Deadline for registration coming up on 29 June! See post below!

Each year since 1994, with few exceptions, the American Botanical Council (ABC) and the Amazon Center for Education and Environmental Research (ACEER) have co-sponsored  BOTANICAL MEDICINES FROM THE AMAZON AND MACHU PICCHU ecotour workshops to the Peruvian Amazon and Andes, introducing many to the biodiversity and varied culture of Peru. From 1-10 October 2009, join myself, Rosemary Gladstar and Mindy Green on an unforgettable trip to Peru.  We will be begin our adventure in the southern Peruvian rainforest at Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica, a 17,000 hectare (42,000 acre) private ecological research adjacent to the lush Tambopata National Reserve. Click on this link for the complete itinerary, and while you’re at it, download the registration form, which together include all trip details. JUNE 29 IS THE DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION.
This remote, yet easily accessible venue on the Madre de Dios River, a large tributary of the Amazon, offers excellent opportunities to observe incredible biodiversity. Inkaterra Lodge, located on the banks of the Madre de Dios is about a 45-minute boat trip from the southern Peruvian city of Puerto Maldonado, reached by air from Lima via Cusco. Inkaterra Lodge is as a cross between a scout camp and a 4 star luxury hotel.  Thirty private cabanas, with thatched roofs and design elements modeled on traditional Amazon housing, each feature screened porches with hammocks, low-impact electricity (great for charging camera batteries), kerosene lanterns, and luxuries for travelers to Amazonia including hot showers, organic bath products, even robes and slippers. The central dining pavillion designed around the trunk of a stangler fig offers three gourmet meals a day, creatively presented and prepared with local ingredients. It also features a bar, gift shop and comfortable lounges for casual conversation. This is not the Amazon camp depicted by Hollywood—it is immersion into the rainforest environment that allows you to focus on nature while the Inkaterra staff attends to your comfort. Any preconceived anxieties or fears of “camping” in the Amazon rainforest are quickly dissipated after a complimentary evening pisco sour—the national drink of Peru—as you slip between crisp cotton sheets for a good night’s rest. Half of the trip is here, then we head back to Puerto Maldonado and fly to Cusco, the ancient capital of the Incas, on our way to the Urubamba Valley in the heart of the Peruvian Andes as we head to Machu Picchu. But why listen to my description? Come see for yourself-in person! Below, please find links to photos from previous year’s trip. SIGN-UP TODAY! REMEMBER THE DEADLINE IS 29 JUNE 2009.

Photos of PERUVIAN AMAZON
Photos of PERUVIAN ANDES AND MACHU PICCHU
PHOTOS OF INKATERRA LODGE

Workshop is over, but I leave David’s outline up here, as it has great tips.

Historian turned photographer, David Horwitz, combines his eclectic academic, art and sociology background with forty years of photographing artists on the “soul circuit” following a chance encounter with James Brown and Bobby Bland in the early 1960s.  A Milwaukee native, David recalls, “There I was, a 16 year old, a white speck in a sea of black. The ballroom was pulsating, the floor vibrating—people were dripping with sweat. The heat, the smells, the music took me to another world.”

David has been shooting live performances and back stage portraits since 1971. His extraordinary collection spans nearly 40 years. “I’m trying to capture the music as it happens and the musician’s life as it’s happening. I’m lucky in that I’ve gotten to know many of the musicians as people, not just performers. We have shared meals and swapped road stories. I travel the road much the same as the musicians, by car. We spend long hours crisscrossing the country, off to the next gig.”

David is in Eureka Springs covering the Eureka Blues Weekend. In his only Arkansas workshop he will cover:

1.    How I got started.
2.    Why I’m still shooting.
3.    It’s all about the pencil and frame.
4.    It’s NOT the camera!
5.    Read the manual.
6.     Following the 5 P’s
a. Practice—Shoot often, any subject; compose in the viewfinder/camera.
b. Politeness—ask permission from the subject, manager, stage manager or whoever is responsible.
c.  Patience—Watch and wait—don’t follow or be in the crowd.
e. Persistence—Write, call or contact whoever you can get the access you need. When, where, what and how can I shoot? Where can I go—on stage? Back stage? Who do I need to contact—road manager? Stage manager?
d. Preparation—Make sure all equipment is in good working order BEFORE you need it. Have extra batteries, film, digital flash, flyers, business cards, back up cameras, lights, memory cards, business cards. Be ON TIME, know the layout of your location, have any passes or IDs needed if shooting on location.

Hey, it’s the big Blues Weekend here in Eureka Springs. I’ll be assisting in a workshop by famed blues photographer, David Horowitz. Watch for a new post on that very soon. Come see some of the best acts in the blues world!

We have new images of turmeric (Curcuma longa). This healthful rhizome from the ginger family has emerged not only as an important spice, but an important medicinal herb as well. Most of the supply comes from tropical Asian countries. Among the many benefits ascribed to the rhizome include anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity.

Having recently visited Finca Luna Nueva in Costa Rica with the opportunity to shoot the plants in the wonderful ethnobotanical collection at Luna Nueva’s Semillas Sagradas (Sacred Seed Sanctuary), I have new images of Uncaria tomentosa (Cat’s Claw, Una de Gato). See also our images of the closely related Uncaria guianensis, shot on various trips to the Peruvian Amazon. In addition we also have images of the bark from markets in Peru. Note that Uncaria tomentosa has upturned “claws” (along with hairy “tomentose” stalks) while the claws of U. guianensis are downturned. These herbs are valued for antioxidant and immunostimulant activity and are widely used by native groups in the neo tropics.

It’s spring and peonies, perhaps more than any other garden perennial, mark the move from the cool weather of early spring to the warm days to come. I am happy to present exciting new peony photographs, many taken at sunset in the front yard of the Rosalie, the premier Victorian home in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Peonies have been cultivated as ornamentals in China since about 900 BCE. There are two well-known ornamentals in the genus Paeonia. The roots of both species are famous medicines in Chinese tradition. Paeonia lactiflora, the herbaceous peony so common in American gardens, produces two distinct herbal drugs bai-shao (cultivated root), and chi-shao (the wild-harvested root). The plant, itself, is known as shao-yao. The common garden peony, sporting white, red or pink flowers is among the most popular and widely grown  garden perennials throughout the northern hemisphere. Blooming peonies can be seen in every city, town, and tiny hamlet in the United States from May through June. The plant is thought to have been introduced to European gardens from Siberia as early as 1558. By 1805 Paeonia lactiflora was known in English gardens, introduced by Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820). When numerous varieties were imported from the Orient in the mid nineteenth century, their popularity as garden plants grew immensely. Peonies were undoubtedly introduced to American gardens at an early date. They were grown in Virginia as early as 1771. Bai-shao and chi-shao have been used for thousands of years in China, both in Traditional Chinese Medicine and folk medicine, for example, to treat knife wounds with much bleeding and pain. More information on the use of peonies and other Chinese drug plants common in American horticulture, see my book (with Yue Chonxgi) Herbal Emissaries: Bringing Chinese Herbs to the West.

Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) has been in the news lately as analogs of the sweet component of the leaves are about to hit the mass market products as a new natural sweetener after decades of languishing in FDA approval processes. For many years Stevia has been relegated to the regulatory realm of dietary supplements, even though its primary use has been as a sweetener. See our new Stevia image gallery uploaded today.

The American Herbal Products Association bestowed its annual awards at it member’s meeting in Anaheim, California, March 13th. Steven Foster was the recipient of an HERBAL INSIGHT award. According to AHPA’s, Director of Communication, Katia Fowler:

“Acclaimed photographer Steven Foster was presented with the Herbal Insight award for furthering the knowledge and understanding of medicinal and aromatic plants through his excellent work as a photographer, author and consultant. Mr. Foster’s ability to capture the elegance and intimacy of the ‘human-plant relationship’ continues to astound.”

Anthony Young, Partner, Kleinfeld, Kaplan & Beckler, was given the Herbal Hero award for his outstanding contributions to AHPA committees and initiatives. The Herbal Industry Leader award given to a company with outstanding business practices went to Sara Katz and Ed Smith of Herb Pharm in Williams, Oregon. The late Dr. Stephen Strauss, the first director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health, was posthumously honored with an Herbal Insight Award.

“For the third year, we have been honored to recognize top-notch representatives of the herbal industry with AHPA Awards,” said Michael McGuffin, the association’s president. “This is a very impressive slate of winners, and AHPA is pleased to know we will have an impressive slate next year. Our awards have only begun to honor the outstanding members of the herbal world.”

We are pleased to offer a variety of prints and related products of herbs, scenics, nature, and other subjects at our new Printroom store front. New galleries going up everyday. Currently we offer prints from our recent Amazon trip, Chinese Medicinal Herbs, dozens of scenics from Montenegro, and a growing number of herb images. You can buy prints directly for your home, gallery, business display, or clinic. Check it out!