Today's story indulges Artifcts co-founder Ellen Goodwin’s fascination with the stars. She even has an Artifct or two about it. You can read one of them here. If nothing else, just like the act of creating an Artifct, let this story help remind you to take a pause to look up and enjoy the vastness of the universe and the potential within each of us every day to play an oversized role in it from our little slice of the universe. 

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Close your eyes.  

Picture a lighthouse.  

Is it hanging out alone on a rocky bluff or stony beach? Is it sun-shiny daytime or deep dark night?  

Would it surprise you to learn that most photographs of lighthouses only show these sentinels by day? Until recently, that is. 

Lighthouses today are largely on private land or public park spaces, both with controlled access. Even with access granted, you have weather, water, and other environmental conditions, including wildlife (Porcupines! No joke. Read the book USA Stars & Lighthouses.), to contend with if you want a close-up view. So logically most of us capture pictures of lighthouses only by day and often by boat or from some distance as in the photo shown in the Artifct Our Cape Cod Whale Tale. 

We had the good fortune to connect recently with David Zapatka, who has spent his professional life behind the lens of high-powered video cameras that bring the world everything from investigative news from the field to NCAA men's basketball tournaments and the Olympics. Privately, however, David was hooked on photography from the moment he realized his passion would be supported by submissions to his school yearbook, feeding him a constant supply of film and access to the people and places of the moment. 

Access and control - two of the most critical factors in photography. Control is about lighting. David preaches to his students: control - control - control. As for access, well, you know, can you get close to it? The third critical ingredient for David is passion. Conservancy, national history, community, all of these play into David's work to at last capture lighthouses at night, doing the work they were designed for, bringing ships safely to harbor, providing hope in a sea of dark, and reminding us we are infinitely small in this vast universe. 

David is creating a personal legacy in this work. For his kids and grandkids, for all of us, he'll know he left us something special. 

For each lighthouse in his book USA Stars & Lights: Portraits From the Dark David includes the story behind the shoot. Who owns and operates the lighthouse, how did he get access, what were the conditions when he went once (sometimes twice) to get the shot, and for budding photographers, even the technical details. Because there is no hocus pocus or photoshop here. You need to earn every bit of it. 

With no further ado, enjoy these special Artifcts from our friend David Zapatka. 

ABOVE: Assateague Lighthouse. Often shooting lighthouses at night involves critical timing. Sometimes you can't gain night access to lighthouses if the gates are locked. At the Assateague Lighthouse in northern Virginia, only at certain times of the year is the park open long enough into the night to photograph the lighthouse before you must leave or get caught locked in for the night! Click the image to view the Artifct.

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© 2022 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

ABOUT DAVID ZAPATKA

Rhode Island native David Zapatka's work regularly appears on national news and sports programs for ABC, CBS, CNN, HBO, NBC, and PBS. He’s covered six Superbowls, 20 years of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, four winter Olympic Games for which he won two National Sports Emmy awards for his contributions to the NBC coverage of the Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002 and Vancouver in 2010. David's lighthouses work began in 2013 as a project that became so much more. 

Sometimes collections sneak up on you. You may not realize it as you browse through tin spoons in a souvenir shop, or rummage through stamps at a yard sale. Yet, when you get back home, you might realize as you go to put your newfound treasures away, wow, I have a lot of those spoons, stamps, you name it!  

This is the story of  @Grandmom, and her secret-not-so-secret coin collection.  

Grandmom never set out to collect coins per se. She's a world traveler, and enjoys bartering in local markets, from Kathmandu to Liberia. Grandmom has always found that she can get a great deal if she offers to toss in an American coin or two. And, when she’s lucky, she gets back local coins and currencies.  

Forty years and just as many (if not more) countries later, Grandmom has quite a coin collection. Not just a couple of bowls of coins by her bedside table. Nope, we’re talking bins and bins of coins and currencies from all over the world. Some date back to the 1800s!  

The funny thing is, she never explicitly told anyone about it. Her grown sons vaguely recall, “Yeah, she might have had a coin collection.” Her grandkids had no clue either. Imagine our surprise one Sunday afternoon when she pulled out the bins (and bins) of coins and asked for help to identify a couple of her favorites as she can no longer remember when or where she got them, “It was so long ago.” 

Got a secret-not-so-secret collection on your hands? Don’t know where to start? Grandmom’s got a couple of tips to share when going through collections that may have snuck up on you over time.  

1. Start with your favorites. Which ones do you like the most? What can you remember about them? Don’t worry if you can’t remember everything. You can always go back and add more details later. This is one of Grandmom’s favorite coins.  
2. Are there any unique pieces that you think others should know about? Grandmom has all the stories in her head, but she’s started to Artifct some of the more unique pieces of her collection to make sure that her family knows the details, like these Victory nickels.  
3. Pair travel photos with coins from that location to tell the story. It’s a great way to connect the “what” (the coin) with the experience (the trip, the memories). Can’t remember the exact details? Knowing just the trip and some of your favorite memories from that trip is easily enough to tell the story and connect the dots.  

Have a surprise collection to share? We’d love to feature you! Reach out to us at Editor@Artifcts.com.  

Happy Artifcting! 

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© 2022 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

In August, my daughter and I visited Cape Cod. A first for each of us! It is the childhood home of Artifcts co-founder Heather Nickerson, and she and her daughter were the perfect hostesses for this quick getaway. My vacation photo collection included:

• • • Whale sightings (94 pictures) 
    • Our daughters playing on the beach and posing at the lifeguard station (16) 
    • Sunset on the harbor (12) 
    • Ptown art alley (18) 
    • Marshlands (11) 
    • Random things that made me smile, like a brass King Neptune figure with sign “Mermaids welcome” and the quintessential lobster lunch (22) 

You get the idea.

Three days and 202 photos later, we were departing Cape Cod on our return journey home to Austin. 

Where was I supposed to start with all those photos? On the plane, I did two things: culled and refined. I culled the near duplicates as well as the less than stellar and the “Why did I take that?” images. 

Clearly I did not want to miss my chance to photograph the whales.

After scrubbing as many photos as I could, I color and size adjusted several photos that I particularly liked and marked them as favorites to further distinguish them.    

Now what? What do you do with all the digital photos that are so very easy to accumulate?  

Do you post albums to social media and then move on to some new post once the commentary dies down? Or push them into whatever cloud or other storage device you prefer, and look back through them only for the occasional calendar, enlargement, or holiday card? Perhaps send a few to lucky friends and family through one of those digital picture frames? 

I’m choosing to follow the model of Rainer Jenss, who used Artifcts earlier this summer to chronicle his trip through southern Africa day-by-day and creating composite Artifcts to represent the three days we spent on Cape Cod. Each Artifct captures something special, memorable, or otherwise, “Let’s do that again soon!” endorphin-rush worthy. 

I’ve shared these Artifcts with family, with our hosts so they know how special it was, my daughter (so she’ll always remember), and a few close friends who asked me for travel tips for their upcoming visits to the Cape. Bonus! These Artifcts will also make it easier to retrace our steps the next time we visit. One set of Artifcts, so many possibilities.  

Check out my public Cape Cod Artifcts as you consider how you want to easily and meaningfully manage your growing digital photo collection, even if it's one trip at a time! 

Happy Artifcting! 

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© 2022 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Today we’re taking you to Kenya via the eclectic and artsy hill country town of Wimberley, Texas, to share the story of a photographer’s journey through music venues and the depths of oceans to the great continent of Africa, and the rise of a small Texas town as a champion (and namesake) of a southern white rhino. 

But before we talk rhinos, we must talk elephants. It’s too good of a story to pass up. 

In November 2019, award-winning photographer and long-time Wimberley resident Rodney Bursiel made his way to Kenya to capture the majestic elephants of the land. With only about two dozen of the “Big Tuskers” remaining, each are named, tracked, and closely studied. Inspired by photographers like Nick Brandt, Rodney arrived in Amboseli National Park with high hopes of photographing two of the famed large-tusk elephants: Craig and Big Tim.  

As luck would have it, Rodney came face to face with Craig, “I was enamored and downright giddy by the opportunity to get so close to this magnificent being!” A few hours later, Rodney would get word that Tim was about an hour away from his current location, but his day had already been long and was quickly losing light, so he decided to head out before daybreak the next morning to pursue him.  

Despite a 4 am departure, Rodney was too late. Tim had ventured off into an off-limits area of the park. Rodney never found Tim on this journey, and sadly a few months later in February 2020, Tim died of natural causes. This was a crushing loss to conservationists who expected Tim to live another 10 years, and a lost opportunity for a photographer hoping for a second chance with Tim. 

Fast forward to August 2021, a ‘next’ trip to Africa in the works, and more elephants on the agenda, Rodney learned about Najin and Fatu, the very last northern white rhinos on the planet. The LA-ST two! “You want to do something to help. Be a part of it!” said Rodney. Trip plans were scratched, new ones created. “Remember Tim!” Time seemed to be of the essence. 

Through a fortunate series of introductions, Rodney connected with James Mwenda, Grand Ambassador and former Ranger for Ol Pejeta Conservancy who knows these nearly extinct rhinos intimately, having protected and cared for them 24/7 for seven years. And this time, success! Meet Najin and Fatu, through the lens of Rodney Bursiel.  

Last September, freshly returned to Wimberley from this once in a lifetime experience, Rodney wanted to share his experiences through an immersive and philanthropic experience in his hometown. He and his partner brought together the people of Wimberley for an enchanting evening with entertainment by a Masai tribal dance group, an authentic menu prepared by Kenyan Chef Njathi Kabui and, of course, a conversation with Rodney and James Mwenda. Rodney unveiled his latest photographs of beloved Africa and together he and James wove the tale of Najin and Fatu to help raise awareness about the plights of these animals for a new budding community of wildlife conservationists.  

Click to view the Artifct of the Wimberley fundraiser

Surely it’s not surprising to learn that protecting large game in Africa is a never-ending endeavor, poachers are relentless and of course nature takes unexpected tolls, too, as in the case of Tim. A vast community exists to protect and conserve these animals. Photographers play an important role in making the animals real, instead of the stuff of childhood imaginations and stories, as well as bringing them to the forefront of media and philanthropy.  

The Ol Pejeta Conservancy chose to thank Wimberley for its financial support by naming its 15-month-old southern white rhino—the closest relative to Najin and Fatu—Wimberley. The Conservancy’s choice was very intentional. White rhinos are more docile and less skittish than the black rhino, making it easier for photographers like Rodney to return and continue to support the very survival of a species through photos, stories, and, most importantly, the sharing of knowledge globally. 

What’s next for Rodney? “The rhinos will always be near to my heart. The more I experience, the more I learn, the more I want to help raise awareness. I will continue my work with Ol Pejeta Conservancy and expand my efforts with other existing conservation outlets.” 

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Interested in learning more and supporting rhino conservation and efforts to combat illegal wildlife trade? Visit the Ol Pejeta Conservancy at www.olpejetaconservancy.org. 

To view more of Rodney’s work, visit rodneybursielphotography.com. If you’re local to or visiting Wimberley, his photography will be featured in a few upcoming gallery events, including Art on 12 (Wimberley), opened May 14; A. Smith Gallery (Johnston City, TX), throughout August; and The Wimberley Inn, a one-night only installation in November. 

© 2022 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Last year we said that you’ve likely heard of the Smithsonian, The Met, and The Getty, and asked if you also knew The Miniature Engineering Craftsmanship Museum, The Mum of Mustard, and The Spellman Museum of Stamps and Postal History. An eclectic mix aimed to get the most museum skeptical folks out there to explore! 

We couldn’t wait to return with a second installment of Artifcting Across the USA  and a new lineup of museums to add to your stops list this summer. We even went out on a limb and created a fun little map to help you out. Click the map to download your copy! 

Introducing Five New Museums  

Just take me to the Artifcts of #ArtifctingAcrossTheUSA!

BOBBLEHEADS!

Yes, a museum just for bobbleheads in the vibrant Third Ward in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum. And if you are surprised, just think about all the major athletes, hot button political figures, and even custom bobbleheads you’ve surely seen in person or swirling around in social media memes. Vintage, well, antique really, bobbleheads (aka “nodding heads”) date back to the 1760s. It’s hard to imagine these playful modern pieces in seemingly more stoic times, but history is history. Enjoy a bobble or two > 

GLASS ART.

Did you know the United Nations declared 2022 the International Year of Glass? Respecting its history and future, spanning the arts to life sciences, glass is taking its turn on the stage for the power it holds for good. Imagine our delight to share with you a few of the glassworks on display with the Bergstrom-Mahler Glass Museum in Neenah, Wisconsin, during this, the year of glass! There’s glass, and then there’s glass! Take a look – have glass art of your own to Artifct? 

Among The Museum's exhibits are a few pieces by the esteemed artist Johne Parsley (1916-2009), one of the great fine glass paperweight artists of his generation. His daughter, an artist in her own right, has kindly contributed additional pieces to this Artifcting Across the USA series and will Artifct more paperweights for your viewing pleasure throughout 2022 as part of the International Year of Glass. View @Joan-of-Art on Artifcts > 

BLACK ART AND HISTORY.

It’s the history of the making of a nation. It’s a history reconstructed with the perseverance and contributions of those who know the value of history to the future. It's the history of Black people in the United States. You need not even step into the George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural and Genealogy Center in Austin, Texas, to begin the journey through history. A pathway behind the Museum is your guide, with engraved signage and messages. A statue garden commemorates Juneteenth and leaves a pedestal for you to "step into history ... take your place."

Of course, so much more awaits inside this modern museum to tell you more about Black history. You can also stroll through exhibits transporting you through modern Black art, representation in pop culture, inventors, and landmark institutions of the Austin area, including historically black schools and the Texas State Capital building, constructed by black hands. Step into Black art and history > 

THE UNEXPECTED, WITH A CITY 'VIEW.'

Museum exhibits take months if not years to curate and then assemble. The constant flow keeps museums alive and responsive to the times and adaptable to include modern history. But some museums, like the City Museum in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, take living museums to a whole new level. Imagine being a curator and showing up to work one day to discover a bus installation … on the roof. Surprise! This is not a museum for the timid or for the more conventional museum diehards.  

But don’t dismiss the genuine artistic and historical merits of the unconventional approach. You will find works from internationally renowned contemporary artists, an enthralling selection from among 60,000 glass lantern slides of the former Image Library at The Metropolitan Museum of Arts, and physical artifacts from the local community and beyond, including historic components of St. Louis architecture and a vintage 1940 ‘Big Eli’ Ferris Wheel on the rooftop. Go on, be curious, and check out a few playful pieces on Artifcts > 

SWIMMING & DIVING.

Texas style. Well, at least with a Texas twist, because this is actually a teaser for a coming collection to Artifcts with the Texas Swimming & Diving Hall of Fame.  

Nestled in the halls of the The Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center at the University of Texas at Austin is a remarkable collection that is a treat for athletes who visit from around the country. The display was made possible because of the contributions of a former swim director who loves all things swim history and vintage gear and memorabilia. Some of his collection he’s kept for personal enjoyment—look at this signed postcard discovery—but much of it is now on display to remind us all how much a single sport has grown, changed, and shaped history through the decades. Here’s your sneak peek > 

We'd love to hear from you! Artifct your moments and discoveries at these and other museums across the USA and beyond as you travel this summer. Our histories shared are so much more powerful than any single object.

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We extend our enthusiastic thanks to the participating museums for their contributions. All rights reserved. If your museum is interested in contributing to a future piece in this series, contact Editor@Artifcts.com.

© 2022 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Thank you to The Miniature Engineering Craftsmanship Museum (Carlsbad, CA), The Museum of Making Music (Carlsbad, CA), The National Buffalo Museum (Jamestown, ND), The National Mustard Museum (Middleton, WI), The Spellman Museum of Stamps and Postal History (Weston, MA), and The USS Midway Museum (San Diego, CA) for your contributions.

© 2021 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.