The tip of an ancient conifer log, textured and bleached by years of slowly being buried by the rounding stones of Little Hunter’s Beach on the coastline of Acadia National Park, lies in stubborn persistence before the surrounding elements. Over the past several years I have watched as the giant trunk has slowly disappeared. Paper may cover rock, but this scene must surely end in the covering by rock of the great driftwood form.
A focal length of 97mm, short telephoto from a distance of 2.5′ away, gave me a bit of magnification and the angle-of-view I wanted. An aperture of f/22 ensured depth-of-field, and a shutter speed of 0.8 second at ISO 100 gave me a very medium exposure.
Acadia is home to a wondrous diversity of beach types from softly shifting sands to seemingly immutable granite. Each has its own never-ending story told in the intertwining realms in rock, water, and light.
Good morning, Don. Ahhhh, Acadia! Probably my favorite spot on the Atlantic Coast. Funny, just last night I stumbled upon a few pictures from a trip there in 2013 and was shocked at how many people there were scrambling on the rocks in a long shot back north (?) toward Sand Beach. They were everywhere. Yes, one has to work a little harder to find some space and quietness, but I love seeing so many people enjoying our public lands, and doing so respectfully (appropos of last week’s discussion). This week’s image is so interesting with the feeling of compression up above and the weathered log’s protrusions expressing release below; nice contrast in movement. Your cropping on the R makes me curious about where the log goes or what else of it is there, but I very much like the tight composition that gives us a concentrated view. And all in a nice, subdued palatte of soft colors. You are so right about looking for beauty; it’s everywhere. What a gift! Have a great week up north. Ray
Howdy Don, love your eye in seeing the contrast in shapes & textures. This is type of image I often look for. My thoughts are this would make an awesome B&W images.
Prove that beauty is everywhere, as long as we rightly. Thank you for sharing.
Rochelle
This conifer log is going out in style. It’s still showing off all the different ways it can still bring beauty to the world. Mother nature has been helping paint this scene for many years. Thanks for capturing this moment. I envy you guys being in Maine. It’s one of my favorite places. I always tell you to say hi to the Kermit rock, but I am not sure I could find him again. 🙂 You guys have a wonderful time!
Very lovely shot, Don. By coincidence, I was editing images my wife Carolyn (who does not claim to be a photographer) and I brought back from a trip to Northern Ireland. Here is an image that could have the same title:
https://randycole.smugmug.com/Northern-Ireland/i-HMcG6hn/A
Randy
Stunning! I’m speechless (figuratively). For me, the colors and their contrast make this image (sorry, Mike, B&W on this image wouldn’t do it for me). Also the contrasts of textures and of stillness vs. movement. Don, if I end up with a bare wall sometime in the future, this one’s going to the top of my next list.
Just beautiful.
Thank you Don for this awesome picture. The various shades of blue to the “almost” gray colors blend with one another in such a fantastic way. I can almost feel the textures that you captured..the swirls and the layers that you captured. WOW..what a beautiful shot.
Good afternoon Everyone. Thank you all very much for joining me for this conversation. We have just completed the Mindfulness and Photographic Seeing Adventure in the Pioneer Valley. It has been delightful sharing the beauty of everyday places with a wonderful group of adventurers and friends. The foothills of the Berkshires have graced us with an abundance of amazing opportunities and great weather. Our hearts are full.
Hi Ray. I am always delighted to have your thoughtful observations and good words with us. I completely agree with your thoughts on respectfully enjoying our beautiful public lands, although I sometimes bemoan the effort involved in figuring out ways to avoid the crowds. Ocean Drive/Loop Road is such an amazing place, and I have learned over the past twenty years that there are ways to avoid the throng and find the out-of-the-way locations where the beautiful is both isolated and present. Great question about the cropping of the frame: there were other sections of the log immediately in view that were not germane to the context I wanted to express, so I sought to crop the log extrusion as if it were a portrait, deciding to create the truncation on the right edge of the pair of knobs coming off the main shaft, as one might do with the top of a human head.Thanks for drawing our attention to this aspect of the composition, as well as the contrasting motions/flows of the elements. I’ll think of you as we travel along the Maine Coast.
Hey Michael. I always appreciate hearing from you. Your thoughtful words are always welcome. I like your idea of a possible B&W conversion here. The image is already pretty much monochromatic, so a conversion might add an interesting set of contrasts. Hope you are doing well, my friend.
Hi Rochelle. I thank you for your kind and thoughtful comments. I know the beauty of the Oregon Coast and I hope you have already discovered its treasures of shape, form, motion, and relationship. I hope you are having a beautiful spring.
Hey Nancy T. The only downside to this trip is not being able to share it with you. I told some folks this morning of knowing how special Acadia is to you, and the joy you find in being there. You are so right: this old log has been part of Mother Nature’s palette for a very long time, and it has been blessed with the dignity and respect it so richly deserves. I’m going to be looking for that frog named Kermit. And if I don’t see him, perhaps I’ll see his cousin.
Hi Randy. It’s great to have you with us; haven’t heard from you in some time. I hope the hills of North Georgia have become a place called “home.” I appreciate the link and will follow it shortly. Seems like I recall that you and Carolyn have been to the Emerald Isle more than once. I hope your adventures have been wonderful.
Howdy Donald. I hope you continue to settle in to the familiar life of Chicago. We’ll have to talk soon so that I can catch up with all of your adventures. “Speechless” is not a word I would consider using to describe Donald Newsom; I am, therefore, quite honored. I can appreciate, too, you thoughts on refraining from making this image into something black-and-white, for the very reasons you suggest. The beauty of it is that sometimes the same image can serve both results quite well enough. Perhaps this is one of those. I’m looking forward to hearing about your “summer fun.”
Ah shucks, Linda; I am honored by your kind words almost as much as I was honored by your joining us for the Pioneer Valley adventure this week. It was delightful having you with us and we hope to find a way to connect with you again very soon. I hope you will truly enjoy re-visiting the places we have traveled this week. You have much to share with each other.
Hey Willa. It’s always great to hear from you. We’d love to hear about all of your adventures sometime soon. Your now-not-so-new tripod has, hopefully, been put to good use many times over, and you are enjoying it immensely. Next time you are coming to Asheville, let us know; we’d love to have coffee, lunch, of just meet up and visit for a while.
Thank you all, again, for joining me. I am both delighted and honored to be part of such a wonderful family of creative folks who enjoy sharing the visual world as much as I do. Walk in Beauty.