Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Copies of the 14-page ‘The Palouse, Jewel of the Inland Northwest, A Photographers’s Guide’ by Otto Stevens are now available at the Whitman County Library in Colfax. Plans are for the guide to be located at all library branches as soon as volunteers get them stapled and folded.
The guides were made available to the library by Stevens, a 34-year member of the Spokane Camera Club who led photography field trips for 12 years for the club, Photographic Society of America and Canadian Association of Photographic Arts.
One of his favorite places to bring primarily amateur shutter-bugs was the Palouse.
Stevens originally wrote the guide about 10 years ago and gave one to each member of his free field trips. Stevens stated he stressed a code of ethics to the trip members and a rule of courtesy is printed on the first page of the guide.
“Park safely off the roads to give the right-of-way to the 18-wheel trucks hauling grain and to farm implements being transported between fields, and don’t trespass onto the croplands and farmyards. Stay on the edges of the roads and use a stronger lens on our cameras! Please help us to maintain our excellent rapport with Palouse residents by NOT entering a farmyard without prior permission.”
A deficit in those courtesies has prompted tourism promoters to turn attention away from targeting photographers due to complaints from landowners about trespassing. Stevens refutes that tendency by stating, “We do not set foot onto private property without prior permission,” in a letter to the Gazette.
Stevens has a long-standing relationship with Whitman County Libraries. He has given free presentations in Colfax and Oakesdale for the libraries, senior groups and retirement communities. He also offered photography tours through the library in past years.
Library Director Kristie Kirkpatrick said Stevens contacted her last year about the photographer’s guide project. He sent a few of his photos which were sold and the proceeds were used to print the guides so they could be offered for free.
The guides relate many topics about the Palouse including geology, geography, migration and immigration, transportation and a Palouse time-line. It lists the locations and some information of pioneer buildings, churches, barns and farmsteads.
Friends of the Library members are stapling and folding the guides, compiling more and more at each meeting. They are only available in Colfax presently, but once enough are ready, they will be distributed to all library branches.
Jana Mathia is a reporter at the Whitman County Gazette.
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