NCAR's Treasure Trove of Imagery Finds New Life on the
Web
In their work archiving and promoting NCAR imagery, Linda
Carbone and Nita Razo run into all kinds of phenomena. (Photo by
Carlye Calvin; background photo by Ginger Hein.)
World Wide Web surfers who come ashore on a raft of weather images
can thank the NCAR Visual Communications group for their good
luck. The newly renamed group, part of the Information and
Education Outreach Program, brought more than a year of work to
fruition in November by unveiling its Digital Media Catalog. The
DMC features over 1,000 colorful images: solar flares, tornadoes,
computer model output, drought and flood impacts, and much more.
It's located at http://www.ucar.edu/DMC/DMCHome.html.
The physical address for Visual Communications is the third floor
of UCAR North, in the same suite as UCAR Communications. With
Linda Carbone assisting, the group is managed by Nita Razo, who
has over two decades of experience in compiling photos, slides,
films, and videos produced by or about our institution.
Postcards
"Most of our images show either incredibly beautiful phenomena or
disasters," Nita says with a laugh. Often the imagery helps
scientists put together a presentation or paper. But it also finds
its way into newspapers, magazines, and broadcasts across the
globe. "You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words?
When one of our images is used in an exhibit or a magazine
article, it can easily mean a million or more people are exposed
to NCAR's name."
The DMC's core of images comes from the extensive NCAR slide
collection, which includes shots taken by in-house photographers
as well as by regular and visiting scientists. The group has
distributed a print catalog for several years, but they couldn't
afford to reproduce their vast slide collection on paper.
Preparing the DMC took many hours of scanning by NCAR
Photographics, followed by extensive Web development by Quindi
Franco. Quindi worked as a Summer Employment Program student for
two consecutive years with SCD's Greg McArthur.
Having the DMC on line will greatly enhance and streamline the
photo search process for Nita's and Linda's clients. "We get more
than 300 external requests a year," Linda says. Adds Nita, "Things
like a close shot of a snowflake or a solar eclipse aren't always
easy for media to obtain. Fortunately, NCAR has 35 years of
experience in documenting severe and unusual weather and other
phenomena." The DMC images have a cyber-watermark that protects
against unauthorized downloading. Clients may contact Nita or
Linda to request clean copies for publication.
Slide sets
Along with the color slides, Visual Communications has a lending
library for in-house use that includes dozens of videos, some
commercial (such as Tornado Video Classics) and others produced by
NCAR scientists. A 45-minute reel of stock weather footage
includes snowflake formation as filmed in the cloud-physics lab of
Charlie and Nancy Knight. A newly updated visualization by Kevin
Trenberth and Chris Guillemot shows the unfolding of an El NiNo
event through model predictions of Pacific sea-surface
temperatures. A six-minute video on permanent display in the Mesa
Lab lobby--Introducing the National Center for Atmospheric
Research--is available for purchase ($6) or loan. Also
available are three sets of slides compiled on specific topics
(thunderstorms, clouds, solar phenomena) and sold at $10 per set
for classroom or other use. A storehouse of black-and-white prints
is also on hand but is now "mainly for archival use", says
Linda.
Recent clients of Visual Communications include the Learning
Channel, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Pioneer Film and Television
Productions, and MacGillivray Freeman Films (producers of the
recent IMAX release Stormchasers). "We deal a lot with people in
England, Australia, and Japan, as well as North America," says
Linda.
A growing aspect of the office is handling logistics for movie and
video producers who want to film on site, primarily at the Mesa
Lab. The ML architecture has lured Hollywood since 1973, when a
portion of Woody Allen's Sleeper was filmed here. Nita
recently worked on arrangements for an upcoming film, Shock
Wave, starring Charlie Sheen. It depicts a future where aliens
have tampered with the climate and triggered global warming. One
of the characters consults another, who is identified as an NCAR
scientist. "You can't prevent a movie from alluding to you," says
Nita, "but it's best to collaborate so they won't put you in a bad
light." --BH
Give Us Your Best Shots
You won't get rich, but you could get plenty of exposure for your
atmosphere-related photos by submitting them to Visual
Communications. The group is always on the lookout for striking
images taken by staff members at field programs or on their own
time. If your images are selected, they will be available for
preview and use by external media, internal outlets (such as
Staff Notes), and other clients. Rights are nonexclusive,
so you are free to use your images elsewhere. You'll be notified
of any external usage and will receive copies of end products
passed on to Visual Communications from clients. "It can be a
great way to build up your portfolio," says Nita Razo. For
details, contact Nita (ext. 8606, razo@ucar.edu) or Linda Carbone
(ext. 8612, lcarbone@ucar.edu).
UCAR |
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UOP
Edited by Bob Henson,
bhenson@ucar.edu
Last revised: Thu Mar 30 11:28:38 MST 2000