Monthly Archives: June 2012
What puts the “wonder” in “Wonderland”?
One of my favorite places on the island is called “Wonderland”. It is an area located on “the quiet side” of the island and requires a short and easy hike from the parking area to the coast.
BELOW: Approach to “Wonderland”
This area of the island is coast is flatter (but still rocky) and a bit less “rugged” than other parts of the island. There are wild roses and sweet peas blooming, and a wide variety of rock surfaces to explore. As the tide goes in and out it creates many tide pools with an abundant variety of tiny sea life to discover. And when you have had a enough of exploring, you can always find a place to sit and simply enjoy the view.
BELOW: Rocks and Water, Tide pools, Flowers, and Vistas. They all add up to WONDERLAND!!
Reflections II
I thoroughly enjoy the Witch Hole Pond hike. The distance (3.5 miles), the carriage roads, the variety in scenery all make for interesting walk. The fact that it is infrequently used by tourists makes it just that more pleasant.
Unless it is very windy, the pond (which is really more of a marsh with some open areas of water), is smooth as glass. This makes for great opportunities to take photos of the clouds, trees, and hills reflecting in the still water.
On this day, I took numerous shots in both color and black and white. Below is the virtually the same photo in both mediums. Let me know which one you like best!
The Ever Changing Sky
One of the things I enjoy most about living on Mount Desert Island (and being surrounded by water), is that the skies are always changing. There have been days when I have seen the skies go from completely clear and blue to totally overcast and back again 3 times within 12 hours.
This “ever-changing sky” makes for interesting pictures. The scene you shot just a few hours ago will look completely different when you come back to it a short time later.
ABOVE: Clouds roll out and away over Sand Beach and the Atlantic Ocean
As weather systems from the south collide with weather systems from the north, the struggle between clear skies and cloudy ones, dry air and humid air create a spectacular cloud show. And there is no better vantage point for this show than from the top of Cadillac Mountain.
BELOW: The last remnants of a fog bank linger in Frenchman’s Bay
BELOW: Just 10 minutes later, the fog finally leaves, except for one of the Porcupine Islands.
On this day within a few hours there was not a cloud in the sky. Another hour later, the clouds had returned! This “Ever Changing Sky” is teaching me to live in the moment!
Sunset at the Lighthouse
A glorious week of weather here on the island last week, with clouds rolling in and out, at times brilliant blue skies, at times completely overcast made for a real “your guess is as good as mine” answer when my visiting relatives asked me what they could expect to see at sunset at Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse.
We had spent the better part of the day on “the quiet side of the island”, walking and exploring Wonderland Trail, relaxing at the Seawall area, dinner at a local favorite “The Seafood Ketch”, and finally taking in the sunset at the Lighthouse.
Due to the orientation of the land, you cannot directly watch the sunset at this lighthouse, but if the clouds and light are just right you get a pretty show and can use the lighthouse in the foreground to add interest to your pictures.
We arrived about 40 minutes before the sunset, as my niece and nephew wanted me to try to capture some portraits of the them on the rocks with the ocean and lighthouse behind. When we arrived at the top of the stairs that lead down to the rocks from where you can view the lighthouse, the sun was hitting this buoy in a particularly beautiful light, and it was the first picture I snapped.
The clouds that had looked so promising a few hours earlier had for the most part blown east out over the ocean, with just a few remnants hanging around, so I wasn’t optimistic about getting great sunset skies on this night.
There are plenty of seagulls and crows flying around, but we even got treated to a rare “flyby” by a bald eagle. The best I could manage (without falling off a rock), was to get him flying away. Nice wing span!
The sunset was coming on fast, and I loved the challenge of pressing the shutter when the lighthouse light was flashing. 🙂
As we clambered back up the rocks, I took a quick walk down the path to the other side of the lighthouse to snap a picture of the tower against the gathering darkness. It turned out to be one of my favorites from the evening’s adventure.
From a Friend’s Blog
If you are looking for photography that captures emotions and a moment in time, take a look at Joey’s blog. I absolutely love his work1
Black and White Bubble; Pond that is.
I’ve been having a good time shooting subjects that I’ve seen numerous times now in Black and White versus color. This challenges me to think about a composition in a different way. The ever-changing skies here in Acadia National Park lend themselves well to this medium.
This past week I was fortunate to have family from Pennsylvania in town for a visit, and I took them to one of my favorite places in the park – Bubble Pond. It is such a beautiful and peaceful spot, and I tried to capture that feeling in the shots below.
Beating the Crowds
As the 4th of July approaches, with comes the “height” of summer and tourist season in Acadia National Park, or as I like to call it: “my playground”, or “my backyard”.
On this weather perfect day, I wanted to hike along the ocean but as the crowds build, this means getting an early start is all important.
So I managed to be walking by 8 a.m. and encountered only a few people along the way on one of the busiest, if not THE busiest trail in the park.
ABOVE: The Atlantic Ocean from Otter Cliffs.
BELOW: Some “Lovely Lupine” blooming next to the Ocean Path
BELOW: Along the Ocean Path, near Otter Point
Portrait of a …… plant
I haven’t seen any really interesting trees lately, I actually think I like them better (as photography subjects) without all the leaves on! However, I did come across this swath of ferns while hiking along the carriage road late last Sunday afternoon.
The deep green and the way the filtered light was hitting them really made for a lovely composition.
Study of a Bridge in Black and White
Those of you who have been following my blog know that I am enamoured with the bridges built along the system of carriage roads here in Acadia National Park.
The walk around Witch Hole Pond begins and ends (for me due to where I park), at the Duck Brook Bridge which serves as one of the entry points to the carriage road system.
This bridge was built in 1929 and is the only triple arch bridge among the seventeen bridges in the park. As you can see in the picture below, there is series of steps that lead down the underside of the bridge and afford you better looks at the details of the bridge and the fast flowing brook that runs beneath it.
I love the architectural details on these bridges, and in keeping with the period in which they were built, I decided to shoot them in black and white mode.
This bridge has several turrets where the pedestrian can safely stop and view the wonderful scenery; the brook below or the waters of Frenchman’s bay to the north and west.
And not being able to resist those steps I showed you earlier, here is a view of one of the turrets looking UP. I thought these next two photos give a fine perspective of the detail and workmanship that went into the building of this bridge.
These bridges are truly “works of art” in their own right, and I love I see something new and different every time I look at them. Hope you enjoyed this “study” in black and white!
Reflections
A late afternoon/early evening hike brought interesting light on my hike around Witch Hole Pond today. This area is more of marsh than a lake this time of year, with all sorts of grasses, plants, birds, insects, and a very loud chorus of frogs that all sounded like they were playing banjos!
The mosquitos were adding their high-pitched whine to my chorus of frogs and I was glad I was wearing that hat with the built-in bug netting. Sure some people stared at me, but deep down I knew they were envious.
I was hoping I might catch some otters or beavers this time of day. But even though I saw several lodges, these illusive creatures were keeping themselves well hidden today. But I got a wonderful surprise when I found iris (my favorite flower) growing wild along the water’s edge.
This area, represents one of many eco-systems to be found here on the island. I just love how you have marsh/swamp, ocean, lake, and alpine (among others) systems, all represented in a such a small geographic area. These groups of dead tree trunks in the middle of the swamping area are particularly eerie looking in the fog. I have it on my photographic “to do” list to capture these in black and white on a foggy day. But on this day, I enjoyed the reflection they made thanks to abundant sunshine.
One of my favorite photos from today, was the image of these clouds among the water lilies.
Acadian Soul 