I was excited to drive our brand-new car on a long trip on a bright Sunday morning. We left for Srirangapatna at eight in the morning on February 4th, 2023. The two-hour drive down the six-lane Bengaluru-Mysore motorway was a joy.
As a nature admirer, I’ve wanted to visit the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary since I was a small kid, but every time we planned to go, it kept being pushed back. A paradise for bird watchers, the local terrain and foliage serve as a habitat for a variety of bird species. Our favorite activities while visiting this location were bird viewing, boating, and nature photography. It was a break from Bengaluru traffic and our tedious, stressful jobs.
The colorful species of birds that live on the banks of the Kaveri River delighted us as we were out on the water. The most prominent ones were the Woolly-necked Stork, Black-headed Ibis, Common Spoonbill, Woodpecker, Asian Openbill Stork, and Painted Stork. The Bonnet Macaque, Flying Fox, Indian Grey Mongoose, and Crocodile are just a few of the many mammals and reptiles that may be found in this hotspot of biodiversity. In the lap of nature, the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary is the ideal spot to unwind. This first trip of the year was the most memorable, allowing us to enjoy the stunning landscapes.
It feels like yesterday when the Instax Mini 11 came out, but apparently, that was in 2020! Three years later, Fujifilm has just announced the Instax Mini 12 instant camera.
Coming out in mid-March for $79.95, the Instax Mini 12 doesn’t deviate too far from the Instax Mini 11 or its predecessors. It’s still colorful (available in five colors including Clay White, Lilac Purple, Pastel Blue, Blossom Pink, and Mint Green), bubble-shaped instant camera that shoots the same Instax Mini film that everyone loves.
Tweaked ergonomics
The Instax Mini 12’s toy-ish design should clue you into where this model sits within Fujifilm’s instant camera lineup. It’s no $200 Instax Mini Evo that’s for sure.
Compared to the Instax Mini 11, the Instax Mini 12 comes with a less curvy body and straighter front grip. How that translates in everyday use is something I’ll need to test out. On that redesigned grip is a new gently recessed shutter button that should allow for a better press, something many people complained about with the Instax Mini 11’s flush shutter button.
The Instax Mini 12 also works with Fujifilm’s latest Instax Up! app for iOS and Android. The app lets you scan Instax pictures (frames and all) as digital versions for sharing online. Additionally, the app lets you import photos from other Instax apps such as the Instax Mini Link and Instax Link Wide apps to add photos to your digital collection. It sounds exactly like the kind of cute, fun thing that Fujifilm instant cameras are known for.
Same everything else
That’s not a bad thing. If it ain’t broke… don’t fix it? The Instax Mini 12 is powered by two AA batteries (included in the box) and has a regular and close-up mode accessible by rotating the ring of around the lens. There’s a honking flash on the front, an auto exposure light sensor and flashlight sensor next to it. A selfie mirror sits on the front of the lens just like on the Instax Mini 11.
If you’ve used an Instax Mini camera before, you know what to expect. The quality of the prints should be about the same as past models and the Instax Mini 12 still prints photos in about five seconds.
Donna Crossland is worried that not enough is changing in the woods.
The forest ecologist and long-time advocate for sustainable forestry said in a recent interview that she is alarmed by the large volume of proposed timber harvesting on Crown in eastern Nova Scotia.
Using the provincial government’s map viewer for potential harvests, Crossland totalled up about 1,500 hectares of proposed cuts in the last five months that she says are “functionally clearcuts.” Another 850 hectares are proposed as salvage cuts in areas with blowdowns created by Hurricane Fiona.
“This is not ecological forestry,” Crossland said in an interview.
“This is not what was the outcome from the independent forest review by Bill Lahey. This is not OK.”
Lahey, the president of the University of King’s College, authored a review of forestry practices in the province in 2018 that called for a drastic reduction in clearcuts and management of the woods that prioritizes ecological practices.
In her capacity as vice-president of Nature Nova Scotia, Crossland recently penned a letter to Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton calling on him to halt the proposed cuts in eastern Nova Scotia from going ahead until each parcel can be reviewed through an ecological lens.
“We need to stop and really examine these cuts more closely,” she said. “Lahey said put ecological considerations first and foremost.”
Lahey’s report called for Crown land to be divided into a so-called triad, where the largest portion, about 55 per cent, is reserved for light-touch forestry. Thirty-five per cent would be reserved for conservation and protection and is off limits to all forestry activity, while 10 per cent is reserved for high-intensity forestry.
Crossland is worried that too much emphasis is being placed on high-intensity forestry at the expense of the other legs of the triad. A proposed cut of 340 hectares near Lake Ainslie in Cape Breton is particularly troubling for Crossland because she said the Natural Resources Department has mischaracterized the nature of the land.
Areas need to be properly assessed, in person, by biologists before any cuts are approved, she said. The department too often relies on information that doesn’t accurately reflect what’s happening on the ground, said Crossland.
That’s meant that species at risk can be overlooked. Such was the case in the Annapolis Valley where citizen scientists found the presence of rare lichen at the site of a proposed cut, resulting in changes to the harvest plan.
For his part, Rushton said that example proves the system works.
While he acknowledges his department does not have the resources for someone to inspect every piece of land in real time, Rushton said he has faith in the system and that feedback received during the public comment period on proposed cuts is reviewed and taken seriously.
Harvests not guaranteed
That’s what happened near Bridgewater last year when a proposal to log was indefinitely delayed because it was shown to be in an area that included the endangered Atlantic whitefish.
“We may find out through the investigation from our department that this is not a site that needs to be cut,” Rushton said in an interview.
“Just because the application comes in does not mean that it’s going to get a harvest.”
The minister and Crossland are of different minds when it comes to the need for salvage cuts in areas affected by Hurricane Fiona.
Dealing with blowdown
While Rushton said the wood needs to be removed while it is still of value and to prevent potential forest fires, Crossland said such concerns are overstated because of rapid decay in Nova Scotia’s humid climate. The removal of so much wood from Crown land also serves to depress values of wood on private lands, said Crossland.
Leaving some of that blowdown in the woods creates an opportunity to teach ecological forestry practices and it can also nourish depleted soil, and create hummocks and hollow terrain which helps with water retention and diversification of the forest floor topography, she said.
Rushton said he knows people are concerned that the recommendations of the Lahey report are taking longer to implement than hoped, but he said he thinks his government has made good progress since being elected in 2021. Ruston said he remains committed to finishing the work by 2025, as called for in his mandate letter.
Originally from Venezuela, Australia-based artist Francisco Tavoni (b. 1986) is a photographer whose experimental and vibrantly colored images work to address identity and the ego, and frequently engage with ideas surrounding existentialism. Over the course of his artistic career, Tavoni has undertaken extensive travels around the world, exploring the myriad ways in which societies and cultures affect how people see themselves and others—and seeking out “authenticity in identity.”
Tavoni employs a unique photographic method, involving variously filtering his lenses and printing on cotton rag sheets, that lends the images a distinctly tactile element. Combined with his use of atmospheric undulating of color, the works are immersive, contemplative forays into the subconscious and ideas of self. For those looking to see his work in person, and this May his work will be shown at ATM Gallery in New York. We caught up with the artist to find out more about his practice and inspirations.
Installation view of recent works at Francisco Tavoni’s studio.
Tell us about your journey as an artist. Where did you start?
I used to work in fashion for 10 years. I co-founded a clothing label in Australia and during that time did photography on the side. Then I studied photography, started a photographic studio, and assisted other photographers. Collaborating with other artists and spending those years in the creative industries together gave me the tools to have structure and flow, to understand lighting and colors. Then one day, while experimenting with lights and fabrics, an accident happened. That was the breaking point that led me to what I do today.
How would you describe your creative process? Do you work with a fully formed idea or is it more intuitive?
I write ideas and meditate on them for a few days. I try to look within, at what I like or what has influenced me in the past. In that way, my process is very intuitive. I choose specific people that I share a special personal bond with, who understand what I’m doing—I begin with people. I think about how certain things are timeless: good in the past and still relevant today. I try to imagine how we will see these things in the future.
Francisco Tavoni, Estado Meditativo 1 (2023). Courtesy of the artist.
Can you talk a bit about how you make your work from a technical perspective? How has your method evolved?
I work with colored lens filters, see-through silks with patterned layers, and colored strobe lights. Then it’s a process of luminous inversion that I stumbled upon. Light turns to dark and cold becomes warmth. I’ve recently started to do more portraiture—the work itself showed me that it made the most visual sense for the ideas of identity that I was working with. I use new lens filters and new fabrics so that I get a different result each time.
Where do you most commonly find inspiration? Are there other artists, historical or contemporary, that have influenced you the most?
Lately, I’ve found a lot of inspiration in underground dance clubs and some of the people that go there. It’s a subculture of beautiful creatures. The custom chunky aluminum frames on my works were inspired by some of those industrial nightclub’s aesthetics.
There are many artists that I admire, like Thomas Ruff, Izumi Kato, and Klara Hosnedlová. They inspire me to make better work every day and to continue to evolve my work—but I wouldn’t necessarily say that my work is inspired by theirs directly. I find inspiration in solitude and stillness.
Francisco Tavoni, Estado Meditativo 2 (2023). Courtesy of the artist.
What do you want viewers’ experience of your work to be like? What do you want them to take away with them?
My desire is that viewers will recognize that identity does not have to be (and in fact isn’t) rooted in social conditioning. The work is about peeling those layers of identity and ego to reveal the true core of who we are at a soul level. Social structures and systems—culture, language, nationality—are all forms of ego and they don’t define what we are, and I want the work to help set the viewer free from those norms and escape the matrix.
What are you working on now? Are there any ideas you want to explore that you haven’t yet?
I’m working on the next series. What I can say at the moment is that there will be more storytelling, mainly about experiences that made me challenge my identity. I’m also experimenting with different mediums like paint, video, and performance.
If you were not an artist, what would you be?
There are certain things that I learned from an old mentor about inner work and psychic abilities. Some of these tools help me integrate into different cultural situations and to be at ease with myself. I think these tools can benefit everyone, so I think I would be teaching people about those skills.
Francisco Tavoni, Despertar y Entender (2023). Courtesy of the artist.
Learn more about Francisco Tavoni’s work here.
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In regards to evolution, our brains have not changed very much since pre-historic times when we were hunters and gatherers out in the wild nature. Today, however, most of us live in an urban setting and are dependent on digitalization.
„In order to stimulate our pre-historic brains and to support healthy minds and habits in this new world order, we therefore need to go out into nature even if for only green “micro-breaks”.“ says Dr. Anna Erat, Harvard-trained Doctor and Medical Director for Prevention at Switzerland’s renowned private Hospital Group Hirslanden.
I’ve met with Dr. Erat in her hometown in Zurich, Switzerland after starting our conversation during the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year, at an Open Forum panel discussion „Nature Heals“, which was moderated by her.
Dr. Erat, how can Nature heal humanity?
Dr. Erat: Nature provides remedies to heal and to protect us from harmful microbes and diseases. Take aspirin as an example, a natural remedy turned into a pharmaceutical milestone. Already the ancient Egyptians used willow tree leaves and bark that contained the active ingredient of aspirin to relieve fever and pain. Other examples include artemisinin and quinine against malaria, both which are derived from plants.
Dr. Anna Erat, Head Physician, Klinik Hirslanden
Hirslanden
On a most fundamental level, however, nature clearly provides us with nutrients and antioxidants that allow us to heal and survive. The body’s trillions of cells face great threats from lack of food and due to chemicals – such as free radicals – which are generated when turning food into energy during exercise, or when the body is exposed to air pollution and sunlight. In high quantities, free radicals damage cells and genetic material. Fortunately, nature provides us with nutrients and antioxidants that neutralize these free radicals and that support DNA repair mechanisms which allow us to heal. The most familiar ones are vitamin C, flavonoids, carotenoids and vitamin E, along with the minerals like selenium and manganese.
Why is nature so important for our well-being and what are the medical benefits of being in Nature?
Most of us know firsthand that spending time in nature can make us feel better. This isn’t just a placebo effect. Years of research show that seeing vegetation, water, light, and animals is linked with many psychological benefits. We know that people who live outside cities, for instance, are less likely to experience mental distress. Similarly, small micro-breaks in nature or urban green areas are highly beneficial for stress reduction and general mental well-being. Indeed, we do need to involve nature in our daily lives for mental health and stress reduction.
But the positive effects are not only seen in mental health. Indeed 30 to 50% of all cancers – for instance – are due to lifestyle factors and risk factors such as environmental pollution, poor sanitation and water pollution as well lack of exercise among others. In fact, inactivity is regarded one of the biggest public health problems in the 21st century and is a key risk factor for non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes. Hence, we have to build living spaces that allow daily exercise and promote healthy habits and walkability. Furthermore, we need to focus on circular economy in urban design that allows proper waste management, recycling and reuse which ultimately also leads to less waste and clean air and water.
What can/should we all learn from Nature?
Nature depends on self-organization, which allows an organism to survive through self-repair through a process where some form of overall order arises from local interactions between parts of an initially disordered system. Examples of self-organization in nature include crystallization, thermal convection of fluids, chemical oscillation, animal swarming, neural circuits. Similarly, economic systems and society also depend on individuals taking responsibility and action for common good and impact on a larger scale. As self-organization is the emergence of pattern and order in a system by internal processes, rather than external constraints or forces, each individual action local interactions between individuals matters when it comes to nature and sustainability. In short, we cannot solely depend on policies and governments to guide the path to health nature and sustainability. Each individual has to take responsibility as well. President John F. Kennedy’s famous quote by during his inaugural speech resonates here more than ever: “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”
How can we help Nature heal?
It is well known that more than 50% of the world population lives in cities and it is projected that up to 80% of the entire world population will live in an urban setting by 2060. Hence, we should ask ourselves how we can we shape urban communities and our environment so that cities are built for humans, animals (including insects) and plants and not the other way around. The question how we can allow people to live in rural environments and still be able to have modern professions and purposeful social interactions is equally important. How can we foster healthy living spaces in environments both in cities and in rural areas alike?
Gardens by the Bay, Singapore, Singapore. Architect: Wilkinson Eyre Architects, 2011. Supertrees … [+] with garden and cityscape beyond. (Photo by: Dennis Gilbert/View Pictures/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Green roofs are an increasingly common way of introducing more nature into cities and normally consist of low-growing plants in light-weight constructions such as walls or ceilings. Yet, there is also an acute need to balance economic development and environmental sustainability. This entails a drastic shift from a linear “take, make and waste mentality”. In regard to urban planning, Singapore offers a great example of circular economy as an integral part of the city’s green plan and zero waste masterplan. Other countries such as Finland have also adopted this approach of sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing and recycling, which is partially driven by resource scarcity. Through this kind of circular approach, we help nature heal and vice versa.
Through digitalization, and with the pandemic catalyzing remote work and home office, an increasing share of the work force can work from anywhere in the world. Today, qualified professionals can therefore also live outside cities in nature while building careers and contributing to their organization’s success. Remote and flexible working conditions therefore clearly mitigate excessive urban growth and its associated threats.
What are your most important outtakes from the „Nature Heals“ panel in Davos?
Apart from resource management – which includes circular economy and sustainable urbanization – we also how to protecting rural areas, indigenous cultures and biodiversity. The state of nature and health of humans are highly interdependent and interlinked. Hence, in order to allow nature to heal, we must support biodiversity and protect our environment from pollution such as micro-plastics and contaminated water and from climate change. The loss in biodiversity, for instance, diminishes the supplies of raw materials for drug discovery and biotechnology.
Azure Skye, Global Shaper, Los Angeles Hub, USA Erica Alessandri, Member of the Board, Technogym, … [+] Italy Jemilah Mahmood, Executive Director, Sunway Centre for Planetary Health, Sunway University, Malaysia H.R.H. Prince Daniel of Sweden, Prince of Sweden and Duke of Västergötland Moderated by Anna Erat, Head Physician, Clinic Hirslanden, Switzerland Speaking in Open Forum: Nature Heals at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2023 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 18 January 2023. Turnhalle Tobelmühle.
World Economic Forum/Michael Calabro
Fortunately, planetary health classes are increasingly being integrated in the undergraduate and graduate curriculum at universities such as Sunway University in Malaysia. Similarly, executive managers are being taught about the importance of health in management. Indeed, several novel emerging programs for life-long learning and second-half-of-life careers at Harvard, Oxford and St. Gallen are greatly emphasizing health in leadership and governance. Finally, healthy living and exercise classes are also becoming an integral part of early childhood education. In other words, rethinking and positively impacting nature and health are taking place on all levels of society at all ages.
Dorothy Wells, Rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church felt a personal connection and overall sadness from the death of Tyre Nichols. She mentioned she has a daughter that was born the same year as Tyre.
“Some folks were sharing some his work on social media, and I went out to look at his website, to just see what he photographed,” said wells. She said she noticed that he took lots of photos of bridges. “That struck me as being a really great image. Bridges being those things that connect us when we are divided.”
She mentioned that the community being as divided as it is, she thought it would be a great idea to display his work in the church’s gallery. Wells’ main goal is to gift the prints to Tyre’s mother and stepfather, but has not being able to contact them. They will remain in the gallery until that happens.
The Eden Mill Nature Center is ready to kick off its spring programming with its first event of the season on Friday, the Owl Prowl.
Visitors will search the woods of Eden Mill to find Maryland’s native owls from 6-7:30 p.m. Children ages 8 and over are invited to attend, but children ages 15 and under must be accompanied by an adult.
Other dates are March 10-11 from 6-7:30 p.m.; March 31 and April 1 from 7:30-9 p.m.; and April 14-15 from 8-9:30 p.m. The fee is $12 per member each date and $14 per non-member each date.
The preschool nature series starts on March 8 and will be held on Wednesdays from 9:45 a.m.-10:45 a.m. or 11 a.m.-12 p.m., including nature games and activities, a hike, storytime and crafts. Children that are 2-5 years old must be with an adult.
Other dates for the series are April 5, 19 and 26, as well as May 3, 10, 17 and 24. The fee is $9 per member each date and $11 per non-member each date.
Hunting the Haunted, a ghost story event, will be held on April 22, weather permitting, from 7:30-10 p.m. Children 10 and over can attend but all minors must be accompanied by an adult. The fee is $12 per member each date and $17 per non-member each date.
Join Frank Marsden for a visual presentation, “30 years of Wildlife Observation and Photography at Eden Mill,” on March 29 from 6:30-8 p.m. Marsden has spent 30 years at Eden Mill observing, photographing and teaching about its wildlife. He will share the stories behind the photographs and interesting facts about the critters of Eden Mill. This presentation is for ages 12 and over. There is no fee to attend.
The center is located at 1617 Eden Mill Road in Pylesville.
For a complete list of Eden Mill’s spring programs or to register, visit edenmill.org. Pre-registration is required 24 hours in advance. Weekend program registration closes at 12 p.m. on the prior Friday.
National Geographic Traveller, the travel magazine, has named the winners in its annual photography awards. The judges sifted through thousands of entries — admiring stunning shots of wildlife, urban scapes and vast landscapes — to pick the overall and six category winners.
“These winners reflect some of the very best images taken around the globe,” said Pat Riddell, editor of National Geographic Traveller. “From the underwater world of the Indian Ocean to wildlife in Richmond Park and the delicacy of the ice fields in Greenland, the images are full of drama, intimacy and warmth.”
Serge Malesan won the award for his portfolio of pictures taken in Mayotte, the archipelago in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and the coast of Mozambique. “I call Mayotte the lost paradise — people always talk about Fiji, French Polynesia, Seychelles … but Mayotte is still unknown,” Malesan said
SERGE MELESAN
Simon Urwin’s shot of Helen Turner in the kitchen of her Tennessee barbecue joint snapped up the best food photograph. Turner’s pork is slow cooked on charcoal for 12 hours before being hand-pulled and served in a bun with homemade slaw. She is the only person who knows the recipe and insists she will take its secrets to her grave
SIMON URWIN
In this shot, submitted as part of Melesan’s winning portfolio entry, a turtle looks on curiously as its picture is taken in the Mayotte lagoon. He said his work was designed to show local people that the wildlife on their doorstep needs protecting from overpopulation
SERGE MELESAN
Lone ranger: a stag looks into the distance in Richmond Park, southwest London, shortly after sunrise on a misty October morning. Ed Hasler, who won the wildlife category, said he chose the location because of the striking autumn colours. “Eventually this stag moved into position, with his fur catching the warm glow from the sun,” he said
ED HASLER
Sam Davies used a drone to capture this striking shot of the yacht Adventure as it navigated an ice field off the coast of Greenland. “I knew this shot could be special,” Davies said on winning the landscape category. “I hoped to frame the insignificance of our 70ft yacht between these enormous icebergs”
SAM DAVIES
The last of Melesan’s shots takes the viewer up close with a shoal of native fish in the lagoon off Mayotte
SERGE MELESAN
Richard Quirke snapped the El Paraguas water feature, which stands at more than 10m high, at the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City to win the urban category. “Getting this photo involved a lot of luck,” he said. “As we entered, I noticed some kids running a race around it and figured it could be a playful way of capturing the scale of the architecture”
The company is debuting a certified organic version of its Bio 01 fiber ingredient for gut health
Brightseed, the bioactives company, released new research today showing there is a significant subset of consumers who are engaged in a new horizon of science-based, natural solutions for health: bioactives.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230228005455/en/
A Brightseed survey of U.S. adults uncovered a significant subset of consumers who are engaged in a new horizon of science-based, natural solutions for health: bioactives. More than a quarter of respondents were identified as “bioactivists,” consumers who believe “food can be as powerful as medicine” and would pay a premium for novel bioactive health solutions. (Photo: Business Wire)
Bioactives are compounds that promote growth found in plants, fungi, and microbes that have the potential to reshape the nutraceutical industry and help consumers achieve their health goals. Brightseed’s study identified a new consumer segment of “Bioactivists” (27 percent of adults) who believe “food can be as powerful as medicine” and would pay a premium for novel bioactive health solutions. This finding presents a new opportunity for functional food and beverage brands to innovate products aimed at this early adopter segment. Access Brightseed’s infographic detailing the survey findings here.
The Bioactivist Consumer
In 2022, Brightseed surveyed more than 2,800 U.S. adults to explore consumer understanding and awareness of bioactive compounds and their potential for human health. The research also measured sentiment, interest, and knowledge of health and nutrition, which is where the Bioactivist segment emerged – a new category of consumer representing more than a quarter of U.S. adults.
While 62 percent of general consumers reported they are interested in learning more about bioactives, Bioactivists – highly motivated, health-conscious consumers who prioritize nutrition as a proactive health measure – were significantly more engaged. In addition, half of Bioactivistsreported they are dissatisfied with the market’s current natural solutions for health, and more than half (52 percent) said they would pay more for bioactive-containing products.
“Bioactivists are seeking proactive and preventative health solutions in a very targeted manner, and their heightened awareness on health topics has a direct impact on their evaluation of products and purchasing behavior,” Brightseed’s VP of Marketing Michelle Masek said. “Our findings show these Bioactivist consumers are hungry to find bioactives on the labels of their trusted brands.”
Opportunity for Functional Food & Beverage Brands
Brightseed’s findings echo industry research on how consumers are zeroing in on health as a key motivating factor driving the rise of organic, clean label, and functional food and beverage categories. Recent natural product industry analysis confirms there has been a “fundamental shift” in the consumer’s definition of healthy, where more shoppers today are interested in “the healthy components within” versus removal of the “bad,” like trans fats and added sugars.
As Brightseed’s Forager® A.I. technology connects these plant compounds and human biology, and more clinical research on bioactive compounds validates their health benefits, academics and industry leaders are investigating bioactives’ contribution in health and nutrition and considering their role in dietary recommendations.
“Health-conscious consumers are trained to seek out products containing certain label claims, vitamins, minerals, or classes of antioxidants, but our findings show that there’s a huge unmet opportunity to address the needs of Bioactivists who are drilling deeper in the science,” Brightseed’s VP of Bioactives Alina Slotnik said. “Bioactive ingredients are the next generation of health ingredients and a novel way to deliver differentiated benefits.”
Brighteed Bio 01 Organic Debuts at Natural Products Expo West
Brightseed is debuting a new certified organic version of Brightseed Bio 01 to better align with Bioactivists’ desires at Natural Products Expo West booth 4379, March 7-11.
Brightseed Bio 01 is a novel hemp fiber ingredient for gut health formulated for use in functional foods, beverages, and supplements. Derived from upcycled hemp hulls and formulated to optimize bioactive content, Brightseed Bio 01 is the only dietary fiber on the market that contains two bioactive compounds, NCT and NFT, that show promise to support gut barrier integrity in preclinical studies.
The new certified organic version of Brightseed Bio 01 can be easily integrated into cereals, granolas, nutrition bars, and functional beverages, providing organic product manufacturers a new option to deliver the benefits of dietary fiber to their consumers.
About Brightseed
Brightseed is a pioneer in biosciences and artificial intelligence (A.I.) that illuminates nature to restore human health. Brightseed’s proprietary A.I., Forager®, accelerates bioactive discovery, biological validation and ingredient formulation from years to months, rapidly revealing new connections between nature and humanity. Through Forager® and clinical evaluation, Brightseed partners with organizations across the consumer health continuum to offer insight into the world of bioactives and health solutions. Visit www.brightseedbio.com to learn more.
Sources: Online Surveys by AYTM, Adults 18+, US Census Representative; Brightseed Health & Nutrition Survey 2022, n=2,000 – Brightseed Bio 01 Concept Test 2022, n=800
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230228005455/en/
The theme for the third round of the 2023/24 Camera Jabber Photographer of the Year (CJPOTY) competition is ‘Spring’. Spring is a fickle season with false starts proceeding chilly spells that remind us that winter isn’t quite over. But with snowdrops, daffodils and crocuses all putting in an appearance, spring is on our minds. This month we want to see photographs of whatever spring means to you, be that colourful flowers, sharp showers, leaping lambs or bobbing blossom – but the shots can be taken at any time.
This round of our monthly competition is open for submissions until 23:59 GMT (00:59 CET and 15:59 PST) on 31st March 2023.
To submit your entry follow the link to cjpoty or click on the CJPOTY button at the top of any of our website pages. You can submit up to three entries for £2.00 plus payment processing costs (£0.26). Images should be Jpegs at least 1920 pixels along their longest side but no larger than 2MB.
Spring photography
Spring (and the run up to it) is when some colour starts to emerge in gardens, parks and hedgerows, and its a welcome sight for most photographers. Flowers make great springtime subjects, but they can be tricky to capture as they bob about in the breeze. As well as making it hard to get the focus where you want it, gusts of wind means you need to use a fast shutter speed to freeze the flowers. Alternatively, why not use a longer exposure to get some deliberate blur, it can be especially effective if you step back to take a wider view of a landscape – but don’t forget your tripod.
There are also lots of birds around in the search for nest, and they can be easier to spot before the leaves emerge fully. Spring lambs and baby rabbits are also around and make attractive subjects.
Camera Jabber Photographer of the Year prizes
At the end of the month, the Camera Jabber team will pick one winning image and nine runners up from the March entries. The photographer of the winning image will receive a voucher from MPB.com to the value of £500 which can be spent on anything from a huge range of kit from the World’s biggest platform for used photographic gear.
All 10 of the selected images will go into our shortlist for the year.
We’ll do this each month in 2023 so that by the end of the year, there will be 120 shortlisted images. These will then go before our fantastic panel of judges who will decide the 1st, 2nd and 3rd-placed images.
The photographer of the first-placed image overall, as decided by the panel of judges, will receive a voucher to the value of £1000 from MPB.com as well as a trophy and the title ‘Camera Jabber Photographer of the Year 2024‘. The photographers who come second and third will receive vouchers worth £500 and £250 respectively.
You don’t have to enter the competition every month, but you are welcome to do so and the more shortlisted images you have at the end of the year, the greater than chance of winning the top prize.
CJPOTY VIP Judges
At the end of the year, our illustrious panel of judges has the onerous task of selecting the first, second and third-placed images overall from the shortlist of 120. Our judges are:
Benedict Brain – Photographer, journalist & Sigma ambassador Sophie Collins – Chief Marketing Office at MPB, Trustee of Royal Photographic Society Donna Crous – Food photographer, author, Nikon Europe ambassador and Rotolight Master of Light Ross Hoddinott – Landscape photographer, wildlife photographer, author, tutor, conservationist Tracy Marshall-Grant – Arts Director, curator and producer Denise Maxwell – Multi-genre photographer and lecturer Carolyn Mendelsohn – Artist and portrait photographer Paul Sanders – fine art photographer Jemella Ukaegbu – Photographer & founder of UK Black Female Photographers (UKBFTOG) Christina Vaughan – Founder of Cultura Creative, the home of inclusive stock photography
Follow the link to find out more about the CJPOTY judges.
About MPB
Founded by Matt Barker in 2011, MPB is the world’s largest platform for used photography and videography kit. MPB has transformed the way people buy, sell and trade equipment, making photography more accessible, affordable and sustainable.
Headquartered in the creative communities of Brighton, Brooklyn and Berlin, the MPB team includes trained camera experts and seasoned photographers and videographers who bring their passion to work every day to deliver outstanding service. Every piece of kit is inspected carefully by product specialists and comes with a six-month warranty to give customers peace of mind that buying used doesn’t mean sacrificing reliability.
