The family event, with activities for middle school students and adults as well as for younger children, will take place from noon to 3 p.m. in the lobby and courtyard of the museum, 1680 E. 15th Ave. Professional photographers and others will share the secrets of photo manipulation, good camera techniques, how cameras work and more.

Cost is $2 per person or $5 per family, with free parking both in front of the museum and in the UO lot east of the museum. UO students and museum members will be admitted free.

The Photo Safari was inspired, in part, by "Lay of the Land," the museum’s current exhibit that features geologist Ewart Baldwin’s landscape photographs of Oregon. On display through April 1, the series of prints that make up the exhibition capture the impact of volcanic eruptions, massive floods and bone-cracking earthquakes in creating Oregon’s breathtaking landscape.

The event also is held in honor of another UO artist, Don Hunter. The well-known local photographer has been photographing museum exhibits for many years and served as the first director, in the 1940s, of what is now UO Media Services. He also is the creator of multi-textured slide shows on the Oregon landscape and railroads, and he has an extensive archive of Oregon sounds–from train whistles to bird songs.

Activities during the Photo Safari on Feb. 10 include:

• IS IT REAL? UO photographer Jack Liu will reveal some popular historical images that were created using "tricks of the trade" to make the image different from the reality.

Participants may bring magazines or other pictures from home, and Liu will talk about the methods and extent of digital manipulation using those photos as examples.

Liu is the official photographer of the University of Oregon, as well as a freelance photographer of people, sports events, action and still life subjects. His earliest memories are of his darkened home in Tokyo, where his parents developed their own photographs in the family kitchen.

• NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY. Bring your own camera and learn how to take crisp, distinctive nature pictures from an expert. John Mitchell, EWEB communications coordinator, will lead an outdoor foray around the museum, rain or shine!

In addition to his expertise in advertising and public relations, Mitchell has worked as a photojournalist for daily and weekly newspapers and magazines all over the Northwest. He moonlights as an outdoor wedding and special event photographer.

• DIGITAL VALENTINE. Get ready for Valentine’s Day by taking a digital image of a friend, a pet or yourself. Manipulate the image on the computer–the possibilities are endless!–and then take home a printed image to keep.

• PHOTO PAINTING. Go back in time and hand-color black-and-white photographs, just like the old pictures in your family album.

Participants may bring their own black-and-white photos from home or use photos provided by the museum to change the look and the impact of these images with photographic paints.

• ALL ABOUT THE CAMERA. Experiment with the science and engineering of the camera. Find out how just a few basic colors are used to create all the colors in a finished photo. Try out different lenses for different effects.

Everyone who participates in all of the activities will be eligible to enter a drawing for a camera, museum T-shirts and other prizes.

The Museum Store will be open during the Photo Safari and afterwards until 5 p.m. The store features geology books, rocks, jewelry and other natural history books and gifts.

Museum of Natural History exhibits and the museum store are open from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday on the UO campus near the corner of East 15th Avenue and Agate Street, behind the Knight Law Center. Free parking is available in front of the museum with a permit from the front desk. Regular admission is by $2 donation, with UO students and museum members admitted free.

For information about the Photo Safari or about featured and on-going exhibits, visit <http://natural-history.uoregon.edu/> on the web, call (541) 346-3024, or send e-mail to <mnh@oregon.uoregon.edu>. For a 24-hours-a-day taped message about museum exhibits and activities, call GuardLine from a Touch-Tone phone, 485-2000, ext. 3447.

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