WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER TO LEAD WORKSHOP, PRESENTATION MARCH 10

HATTIESBURG - A 15-hour car trip is not something that most people look forward to, but when a NIRSA National Intramural Basketball Championship (NIBC) is at the other end one, can't help but get excited.

Two intramural basketball teams representing The University of Southern Mississippi recently journeyed to Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, to participate in the tournament, but to get there they first had to win the regional tournament, which was held in April at Mississippi State University.

"It was a very rewarding and exciting experience for me; I was so proud to represent not only Southern Miss, but our region as well," said Kanika Collins, a member of the Miss Whoever intramural team. "Then for us to win was just the best way to cap off my last semester here at Southern Miss."

Collins and her teammates went all the way, beating the University of Virginia's intramural team 43-34 to claim the NIBC Women's Championship title. Collins was also named All-American and her teammate, Diandra Hosey, was selected as most valuable player. Each team member received a championship trophy, plaque and T-shirt. Collins and Hosey received additional trophies for their awards.

In the men's division, Southern Miss was represented by the team Bar None, which made it all the way to the semifinals, placing third overall.

"Even though the team didn't win, David Wall of the Bar None team had one of the great individual performances of the tournament, knocking in eight of nine three-point attempts in one half," NIBC tournament director Kurt Schooley said. "Both (Southern Miss) teams were model participants and I hope they will be able to come back next year to take part in the national tournament. They showed great class and grace at all times."

Other members of the Southern Miss Miss Whoever team are Cecelia Carr, Dana Chapman, Kendria Coleman, Tammy Feazell, Deborah Magee, Natasha Satcher and Kedria Watson. Other members of the Southern Miss Bar None team are DeMarcus Bester, Jacques Cox, Godfrey Drake, Cameron Durr, Brendan Nash, Arthur Stapleton, Tyrone Weatherspoon and Andre Wells.

OCEAN SPRINGS -- Award-winning wildlife photographer Tom Ulrich will lead two photographic events at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory on Wednesday, March 10.

He will present a nature photography workshop from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and then a talk and slide show called "Wildlife Images 2003" at 7 p.m., both at The University of Southern Mississippi GCRL.

Admission to the evening event is free and will be held in the Caylor Auditorium at GCRL. The veteran photographer will feature photos from his 2003 photographic safaris abroad and in North America. He will answer questions and sign his books during the reception following his slide show.

The registration fee for the all-day workshop is $50 per person, payable to GCRL. Registration includes a continental breakfast, light lunch and snacks. Participation is limited to 20. Though the workshop is geared toward beginners, Ulrich tailors the experience to meet needs for all degrees of skill.

"The beginners will definitely benefit from the workshop, but I always help the more advanced get something out of it also," Ulrich said. "I lead many photo trips and always find a wide range of levels."

Ulrich said participants do not need to bring their photographic equipment unless they need an explanation about some aspect of their equipment.

Topics include a brief review of the principles of photography, relationships between shutter and aperture settings, fundamental elements of composition, use and timing of fill-in flash, digital versus film photography, techniques of close-up photography, and a brief discussion of slide etiquette, the photography business and marketing.

Ulrich grew up in South Chicago, graduated with a degree in biology from Southern Illinois University and taught for four years before launching his career as a freelance photographer. He has supported himself with nature photography for the past 29 years.

His library of more than 300,000 transparencies includes birds and mammals from all over the world. His photographs have been featured in publications such as National Wildlife, Audubon, National Geographic, Montana Outdoors and Life.

He has published six nature books, including Mammals of the Rockies, Birds of the Northern Rockies, Once Upon a Frame and his 2002 release, Photo Pantanal. Dr. William E. Hawkins, GCRL executive director, said Ulrich brings the scientific and artistic worlds together.

"Tom earns his living photographing wildlife all over the world," Hawkins sad. "He is an outstanding observer and a biologist. His approach to photography is to capture his subjects exhibiting their natural behavior."

The GCRL is home to the university's Department of Coastal Sciences, the Center for Fisheries Research and Development, and the Gulf Coast Geospatial Center. The J.L. Scott Marine Education Center and Aquarium is also a unit of the laboratory. The GCRL is part of the Southern Miss College of Science and Technology. For more information, call the laboratory at (228) 872-4200.

-30-