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Welcome

Posted by bob on Mar 4, 2012in News


Welcome to the web's newest educational blog! "NATURE-n-FOCUS" will provide informative, entertaining and thought provoking opinions and insights on the state of nature and wildlife across North America.

Nature-n-Focus is a commercial effort of professional photojournalist Bob Belliveau-Ferrin Lemieux. The opinions, observations and recommendations presented here are a result of my personal experiences and intimate interactions with the subjects presented in the images displayed on my web site www.nature-n-focus.com.

My images are presently or will soon be featured in stories, articles and editorials that will appear in my blog or in a variety of publications throughout America and abroad. As a published photojournalist, poet and columnist, my views and recommendations have been accepted, rejected and debated by politicians, naturalists, conservationists and environmentalists throughout North America.

As a professional photographer I have been invited to exhibit and present seminars on my body of work and the subjects that make up the Ferrin Collection. To date my exhibits have hung in galleries in Montreal, Quebec, and across the Atlantic provinces of Canada.

As I travel the continent I seek out the unusual, overlooked and often amusing side of life in the wild. Years of travel within nature and its residents have encouraged me to share my experiences with the reader.

My seminars and communication style is direct, solution-orientated and probative. I believe decision makers should be held accountable, make informed decisions and act pro-actively to protect the environment in which humans and wildlife co-exist.

The blog will introduce "explorers" to new destinations and background data that travel brochures lack. I'll introduce you to contacts that can facilitate your stay and uncover new sights and places for you to explore in the region.

Who am I?

I come to you with a diverse background:

1. Professional sports: I spent 23 years in the professional hockey, soccer and box lacrosse arenas. I have experienced the joys of winning and the despair of losing as a player, coach, and general manager. As the founder and commissioner of the American Indoor Soccer Association, a professional indoor developmental soccer league for aspiring Americans, I have debated the pros and cons of business with astute entrepreneurs and visionaries. Professional sports rewarded me with six league championships, induction into the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame (Vancouver Canucks Championship Team of 1968-69), many personal awards and an appearance in the North American Soccer League Soccer Bowl Championship game of 1980.

2. Political Activist: I had a 12-year career as a political activist in Washington, D.C. and my home state of Michigan. In the mid-80's I established a not-for-profit organization called the DADS Foundation. DADS encouraged, educated and increased the level of participation by parents in the education of their children. DADS became an instrumental contributor in the development of legislation to benefit the family in Michigan and Washington. DADS' philosophy was simple: "Demand accountability, be pro-active and focus on the family first." As Chairman of a State of Michigan Senate Select Committee on Children and Family Rights, I was instrumental in writing and introducing recommendations for nearly 100 pieces of legislation on children and family related issues.

3.Professional Radio/TV Talk Show host: Before radio talk shows became the rage, I was introducing Kalamazoo, Michigan listening audiences to my nightly provocative look at local, national and international issues. As the number one program in its time slot, listeners were entertained with behind the scenes tidbits that otherwise would have been buried in the archives of pseudo journalists.

4. Newspaper Editor: As the editor of Pat Robertson's Michigan Insert of his Christian Coalition monthly publication, my staff and I were instrumental in providing residents of Michigan with significant conditions impacting the family within the state. Sadly, our pro-life edition was rejected by Robertson and his associate Ralph Reed when they pulled our tribute to pro-life advocates immediately ending our association with the organization. My position as a pro-life advocate (from birth to natural death) is reflected in my motto, "Shooting memories, preserving life." I am a second amendment supporter as well as a protector of all life, human, animal and plant.

5. Photography: At the conclusion of 35 years in the public eye I made the critical decision to exit the entertainment and political arena and seek the solitude of nature while capturing it on film. Eight years ago I picked-up my camera, a Canon 1D, and headed off to seek my fortune, if not fame as a wildlife and nature photojournalist. As most of you know fortune is a hyperbole and fame comes to only a few masters of this beautiful art form. Fame and fortune are not my goals but bringing the wilderness to life for you is.

I encouraged you to interact with me on the BLOG and debate my views and positions. I ask that you be creative with your recommended solutions so that together we may resolve the delicate challenges before us. The environment is in peril and so are we. Correcting, altering or modifying man's impacts upon the world's future are our responsibilities.

However, fanatics need not apply. A) Animals are not at the pinnacle of the hierarchy of life, we are! B) Saving the environment does not come before saving and protecting human life! C) Creative solutions that can be introduced and acted upon by liberal and conservative mindsets is what is needed today, not conflict.

These and other debates are scheduled for the blog. You can count on candor. I am an independent thinker and no longer support any political party. I vote for the person who best represents my views.

Welcome aboard and keep abreast of what we are doing by becoming a member of our weekly live "Chat Room" exchanges. You are invited to post your thoughts on the blog and if a response is merited it will be forthcoming.

Welcome!


Bob Belliveau-Ferrin Lemieux
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