life cycle of the Lemon Lily and the mission of the Lemon Lily Festival.
Huell Howser visited Idyllwild and produced a “Visiting with Huell Howser” episode about the Lemon Lily Festival. With his permission, I recut the episode and produced a 2.5 minute promotional video featuring footage from the first Lemon Lily Festival. What fun!
I was honored when the Bauers chose me to document their famous garden in Running Springs, California. Over 50 years of planting daffodils created a paradise on the mountain, and the Bauers opened their gardens to the public each year in the Spring. Their gardens are now closed to the public.
Daffodils
The daffodil and tulip slideshows posted here were part of the project I completed for them and are published with the Bauers’ permission.
Craig Aaron is an amazing artist with a beautiful studio in Lake Arrowhead Village. I was honored when he selected me to document his custom jewelry design process that uses the ancient lost-wax casting method. (No computer technology involved!)
Craig D. Aaron
I created a three-part documentary for him – About the Artist (2 minutes), The Lost-Wax Casting Demonstration (5 minutes), and Creations and Collections (12 minutes).
The lost-wax casting process is AMAZING! The videos are posted on the Craig Aaron page.
I decided to include some favorite Mission San Juan Capistrano videos …
“The Great Stone Church – A Treasure in Trust for Tomorrow”
“The Mission Blooms Again”
“Russian Heritage Day”
“Pirates at the Mission”
“Art at the Mission”
“Secrets of the Vestry Dome”
“Christmas at the Mission”
What an honor to be selected by Orange County Parks to create videos for the Nature Center! And then to win Telly awards in the Environmental, Cinematography, and Government Relations categories!
I produced one 12 minute video in 2005 (“Caspers Wilderness Park: Orange County’s Treasure”) which was replaced by “Caspers Wilderness Park: Find Your Place in Nature” in 2011. Times change!
There was so much good stuff on the cutting room floor and so many still photos, I also created a video montage (11 minutes) and slideshow (9 minutes) that captured the beauty and serenity of Caspers Wilderness Park.
Eight thousand acres. Thirty five miles of trails. Can’t wait to go back!
In 1999, the population of Catalina Island Foxes had been decimated by the introduction of canine distemper to the island. The foxes had no immunity to this disease, and 90 percent of the fox population perished.
In 2000, only 100 foxes remained – concentrated in the west end of the island beyond Two Harbors. At that time virus had not spread across the Two Harbors isthmus. Due to concern for their future, The Catalina Island Fox was listed as a federally endangered species in 2004.
The Santa Catalina Island Conservancy (catalinaconservancy.org) took immediate action and sought the help of Dave Garcelon’s Institute for Wildlife Studies (iws.org) to develop a plan to save the foxes. It was Swallow Creek’s job to document and raise awareness of their efforts. This took me from the ridge lines with the trappers to hikes into the breeding pens in the island’s interior.
It was truly an amazing opportunity to be on the leading edge of wildlife conservation, and to meet so many concerned people working together for the future of the foxes.
Catalina Island Fox pair in breeding pen
Fortunately, the story has a happy ending! Due to the efforts of the Conservancy and The Institute for Wildlife Studies, it is estimated that the fox population exceeded 1,800 at the end of 2013. Although as of Summer, 2014, the foxes are once again thriving on their island home, but are still on the endangered species list.
Here is a 10 minute summary of the Conservancy’s efforts to save the foxes. The full production won Videographer and Telly awards in the categories of Environmental and Fundraising.
So happy to have helped the foxes by raising awareness of their plight!
My video, “Second Chances,” documents the work of the Orange County Bird of Prey Center and their efforts to rehabilitate orphaned and injured raptors – and give them a second chance at life. Scott Weldy, DVM, operates the Serrano Animal and Bird Hospital, and the Bird of Prey Center is his dream.
For more information, go to the Second Chances page, and visit the Orange County Bird of Prey Center website, ocpbc.org to learn more about their work.
