BCA newsNewsletter of the BioCommunications Association — www.bca.org Winter 2007

OfficersPresident

Jim Fosse, RBP, FBCAVice President

Charlene BaronSecretary/Treasurer

Thomas Hurtgen, FBPA

Board of GovernorsAdam Cooper, RBP, FBCARichard Frederickson, FBCAJohn Hendrix, RBP, FBCAKaren HensleyJames KoepflerCheryl MontgomeryAnita Tellier, FBCANancy Hurtgen

JBC Managing EditorJoe Ogrodnick, FBPA

JBC BoardConnie Johansen, RBPBob Turner, RBP, FBPA

JBC Editor – BCAMark Marzolf

BCA NewsEditor – Charlene Baron

BCA HeadquartersCentral Office Manager

Nancy Hurtgen220 Southwind Lane Hillsborough, NC 27278office@bca.orgVoice/Fax: 919-245-0906

Over 75 biocommunicators, traveling from as far as Hawaii and Australia, gathered in Knoxville, Tennessee for BIOCOMM 2006. The beautiful Crowne Plaza Hotel was home to the 76th annual meeting of the BioCommunications Association, Inc., July 11-16. The meeting hosted many industry and biocommunications professionals presenting on topics ranging from portraiture, publishing, patient photography, animation, software, and forensic photography. As the week progressed, so did the educational and sharing opportunities. Featured speakers included fellow BCA members as well as representatives from various businesses and other aspects of the biocommunications field. A prevailing theme of the presentations was to keep ahead of clients’ demands by learning all you can about software and trends, both current and on the horizon. Knowledge is a very powerful tool in department and career survival.

This year’s meeting featured several changes and additions to the traditional annual meeting format, as suggested by attendees at previous BIOCOMM conferences. These changes included an additional day for speakers and scientific program, a separate day for the photographic excursions, like the Pre-Dawn Adventure, and more unstructured

time set aside for networking and mingling with fellow biocommunicators and guest speakers. This year’s annual meeting committee, headed by Richard Frederickson, BCA Director of Conferences and BIOCOMM 2006 Program Chair, packed all of these requests, and more, into five full days in Knoxville. Each day began with a buffet breakfast for all attendees. Scattered through the week were many social and networking opportunities, which included two evenings with a Sweet Treats break of ice cream bars, popcorn and soft drinks.

Another new addition was “Birds of a Feather,” the theme for one of the lunch gatherings. Tables were designated by topics previously suggested as those that people would want to learn more about. Attendees were invited to join conversations at tables whose topics were of interest to them, such as Photoshop and color management. It was

BIOCOMM 2006 – Knoxville, TNA Journal by Cheryl Montgomery

Group photograph of BIOCOMM 2006 participants taken by Sue Loomis.

Attendees pose by sculpture in downtown Knoxville.

BIOCOMM 2006 – 1

Honors – 6

Preservation Call – 9

Member & Chapter News - 10

President’s letter & In Memoriam - 12

Contents

BIOCOMM 2007 July 22-27, 2007 Tucson, Arizona www.bca.org

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a very casual, relaxed opportunity to chat, share and glean information from each other’s experiences.

Vendors were very supportive of this year’s BIOCOMM. Thanks to Alan Opsahl, Vendor Relations chairperson, these vendors were instrumental in providing financial and or speaker support for the meeting. Sponsors included Nikon, Adobe, Kaidan, Pfizer, Vesalius Trust, Canon, Sappi, Zeiss, and Hasselblad. Products and displays were available for perusing during most of the week, with designated time set aside on day three during the breaks and lunch hour to speak with the vendors.

TuesdayThe first day of BIOCOMM 2006 included the usual pre-conference activities such as the Board of Governors and committee meetings, meeting registration, and BioImages salon setup.

The meeting got rolling with the BioImages Opening Reception, which featured a Tennessee Barbecue complete with barbecued ribs, catfish, corn on the cob, hushpuppies and strawberry shortcake. Before the awards ceremony began, the meeting attendees were welcomed to

Knoxville with a presentation from Knoxville Sports and Tourism Corp., a brief history of Tennessee, highlighting famous Knoxvillians and the local must-sees. The BioImages Awards Ceremony was presented by John Hendrix and BioImages Chair, Karen Hensley. Over 30 awards were given in motion and still media. Best of Show was awarded to Jim Koepfler, Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, for “5 Year Old, Osteochondroma Left Scapula.” All of the BioImages winning entries can be seen on BCA’s website, www.bca.org.

WednesdayDay two, the first full day of BIOCOMM 2006, award-winning nature photographer and Keynote Speaker, Jim Clark, began the meeting’s program with “A Journey of Discovery.” His mission, to inspire people through his photography, was more than accomplished with the audience. With stunning visual excerpts from his books of Appalachia and Virginia, he added anecdotes and inspirational words of wisdom, sharing experiences from his Mason Jar of Memories.

A group luncheon was the background for the business and Town Hall meetings that followed. Various committee chairs gave reports, and attendees were asked for their input and suggestions for the next two BIOCOMM meetings. It was decided that next year’s meeting will take place in Tucson, AZ, and locations are being considered for BIOCOMM 2008. The stage was set and the momentum in place to continue to plan meetings several years in advance.

The afternoon session was devoted to QuickTime Virtual Reality (QTVR). Josh Cooper, gave his presentation “Producing a VR Tour of Oceanside High School”. Josh, a recent high school graduate from Oceanside, New York, explained his idea of developing the VR tour of his high school as a tool to aide and orient new students to the high school.

Dennis Biela, owner of Light Speed Media, continued the afternoon program with “QTVR Workshop.” Dennis is certified by the US Government as an expert in digital imaging. His long list of clients includes the US National Parks, Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Cessna, Mercedes Benz, and Apple Computer. He shared the background on several of his QTVR projects, including details on how they were photographed. Dennis explained that he often is photographing artifacts that no one will ever see again. Sometimes VR is the only way anyone else

From top: Best of Show - Jim Koepfler; Karen Hensley presents Jim Koepfler Best of Show Crystal Award; Jim Fosse presents Phil Snow and Babette Harbison Award of Excellence for Interactive Media; Anita Tellier and Karna McKinney at opening.

Keynote speaker, Jim Clark

Members listen at Town Hall Meeting

Josh Cooper “Producing VR Tour for School”

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will be able to see or experience the interior of an antique airplane, underwater wreckage, or artifacts stored in the Smithsonian collections. Dennis’s next big project will be to create a VR tour of

the wreckage of the USS Arizona.

Following a brief afternoon break, the workshop resumed down the street at the Knoxville Visitors Center. The Center features a radio station, WDVX 102.9 FM, and Dennis continued his presentation from the station’s stage. He finished by taking a 360-degree photo of the group in the Cafe, which is posted on the BCA website.

ThursdayDay Three began with continuation of the scientific program. Lynn Grillo, Solutions Engineer with Adobe Systems, presented “The New Adobe”. She demonstrated the new features of Adobe Creative Suite 2, and answered many questions from the enthused audience. Lynn created a CD of some of her software demonstrations and had copies available for audience members.

Gabe Unda, Principal Photographer from UC Davis, presented “Almagest--Successor to the Blue Diazo and PowerPoint.” Almagest is an open-source image data bank developed at Princeton University. It resides on a server.

The afternoon program continued with “Current Trends,” another new addition to the meeting. This session highlighted new methods and directions of some things we are already doing, such as scientific posters. Sue Loomis, Radiology Educational Media Services at Mass General, Boston, presented “The Move from Paper to Digital Posters”. Scientific papers for two major radiology societies are moving from paper posters to digital posters.

These digital posters are viewed from banks of computers and monitors in poster rooms. Sue demonstrated a digital poster, clicking on content buttons to move within the presentation. Links

can be added to outside sources. The once static scientific poster can now be dynamic and updated quickly. Sue keeps her department’s revenues flowing by providing additional customer support, such as a general template for poster creation and assistance at any step along the way, including help with editing movies.

First-timer and presenting at her first BCA meeting, Candece Selling of Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, presented “Common Animation Software for the Biomedical Community.” Animation is becoming a necessary tool to show movement and concepts. Candece is working on a project commissioned by the Pentagon, to have a thought-controlled, neurally integrated prosthetic arm within five years. Hot and cold sensations will be felt, using a neural implant. She stressed the need for biocommunicators to learn animation software in order to meet client’s demands and expectations.

Charlene Baron, current BCA Vice president, is a Digital Imaging Specialist in the Department of Cell Biology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. Charlene presented “Interactive Neuroanatomy Atlases using Acrobat,” demonstrating the use of Acrobat’s commenting tools faculty create content to illustrate neuranatomic images, in turn students can add their own comments, draw, annotate, and share these comments with others.

The scientific program continued with a presentation by first time presenter, Daphne Dumas on “Dermoscopic

Photography.” Daphne, is a photographer in the Department of Dermatology at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York. Dermoscopy is used to aid doctors assessment and management of clinically suspicious skin lesions. It’s used in conjunction with Total Body Photography. Daphne’s presentation discussed how a medical photographer could fill the growing need for dermoscopic photography.

Dennis Beila “QTVR Workshop”

Gabe Unda “Almagest...”

Sue Loomis “... Paper to Digital Posters”

Candece Selling “Animation Software”

Charlene Baron “Neuroanatomy Atlases”

Daphne Dumas “Demoscopic Photography”

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Following an afternoon “Make your own Sundae” break, Adam Cooper, RBP, presented “Standardized Procedures for ENT Facial Photography.” Adam is Chief Medical Photographer and

manager of Graphic Systems at North Shore-LIJ Health System. He explained his standardizations, tips, lighting, patient preparation, and his choices of camera lens and background. All of the choices factor in to consistent, repeatable procedures for photographing ENT patients in his studio.

The day’s program ended with a bang with Daniel Dejan, National Print and Creative Specialist for Sappi Fine Paper. Daniel’s presentation, “Design for Print: Preparing files for Press,” focused

on the many details and considerations of file preparation for press output. The audience kept Daniel for an additional hour as he answered questions pertaining to file preparation for black & white and color printing.

FridayThe fourth day began with Ron Toniwaki, of Nikon Forensic Services. Ron’s presentation, “Forensic Digital Imaging: Evolution Not Revolution” gave a history of digital technology and its applications in forensic imaging. He discussed the advances in Nikon’s digital technology for forensic imaging that are to come, including a 32-mile range for new wireless remote transmitters.

Later that morning, workshop attendees made a bus trip to the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine. There, the rest of the day was devoted to hands-on workshops and

demonstrations. Chip Hedgcock, Workshop Chairperson, packed the afternoon workshop program with sessions in color management and digital workflows, by Richard Frederickson; Adobe Creative Suite and Adobe Acrobat with Lynn Grillo; and environmental portraits by Jack Reznicki.

That evening, many meeting attendees participated in the Riverboat Dinner Cruise aboard the Star of Knoxville. A buffet dinner served as the appetizer to the relaxing evening on the historic paddlewheel steamer. Live music accompanied the local scenery as passengers cruised up the Tennessee River.

SaturdayThe last full day of meeting activities began with a session devoted to video. “Three Perspectives on Biomedical Video Applications,” moderated by Tom Hurtgen, included four presentations on video production by Gigi Williams and Joanna Griggs of Melbourne, Australia’s Royal Children’s Hospital; Alan Goldstein, Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hosptial, CA, and Tom Hurtgen, Duke University Clinical Research Institute, Durham, NC.

Adam Cooper – “ENT Facial Photography”.

Daniel Dejan – ”Design for Print”.

Ron Toniwaki – “Forensic Digital Imaging”.

Jack Reznicki – “Environmental Portraits”.Top, Tom Hurtgen moderates video session. Below, Joanna Griggs traveled from Melbourne, Australia to present.

Top two photos, Richard Frederickson and Lynn Grillo teach workshops, bottom two photos, riverboat dinner cruise.

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Babette Harbison and Phil Snow, University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, presented “Dog Bite,” a creative children’s educational video and supporting materials which feature the mascot dog, Rufus. RUFUS, is an acronym of five key points to teach children to interpret a dog’s body language and ultimately avoid dog bites: Respect; Understanding; Friendly; Unfriendly; Stay still. The Rufus mascot and the supporting materials have been a success in reducing dog bite related injuries in children.

Commercial photographer Jack Reznicki, of Jack Reznicki Studio, New York, shared his experiences and tips for photographing children. He keeps his camera on a tripod down low as he sits on the floor. This makes it easier for him look out from the camera and talk to the kids. His easy-going demeanor and requests to “Say Pizza Pie!” gets the kids relaxing and playing in front of the camera while he captures their actions.

The scientific program concluded with the Anne Shiras Pioneer Members Lecture, by Professor Robin Williams of RMIT, Melbourne, Australia. Dr. Williams’ presentation, “Back to the Future – Again,” was a thought-provoking retrospect of the changes in imaging technology since the introduction of photography.

That evening at the Honors Dinner, Total Body Certifications were awarded to Karen Hensley and Chris Willard after their successful completion of the exam process. BCA Fellowships were presented to two members; Richard Frederickson, and Adam Cooper. Tom Hurtgen was honored with the Ralph Creer Service Award. The evening culminated with a retrospect of the career of the Gigi Williams, the recipient of the prestigious Louis B. Schmidt Award.

SundayThe final day of the meeting was the optional Nikon workshop, a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. A small group of 14 photographers left the hotel long before the sun rose, and ventured by van to the mountain destination. Bill Campbell, nature photographer and co-author of The Smoky Mountains Photographer’s Guide, was the group’s facilitator and guide.

The first stop for the photographers was atop a ridge where they captured the sunrise and beautiful constantly changing fog and mist patterns over the mountain range. This was an overture for the day that lay ahead. The group was treated to a full day of nature photography, accented with the preserved cabins, churches, and the abundant scenery of Cades Cove. It was the perfect way to finish the busy week of BIOCOMM 2006.

Special ThanksThe meeting was a great success with thanks in part to the outstanding work of the audio visual team and workshop site hosts Phil Snow and Babette Harbison from the University of Tennessee Veterinary School. Their smiles, long hours, expertise with audio, lighting, videotaping and even printing the group photographs are much appreciated. Thanks also go to Nancy Hurtgen for her assistance with registration and meeting coordination. Applause to Pat McGiffert , our meeting photographer who made sure not a moment was missed. Kudos to Chip Hedgcock for putting together an excellent slate of workshops. Special praise goes to Richard Frederickson who not only did his own tasks as Director of Conferences but also took on the job of Program Chair for this meeting. All of us who attended this meeting are grateful to everyone for making this wonderful meeting possible.

Top. Alan Goldstein, bottom, Babette Harbison.

Robin Williams - Pioneer.

Left, Karen Hensley, right Chris Willard.

Great Smoky Photo Workshop

Meeting photographs by Pat McGiffert.

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Tom Hurtgen received the Ralph Creer Service Award at BIOCOMM 2006 in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Ralph Creer Service Award is named after the founding President of the Biological Photographic Association and is awarded to reflect long standing and distinguished service to the association.

Tom has been a member for over 30 years and during this time served in various ways to support the BCA. In his early years, he served as Director of Publications and Editor of the Journal of Biological Photography. He has served as a member of BCA’s committees, a Chapter officer and delegate to the annual meetings. He was the Executive Director from 1985 through 1994 and has served ten consecutive terms as Secretary-Treasurer.

Tom is also a Fellow of the association and a Louis Schmidt Laureate. Awarding this recognition to Tom Hurtgen reflects on his tireless leadership and dedicated efforts to the BioCommunication Association.

Tom Hurtgen Receives Ralph Creer Award

Gigi Williams has made outstanding contributions to biological communications for over 25 years. She began her career as a medical photographer at Royal Melbourne Hospital in 1981 and joined the Royal Children’s Hospital a year later. She was rapidly promoted to Chief Medical Photographer and, in 1989, was appointed the Director of the Education Resource Centre (ERC).

Gigi has successfully transformed the Education Resource Centre into a cost-effective, high-quality business. Her vision and leadership have contributed to the ERC being recognized nationally and internationally for setting the highest possible standards in audio-visual presentations and publications in the clinical field. This is evident from the vast list of awards credited to her staff. Gigi has also been the recipient of a number of awards for photography, for presentations at international conferences, and for papers published in international journals.

Gigi has a seemingly endless capacity for hard work, evident from her participation in a number of hospital committees, including Consumer Health Information, Allied Health Professionals, Web Advisory, Signage, and Archives, just to name a few. Gigi’s warmth and understanding, humor and dedication, and her ability to solve problems endear her to her colleagues. In 2004 Gigi was the recipient of the Chairman’s Medal of the Royal Children’s Hospital in recognition of her wisdom, integrity, mentorship, and inspiration to the many staff across the hospital.

She has been on the organizing committees of several international conferences, including the World Congress held in the USA in 1994 and the one held in Amsterdam in 1999. Her special interests are measurement using photography, pediatric medical photography, and photography with invisible radiation, on which she wrote a 50,000- word thesis to gain her Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society. She is also a Fellow of the Biological Photographic Association (BCA) and the Australian Institute of Medical and Biological Illustration. She has served as AIMBI’s national president.

Gigi is co-author of a number of medical photography articles on the Medical and Scientific Photography web site (http://msp.rmit.edu.au/), which is designed as a resource base for doctors, scientists and students wanting practical information on medical and scientific imaging techniques. She currently resides in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband, Robin, and her sons, Huw and Peter.

Louis B. Schmidt Laureate Gigi Williams, FBPA

Schmidt Laureate Gigi Williams poses with her husband Robin and sons Huw and Peter.

Tom Hurtgen is presented the Creer Service Award by President, Jim Fosse.

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Emeritus Membership is an honor granted by the Board of Governors to any one who is retired from the field of biocommunications and attained the age of 55. A candidate must have contributions to the BCA through sustained work at both the chapter and international level. Nominees must have 20 years of active membership in the BCA and be sponsored by at least one active member. This honor recognizes a person’s lifetime contributions to the association and the profession.

The 2006 honoree was Dan Patton, RBP, FBPA. Over the past 30 years, Dan Patton has truly carried out the mission of the BCA, …“enhancing the professional competency of its members and advancing the profession by educating, encouraging and fostering creators and users of visual communication….”

Dan has served as Chairman of the Board of Registry, Vice President and President of the Association. He has presented at BCA Annual Meetings and workshops and has contributed numerous articles to the Journal of Biological Photography. In 1995 Dan received the Louis B. Schmidt Award, BCA’s highest award.

Dan Patton Honored as Emeritus Member

From his start at Ohio State University as Chief Medical Photographer, Dan has advanced the use of instructional technology. Through his dedicated service, the University has become one of the premier users of imaging technologies in the classroom. He set up the original BPATalk, the association’s listserv and hosted the BCA website from its inception until it was redesigned and developed into its current form in 2006. Dan’s contributions to BCA is a model of dedication to the goals of the association.

Dan Patton, emeritus member, is congratulated by BCA President, Jim Fosse.

Shiras Pioneer Lecturer, Robin Williams poses with his wife Gigi and Dan Patton.

Louis B. Schmidt Laureates pose before Honors Banquet. Standing left to right are Bob Turner, Bill Stenstrom, Dan Patton, and Ken Michaels. Seated from left Tom Hurtgen, 2006 Laureate Gigi Williams and Robin Williams.

Master of Ceremonies for the Honors Banquet, Past President John Hendrix. RIT Alumni ham it up during the Honors Reception.

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This year, the BioCommunications Association recognized two of its members as Fellows of the BioCommunications Association. The recognition as a Fellow is part of the Honors program of the BioCommunications Association. It recognizes distinguished craftsmanship and professional achievements in the advancement of visual communications media in the life sciences and medicine. Professional contributions include work published in scientific books, journals, and media productions. Candidates have a history of publications, presentations and demonstrate an expertise in visual communications. Each nominee must be an active BCA member for at least five consecutive years, be sponsored by two Fellows and approved by the Board of Governors.

The 2006 honorees were Adam Cooper, RBP, from the North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System and Richard Frederickson from the National Cancer Institute at Frederick. These candidates have not only demonstrated outstanding skill in their work but demonstrated a willingness to share their knowledge through teaching at meetings and workshops hosted by the BioCommunications Association and other organizations for many years.

Adam Cooper, FBCA, is the Chief Medical Photographer North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System, Great Neck, NY. He has volunteered in the Registered Biological Photographer Program for many years and is currently the Chair of the new Certification Program and serves on the Board of Governors. Adam received the President’s Award in 2005 for implementing the Certification Program in Total Body Mapping. He hosts students from the Biomedical Photographic Communications program at Rochester Institute of Technology in his department, and creates a curriculum of tasks for the students. He mentors them through the aspects of real life work in the

biomedical photographic field. He also volunteers in his local community at the Oceanside Jewish Center where he recently worked on a committee that helped to implement substantial improvements to the Hebrew School Program.

Richard Frederickson, FBCA, is the Senior Technical Specialist for Scientific Publications, Graphics & Media at the National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD, where he specializes in scanning, color management, and prepress. He has served the scientific community for over twenty four years of his twenty seven year career in the visual arts. Richard has presented at the local and national levels, has served as BIOCOMM Session Moderator, Program Chair, and now serves as Director of Conferences as an elected member of the BCA Board of Governors. Richard has conducted workshops in color management and digital workflow. He has presented and published papers locally, nationally, and in the Journal of Biocommunication and has received several BPA/BCA awards, including BPA Journal Paper First Award (1989), Best in Show (BioImages 2004), and the BCA President’s Award in 2004.

He shares his skills outside the association by volunteering in his local community as a video camera operator, audio engineer and lighting designer with Youth for Christ, WCRH Radio, and Tri State Fellowship. Richard’s freelance work includes graphics and photography for corporate and private sector clients.

Fellowship Honors

New Fellow Adam Cooper and BCA President, Jim Fosse.

New Fellow Richard Frederickson and BCA President, Jim Fosse

New BCA Fellows, Richard Frederickson and Adam Cooper congratulate each other.

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Where has the profession come from? What can we learn from those who were active members in the last century; a century full of horrendous events and fantastic scientific, technical and organisational changes. These events and accompanying changes have affected not just North America, but also colleagues in other continents. Who is still around and able to help us gather some of the printed and material evidence, as well as some more personal reminiscences? Such evidence will be of irreplaceable importance, not only for the study of the history of the giants and not quite so grand developers of biomedical illustration, but also as intimate aspects of twentieth century social history. No doubt we could find a number of willing collaborators for the retrospective collection of such materials of historical importance.

However, who is willing and able to create the essential base and provide the necessary financial resources for the Archive for the History of Biomedical Illustration as developed and practised by its practitioners around the world? It would require a Foundation for a Professorship

Preserving the History of Biomedical Illustration A Letter to BCA Members

in the International History of the Profession and the necessary structural and material facilities.

Who is willing and able to rise to this challenge – which professional college, which philanthropic individual, which foundation? Will the membership rally to the cause and ensure that the status of the profession today is suitably supported by the creativity of its colleagues of yesterday?

My personal, international activities during my second career as an academic in medical and health sciences education are now part of the International Archive for the Study of Medical and Health Sciences Education at the University of Newcastle in Australia. The printed material and memorabilia from my first, international career in medical illustration would be available as a contribution to an archive for the study of the history of biomedical illustration.

My time is rapidly running out!

Charles E. Engel FBPA , FRPS, FIBP, SBSJ, Hon.MD, Hon.DEd, and Registered Photographer and Foreign Member of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Photographie.

Charles E. Engel

Bob Turner Completes Term as Chairman of the Journal of Biocommunication Management Board

This past December Bob Turner completed his three-year term as Chairman of the Journal of Biocommunication Management Board. Bob continues on as a board member along with our other BCA representative to the Board, Connie Johansen, RBP. Bob has also graciously agreed to be on the JBC Editorial Review Board from BCA. During his term of office Bob oversaw the journal’s transition to an online journal. His attention to detail and commitment

to the journal show in the quality of the publication. Bob worked closely with Managing Editor Joe Ogrodnick and the other Board Members to maintain this standard of high quality. During Bob’s tenure as Management Board Chair, The Australian Institute of Medical and Biological Illustration (AIMBI) joined the JBC consortium of participating professional organizations. Bob played a major role in making this happen.

Also during Bob’s stint as Chair of the Management Board, a new feature “Showcase” was added to the Journal’s pages. “Showcase” does exactly that - showcase a body of work from an individual or group. BCA’ers Mike Peres, Chip Hedgecock and Gigi and Robin Williams have had their images featured on this page.

We thank Bob for his commitment, contributions and professionalism during his three years at the helm of this prestigious publication -just as with everything else he does, the fruits of his work ethic were quite obvious here.

Bob Turner poses with a wall of covers from various journals.

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Christina Kay Norton and Stephen Christopher Frederickson were married on May 27, 2006 at Tri State Fellowship in Hagerstown, MD. The couple became engaged on her birthday, December 10, 2005.

The bridegroom is the son of BCA member Richard Frederickson, FBCA, and his wife Joan. Stephen is currently working and attending Shepherd University part time where he is pursuing a degree in Environmental Science. Christina is working full time at a local bank. The couple has an apartment in the Hagerstown area.

NCI-Frederick, located at Fort Detrick, Maryland, played host to more than 70 regional biocommunications professionals at an all-day symposium November 18, 2006. Co-sponsored by the BCA and AIGA BlueRidge, the local chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts, the meeting was billed as a gathering of “Mid-Atlantic Biocommunicators” and attracted scientific illustrators, writers and editors, and imaging specialists from across the region and from as far away as New York City and Richmond, Virginia. The meeting was approved for AMI’s continuing education units (CEUs) and drew a number of medical illustrators and illustration students.

Cheryl Parrott, NCI-Frederick Director of Public Affairs, opened the morning session with a history of Fort Detrick and NCI-Frederick. Dr. Jeffrey Lifson, Director of the AIDS Vaccine Program, delivered the keynote address, entitled “Facilitating the Effective and Artful Presentation of Biomedical Research.” Other speakers’ topics included using variable data printing; communicating effectively with the news media; making communications accessible to all through Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act; and working collaboratively to create a special exhibit for the St. Louis Zoo.

Interactive breakout sessions after lunch gave participants a chance to meet in small groups to discuss topics such as video in PowerPoint; tagging and selecting keywords for indexing, and business practices for freelancers. The afternoon concluded with a presentation by Norm Barker on historic seaweed images and Dennis Biela’s capstone presentation exploring the effective use of QuickTime Virtual Reality.

“The meeting was a great success,” commented Colin Celaya, Conference Center Manager and meeting General Chairman. “We drew more people than we expected, and I think everyone felt it was a day well spent.”

Regional Biocommunicators Meeting Held in Maryland

Victor Guinto has been hired to teach the Scientific Imaging program at Cuyahoga Community College in Parma, Ohio. http://www.forensic.e-symposium.com/articles/e2004/dec3.html.

His classes will have a strong biocommunications and medical imaging bias but will cover a wide spectrum of scientific imaging practices. Medical, Forensic, and Scientific photography will be the focus of this 2 year Associate Degree program. The students will work in an anatomy lab dissecting and photographing the human cadaver, use a fabulous Olympus BX51 microscope, create 3dVR rotating images of gross specimen, and work with Photoshop learning photogrammetry analyzing bullet markings. Trips to the surgical theater, county coroner’s office and area hospitals are in our near future.

The overall themes have been “keep pace with technology” and “become fearless with technology”.

Cuyahoga Community College Offers Scientific Imaging Program

Dennis Biela of Lightspeed Media addresses the gathering of Mid-Atlantic Biocommunicators held in Frederick, Maryland.

Frederickson Wedding

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Few of us knew that this year’s Program Chair for the annual meeting in Tucson, is also a collector and an author!

Tom’s passion for PEANUTS started at an early age as he grew up reading PEANUTS books. He began buying PEANUTS ornaments in 1975, because he thought they were unusual, and without realizing it, accumulated one of the largest collections in the world. He did not even consider himself as a collector until 1991 when he realized just how many ornaments he had acquired. He also realized how many other people enjoyed this crazy habit.

Thomas Bednarek is a Registered Biological Photographer (RBP) and has worked as a professional medical photographer for the past twenty-five years, at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. He also has degrees in Business, Science, and Drafting and Design.

Read more about the Peanuts Collectible Ornaments book at www.peanutscollectible.com.

Tom Bednarek Authors Book

Richard Frederickson and BCA President, Jim Fosse presented at RIT October 16th. Both RIT freshmen and sophomores got a chance to hear BCA members present on the impact of technology and their careers. Richard gave a nice presentation on using Imacon film scanners for whole section macrography and Jim talked about his career and the impact of the BCA. The rest of the day was spent with students in the biomed computer lab with interactive demonstrations of monitor calibration and standardizing image preparation. Everyone had a great time and a lot of good questions were asked.

BCA President and Board Member Visit RIT

The BCA Winter Breeze webinar was held Jan. 23rd. With over 40 attendees. Hats off to Jim Koepfler for hosting this event. Ken Michaels, talked about ethical practices in upward communications. Gabe Unda, covered why we should all be using camera raw. Charlie Turner, and Armondo Arbizo gave us a tour of the possibilities with what we now call Adobe Connect internet conferencing technology! The idea was to bring relevant topics to those who are unable to attend an annual meeting. We hope to make this a regular part of BCA activities from now on.

Winter Webinar “A Success”

Richard Frederickson discusses macrography at RIT.

Save the Date

Pacific Northwest Chapter Spring Retreat April 28th-29th, 2007, Tokeland Hotel, Tokeland, WA “The oldest resort hotel in Washington.” Spaces are filling fast contact Janet Schukar for more information at schukar@u.washington.edu.

BIOCOMM 2007 – Tucson, AZ July 22-27th, 2007. University Marriott Hotel. Keynote speaker Jack Dykinga, Anne Shiras Pioneer Lecturer Richard McNeely. Tour of the Center for Creative Photography, many workshops and full day photography workshop on July 27th with Nikon guru Bill Fortney. More info at www.bca.org/biocomm_2007.html.

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I was saddened to hear that Mary Vetter passed away November 11, 2006. She and Jack were regular fixtures at every BCA meeting until recently. She and Jack lived in Pittsburgh. If I remember correctly, Mary donated the gold headed cane that is passed on to each Schmidt Laureate. She is survived by her husband Jack.

Maria E. Ikenberg Lindberg, RBP, FBPA, 1907 - 2006 Maria Ikenberg Lindberg, BCA’s longtime member, passed away October 7, 2006, in Laguna Hills, California. She was an Active Member since 1941; a Registered Biological Photographer; a Fellow of the Biological Photographic Association (BPA); and was honored by BPA with the Louis Schmidt Award in 1963. A special article about Maria’s life and career is scheduled to be published on the BCA website.

In MemoriamIt is with sadness that I report the passing of Lewis Koster of Boerne, Texas. He died Sunday, July 16th. Lew was a long time BCA member serving in many positions over the years, but most notably as parliamentarian for the house of Delegates. Lew occasionally drove us to distraction with his points of order but there was never any doubt about his love for this organization. Lew was a Fellow of the BCA and he was awarded the Ralph Creer Service Award. I remember having lunch with him in Keystone, Colorado in 1986. His humor and easy manner made for great conversation and it was obvious that he cared. The irascible Lew will be missed by all who knew him. BCA was better for having known him.

So much history is melting away. If you wonder why BCA exists today it is because of people like these. – Jim

Greetings BCA members, – time for a progress letter.

If you couldn’t make it to Knoxville, Tennessee, you missed an excellent meeting! About 82 of us grew, learned, and interacted at the Crowne Plaza. Sponsorships from other organizations and vendors were at a new high with donations from Adobe, Vesalius Trust, Pfizer, Sappi, Nikon, Canon, Kaidan, Zeiss, and Hasselblad. Attendees feedback was very positive. Those evaluations we sent out after each session were invaluable because they’re helping us to do it even better for our next meeting which will be in Tucson AZ, July 22-27, 2007. The program chair is Tom Bednarek and our local hosts will be Chip Hedgcock and Jeb Zirato from the University of Arizona. Our Keynote speaker is Jack Dykinga and the Shiras Pioneer Lecturer is Rick McNeely. Remember that the Center for Creative Photography, the Sonoran Desert Museum, and Kitt Peak are all in the Tucson area. We’re gonna have a great time!

Since we got together in Knoxville several important things have happened. Richard Frederickson and I visited RIT students last Fall. We found them to be just as excited about biocommunications as we were. This was one of the goals I set out to achieve while president. The other was to bring value to members who couldn’t attend the annual meetings. The BCA Winter Breeze Webinar was held Jan. 23rd with more than 40 people signed on (more about these events on page 11).

I just returned from a two day meeting at Adobe systems of San Jose, CA. Somehow my name got mentioned for a medical group called the Biomedical Influencers. This is a small group of MDs, DVMs, DDS, Biologists, and Ophthalmic experts Adobe picked to look at Photoshop CS3 beta. It seems that Adobe is finally interested in building a closer relationship with medical groups, including BCA. Booya! Because of nondisclosure agreements that’s about all I can say at this time.

The Tucson planning group is very busy and you should see a preliminary program and forms up on the website any day now. Now is the time to consider presenting a paper or entering the BioImages salon.

At this point, I wish to inform you that important planning for the future of this organization will take place at this meeting. No, this is not bad news about mergers consolidations, or dissolution. Instead it will mean even better meetings and services for those of you who have supported BCA with your membership dollars. If there was ever a time to be part of BCA this will be it. I can hardly wait to get to Tucson!

Now is the time to think about running for office. A nominations committee has been formed and forms are available on the...you guessed it, the website.

As always, I’m proud to serve as president and I hope you find it worthwhile to be a member.

Thanks,

President’s Letter