The lilypads at Schooner Head Pond, one of Acadia National Park’s out-of-the-way beauty spots, are taking on water in the wake of a morning onslaught of onshore wind from the Atlantic. A cloudless sky’s deep blue tones have joined the sun’s golden light to produce some wonderful reflected patterns in the early day. At the far west end of Schooner Head and beyond the Loop Road, the granite face of Champlain Mountain rises to greet the coming light.
A focal length of 405mm, toward the long end of medium telephoto-land, allowed me to isolate a narrow angle-of-view with a small cluster of pads. It also allowed for some magnification and compression of the scene. An aperture of f/8 and an ISO of 800 gave me a shutter speed of 1/80th second and a way to nearly freeze the choppy surface. The aperture setting, given the camera-to-subject distance, allowed for sufficient depth-of-field to give an illusion of sharpness across the image, at least to the extent that the human eye can discern sharpness in moving water.
Acadia National Park holds the distinction of being the first national park in the United States created east of the Mississippi. It is the story of tourism run amok, the greed of land speculators, and the ravenous eyes of the timber industry coming into focus on a small island on the Downeast coast of Maine. And, it is the story of all of those souls who saw in that same land something more than resources to be exploited for the benefit of a few; rather, instead, a beauty beyond description to be preserved for the many.
What a grand capture of the mighty magnificence of Nature and its delicate beauty all at once. Weather patterns and winds produced by a star millions of miles away with all colors, save blue, filtered by a planet’s atmosphere came together to create this peaceful scene you brought home. I find myself returning to look at the water’s colors and consider the lilypads in all their beauty. It is a simple scene whose image captures the essence of peace.
Perhaps the feeling I have lacks technical description, but for me this is an image to be savored. Thank you for sharing.
Looks like an oil painting
Stunning image. There are two things that stand out in particular for me. First, the shutter speed in order to get the texture of the water just right. You wanted some motion, but not too much. The second is the way the pads formed an arrow which leads us (at least me) through the scene from the bottom right to the top left. Thanks for sharing.
Wow! It’s about as far from the desert southwest as I can imagine — ok, I’ve seen some Icelandic glaciers that are farther in both distance and temperature — but I want this pattern on my Arizona bedspread!
Good evening Everyone. Thank you all very much for joining me for this conversation and for the delightful and thoughtful comments you have shared with me and with each other. As our plans for the 2020 Acadia adventure continue to coalesce and set, we become excited about the possibilities in store for this group, and I continue to be more and more excited about all of the wonderful locations on Mount Desert Island and along the Downeast Coast I want to share with them.
Hey Warren. It’s great to have you with us. I love your description of the process by which we have come to be able to enjoy the elements of this simple (as you have so aptly put it) image. So many diverse components seemingly brought together randomly to create, through cause and effect, a visual result such as this, which we can appreciate and enjoy. Beauty is, indeed, the amalgamation of plain pieces that leads to something beyond what we might expect. And to top it all off, the miracle of sight by which we can see the outcome, and the abstract intellect through which we and identify with and respond to the phenomena created. We are excited about having you with us and technical descriptions be darned.
Hi Terri. It’s great to hear from you. I am honored by your kind comment. Acadia is such an amazing and wonderful place that “oil paintings” seem to blossom across its landscape. I have been blessed with the opportunity to visit this amazing landscape nearly year since 1999. I have never tired of seeing what next it will offer me.
Hey Kev. It’s always good to have you with me. I appreciate both of the aspects you have raised for us to consider: the mechanics of the image as expressed through shutter speed, and the composition as expressed through the arrangement of elements. It does take a bit of thoughtfulness and a lot practice to derive a shutter speed solution with which to render the texture of moving water as you wish it to be expressed. The fun is truly in the practice. And the composition aspect is simply the application of line, shape, form, pattern, texture and color; and balance, simplicity, contrast, relationship, et al, to the items in the visual field. Seems straightforward enough; but, again, it’s all about practice. We are looking forward to seeing you soon.
Ah shucks, Donald. It’s great to have you join us. What a delightful exercise it would be to figure out the application with which to render this image onto a cloth surface. I would be happy to work on that problem Let’s talk about it. I hope your Arizona Winter continues to give you much pleasure and creative opportunity. Let’s chat soon, if we can, about several ideas that come to mind. Walk in Beauty.
It’s always a pleasure to engage such thoughtful comments; and I do appreciate all of them. As I write, it is snowing in Asheville. I can almost remember what winter is like. May we all walk in the Beauty of this season.