Kickstarter Campaign Announced for Yosemite People Photography Book

Sierra Madre, CA, October 13, 2016 --(PR.com)-- For the first time, a photographer is entering Yosemite with a shifted priority on people rather than on nature. – Carol McCusker (Curator of Photography, Harn Museum)

A Thousand Words Press is pleased to announce the launch of a Kickstarter campaign to publish "Yosemite People," a quality black and white photography coffee table book accompanied by stories, essays, and interviews with Kevin Starr, Ranger Shelton Johnson, and Ranger Phillip Johnson among others.

Partially funded by a faculty enrichment grant from ArtCenter College of Design, Kulikauskas shot 150 rolls of black and white film over 19 visits to Yosemite National Park. He confined the project to the formal boundaries of the park without special access or privileges. He investigated a wide variety of public places to experience a full breadth of the park to capture it all: crowds clamoring to catch the perfect selfie at Tunnel View, couples kissing at Glacier Point, and families cooling off in Tenaya Creek. He went out of his comfort zone: horseback riding to Mirror Lake, tram tours around Mariposa Grove, and skiing at Badger Pass. He even hiked the 17-mile loop and pulled himself up 600 feet of steel cables to the summit of Half Dome.

Edited by Ann Lucke (former Managing Editor at Getty Publications, Metropolitan Museum of Art), "Yosemite People" is more than a book of photos–it includes a collection of stories, essays, and interviews from the diverse groups Kulikauskas met along the way. “'Yosemite People' is more than a photography book,” Kulikauskas states… “On the 100th year anniversary of the National Park Service it stands to endure as a one-of-a-kind, historic, American document.”

"Yosemite People" contributors include:

· Carol McCusker, PhD Curator of Photography, Harn Museum, Author, Columnist
McCusker’s essay speaks to the quality of the photographs and puts the project into historical context.

· Kevin Starr, PhD Author, Historian, California State Librarian Emeritus.
Starr recalls working his way through college in the summers of 1959-61.

· Shelton Johnson Ranger, Buffalo Soldier Specialist, featured on Ken Burn’s documentary, America’s Best Idea
Interview: 22 year Yosemite veteran shares candid thoughts on contemporary park culture.

· Phillip Johnson Ranger, Cultural Demonstrator
Interview: Johnson offers his perspective as a member of the Miwok tribe, Yosemite’s first people.

· Ben Cunningham-Summerfield Park Ranger, Indian Cultural Demonstrator
The story of Tank, a bear he was forced to euthanize.

· Theresa Ho Hiker, long-term local resident
A hike goes wrong. Ho recounts breaking her back and being airlifted out by the Yosemite Search and Rescue Team.

· Orlando Soria Interior Designer
Born and raised in Yosemite, son of the dentist, Soria shares his difficult decision to leave the valley.

· Jessica Kennedy Writer
A young writer from North Carolina offers impressions of her first year living in Yosemite.

· Lynne and Ross Knox Mule Packers
This husband and wife team left Arizona to work together, packing mules and leading teams at Yosemite Stables.

· J.R. Gehres Manager, Curry Village Stables and Mountain Manager at Badger Pass
Interview: with this confirmed cowboy and wrangler offers a glimpse of what life working at Yosemite Stables looks like.

· Chuck Carter Manager, Badger Pass Ski School
Writes on his mentor, Nic Fiore, Badger Pass Manager.

· Ruth Ann Canterbury Adams Nurse (former)
Canterbury Adams shares insights into life as a nurse at Yosemite Medical Clinic in 1959.

· Stanley Valim Groundskeeper, Wawona Hotel
Interview: Valim recalls chance encounters with movie stars and the Queen of England.

· Jonas Kulikauskas Photographer, "Yosemite People"
Kulikauskas describes climbing Half Dome for the first time.

"Yosemite People" is published by Jonas Kulikauskas through his small press, A Thousand Words Press, to be released Spring 2017.