Spotlight on…Raymond Baltar

GP: Tell us about the photography you do:
 
RB: I’ve been a photographer for over 30 years, and have had several different careers over that time.  I started as a photojournalist and photo editor for a newspaper while I was still in college working towards a degree in Art Photography at San Francisco State University. I dreamed of being a traveling magazine photographer and had work published in Esquire, Ocean’s Magazine, Family Circle, and others, but after my son was born I opened a portrait/commercial studio in Marin County to put down roots and focus on being a dad. In the early 80’s I opened a second in Sonoma County, soon grew tired of commuting between them, and closed the Marin location. I moved my family to Santa Rosa, and for the next 12 years I photographed weddings, senior portraits, boudoir, family portraits, and commercial jobs.
 
In 1995 I became fascinated with a new phenomenon called the world wide web, and I founded and coded one of the first wedding-related web sites (weddinglinks.com), spending two years evangelizing the awesome self-publishing opportunities of the medium to photographers and wedding-related businesses. But after hundreds of demos and few sales, I returned to photography as Assistant Director of Photography for Robert Pierce Studios, where I helped manage the business for four years. In 2001 I opened Moon Valley Studio, specializing in wine country weddings, portraits, youth sports, and seniors.
 
Last year I entered graduate school and have been working toward an MBA degree in Sustainable Enterprise, and after graduation next Spring I will be seeking consulting work with studios, labs, supply houses and camera companies—helping to make the business case for becoming greener and more sustainable. There are also several green business startup ideas I am considering. I will always continue to create images regardless of my pull towards the sustainability field, and my love of nature photography and landscapes will continue to nurture my soul and spirit.
 
GP: In what ways is your company greener?
 
RB: In 2007 I started doing serious research into the issue of climate change, and after several years of reading, attending conferences, etc. I became convinced that we are facing a major shift in life as we know it, and that our lifestyles and business practices (particularly regarding energy use and consumerism) in this country are unsustainable. While this may sound dramatic (and it should!), I also believe there is still a great opportunity to change things for the better, and I remain optimistic that education and awareness can make a huge difference.
 
During my research I did an inventory of the carbon footprint of my studio and my home and started looking into ways I could reduce it. I changed light bulbs, started using the heat and air conditioning less, looked into what I could do to better insulate both my office and home, and surveyed all of the machines my Studio used (computers, monitors, faxes, printers) to see if they could be replaced with more energy efficient models (at the end of their useful life). I have made what changes I could and I continue to do so.
 
I called all my labs and vendors to research what they might be doing regarding recycling, creating products with recycled content, or doing their own green inventories (not much at that time, it turned out, but this is beginning to change slowly). And I applied to become a Green Certified Business in my area, a process that takes you through a series of questions (much like the greenerphotography.org questionnaire) that raises your awareness of the different areas of sustainability that need to be addressed, including water use, “waste” removal, and employee training and buy-in for your green initiatives. (I have completed all of the requirements and am proud to say the Studio will become Green Certified on Aug. 3, 2010.) I drive a Honda Civic and am a vegetarian.
 
Lastly, I became environmentally active in my local area. I joined two organizations as a volunteer—the Sierra Club (Sonoma Group) Executive Committee and the Solar Sonoma County Advisory Board—to try to affect policy changes in my local area. Working in these organizations has given me a better understanding of how important local community participation is, and the networking has been beneficial to my business as well. While many of the problems we face are global in nature, we can still have the most impact on our everyday lives by working in our local communities, influencing our friends and neighbors, and using our talents to support environmental (or other) causes.
 
GP: Why did you decide to join Greener Photography? What value do you see
in membership/being certified?
 
RB: I was thrilled when I found out about the Greener Photography website. I see this group as having the potential to raise green awareness in the photography community on a national scale and to advocate for more sustainably produced products and services.  There are still way too few folders, albums, and printing products using recycled materials, and if we can grow this movement to thousands we can, through our buying choices and the letters we write to manufacturers, push the market in a more sustainable direction. While there aren’t yet a huge number of portrait clients beating down my door because of my green practices, I have only recently started promoting my efforts with my high school senior clients and there has been a very positive response thus far.
 
I think wedding photographers have the best chance of using (honest) green branding as a market draw because of the right demographic client profile, and more and more corporations that are undergoing sustainability assessments will also be seeking commercial photographers that are greening their own operations—in some cases requiring them to become green certified to bid for the business. This is happening up and down the value chain of many industries and the trend is strong even given the present economic environment. Greener Photography can and will play an important role in the transformation of the photography industry as it builds membership, and I encourage anyone reading this to take the plunge and become certified if you haven’t already.
 
GP: How has offering greener products/services and running a greener
business benefitted you?
 
RB: Running a greener business (which is an ongoing process, by the way, not a destination) allows me to feel like I’m a part of a movement that is driving positive change rather than remaining in a business-as-usual mode. As sustainability awareness grows, people will start seeking out those with similar values, and the social networking phenomenon is revolutionizing how people find your business (check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8 for a wakeup call).  Does everyone care about green? No.  Do the kind of people who I want as clients care about green?  Yes. From a business perspective, using less energy because of efficiency improvements and paying less shipping and printing costs because I’ve switched to proofing seniors on the web are two benefits that are paying large dividends for me every month.
 
GP: Share a favorite greener website, service, or product:
 
RB: I prefer the term “sustainable” over greener as it covers people, profit & planet So here are a few links with a bit of a wider range:
 
The Story of Stuff:
http://www.storyofstuff.com/index.php
A great explanation of our unsustainable consumerism.
 
Canon’s Generation Green Site: http://www.usa.canon.com/app/html/GenerationGreen/index.html
Canon is certainly leading the way for photography product manufacturers  (but where are the camera & lens recycling efforts?)
 
Kodak’s Sustainability Reports:
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/corp/HSE/healthSafetyAndEnvironmentalAnnualReports.jhtml?pq-path=7211
Kodak is now looking at finding “cradle-to-cradle manufacturing approaches and is also publishing sustainability guidelines.  A very promising sign.
 
Rice Studio Supply:
http://www.ricestudiosupplies.com/
This company offers some greener packaging alternatives and should be supported and encouraged to find more.
 
TED
http://www.ted.com/
My favorite site on the web, bar none.
 
Skin Deep
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/
If you use cosmetics or personal care products (don’t we all?), check this site out.
 
 
GP: What are your hopes for a greener photographic industry?
RB: I hope for a day when all of the products we use can be returned to the manufacturer for recycling and reuse.

I hope for a day when digital cameras will have a useful life as long as the durable Hasselblad equipment we used to use.

I hope for a day when all of the materials we use daily (the papers, the inks, the plastics and the chemicals) are non-toxic, biodegradable and/or reusable.

Thanks so much to Glen Ellen, California wedding and portrait photographer Raymond Baltar of Moon Valley Sudio for taking the time to answer our questions!

If you know a member you would like us to spotlight feature or interview, let us know!