Meetings

When people ask Bill Bouton, Which country, of those you've visited, is your favorite? He hesitates, because he has so many favorites. But he invariably answers, Peru.
The reasons he gives are many: The people he's met have been incredibly friendly. The scenery is glorious. Seeing Inca ruins (including the amazing Machu Picchu) makes one doubt one's own eyes. The biodiversity of Peru is second to none. (For example, in that country can be found nearly 2000 species of birds.) All these things combined in one country, a country that is approximately the size of the state of California, makes this South American nation a very special place.
As you view this Camera Club presentation, Bill and Patricia will take you on a photo tour illustrating much of what Peru has to offer. You will see some of the Andean scenery, and how people live at an elevation of 14,000 feet. You will experience the views from one of the Amazon's tributaries, the Rio Madre de Dios, at only 1000 feet of elevation. Between those two extremes are some of the archeological wonders of the Incas, as well as architecture from the Spanish Colonial era. There will be images of the fabulous city of Cusco. And you will travel (vicariously, at least) down the wonderful Manu Road, beginning at the upper lip of the East Slope of the Andes, winding down through cloud forest and subtropical forest, finally arriving at the lowland rainforest of Manu National Park. This may be the only public road in the world from which the traveler is privileged to see cloud forest stretching unbroken to the horizon.
The Manu Road is a wonderful route along which to experience the floral and faunal richness of the Neotropics, and the viewer of this presentation will see examples of plants, insects, birds, mammals, and other creatures encountered there.
Bill claims that half of the enjoyment he derives from photography is in the optimization of his images. This is similar, he suspects, to the fun that film photographers must have in their darkrooms. He is presently using PhotoShop CS3, and enjoys the software immensely. The resulting images, several thousand of which are available for viewing at http://www.flickr.com/photos/billbouton/sets/, are in regular demand from environmental groups, universities, book authors and publishers, museums, nature centers, and others.
Formerly a resident of Michigan, Bill has lived in San Luis Obispo for 12 years. Because of the good friends he has made, the richness of the area biodiversity, the beauty of the landscape, and the perfect (at least to the mind of a Midwesterner) weather, transplanting himself to SLO County was a move he has never regretted.