Tree Faller shares his point of view

Frame by Frame

By Suzette Cook-Mankins

If your were lucky enough to combine your all of passions in life and then share it with the your friends, family, and the world, you’d be as lucky as GF Baranek- Jerry B to his friends.
For Gerald Beranek, a top notch tree feller fella, it’s always been about photography and anything tree related: climbing feliing, and photography.
It wasn’t often that If your family has a history here in Mendocino County, chances are that part of that history involves the timbe industry. Maybe your grandpa worked for the old saw mill at Fort Bragg or your aunt drove a logging truck or an uncle who actually climbed trees and felled from above.
1. This is the second printing. when was the first and how many copies have been sold? the first printing came out in Oct of 96. There was 5,000 printed. Also I would like you to know that Bill Bailey of Laytonville paid for it so I could get on my feet and pay for the second printing through the sales.
2. Where can locals buy this book?Mendo Museum in Willets, Leaves of Grass book store in Willets, Gallery Books in Mendocino, Cheshire books in Ft. Bragg. Or order direct from me. Beranek Publications, Box 251, Ft. Bragg
3. Do i have permission to run the author photo of you taken by Charly Pottorff if we credit him/her? Permission is given
4. What photo in the book was your biggest challenge to get? Probably captureing the moment when the top of the Rockport tree was falling. It took months of planning to get it just right. Though it was Charly Pottorff that actually took the shot it was my camera, film, choice of lens, focal length and angle that made it what it turned out to be. A great shot
5. What advice can you give today's photogs on how to get quality photos while shooting in the woods and dense forests? In the woods always use a tripod and shoot on lite overcast days, and use small apretures
6. What was your first camera and what do you shoot with now? I shot 35mm for over 40s years. Nikon was my camera of choice..Starting early on with a Nikon S2. Today I have a Sony digital. Though I am more into video for the moment.
7. Where else have your images been published or displayed? Very often on the coverd of Bill Balileys mail order catalogs and throughout. Have won a number of recognition awards for my work through various local events
8. Do you have any future publishin projects in the works or photo projects? Currently working on a vocational video series all about tree work. Hopefully it will be done this year. though it may not.
9. Any advice for someone thinking of putting out a coffee table book? The price of printing full color table top books has never been lower. High Climbers was a very extensive work with nearly 400 images taken over 35 years. another 1 year spent writing the stories, another six months proofing them and $60,000 to the printer...... you have a comtemporary history of old growth logging on the Mendocino Coast. Other comtemporary works can easily be made about the local happenings in the area, fishing, farming, milling, development. Times are changing quick and the present is the best time to record it. It leaves for a lot less digging and guessing about names dates and places in the future.

Suzette Cook-Mankins is a 20 year veteran of photojournalism. Send comments, questions, requests to mizdigital.com