I can’t help but think of Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park as the land of rock, water, and light. All three are omnipresent and abundant along this beautiful stretch of the Maine Coast: Downeast as it is known. One of the under-appreciated ecosystems of this amazing land are the marshes, and there are a substantial number of them scattered across the face of the island. The headwaters of Hodgdon Brook are formed from just such a seemingly inconsequential marsh along Long Pond Fire Road. The brook feeds into Hodgdon Pond which drains into Seal Cove Pond, which slips through a short waterway into Seal Cove, and thus into the East Passage of Blue Hill Bay. It is a part of the island in which intimate landscapes abound.
A focal length of 300mm, medium telephoto-land, gave me the magnification and angle-of-view I wanted, isolating the small stand of drowned firs (cedar, I think) among the rich golden autumn grasses. The line of wildflower seed heads (which I could not identify from the camera-to-subject distance) helped anchor the bottom of the frame. An aperture of f/22 provided depth-of-field, and a shutter speed of 1/5th second at ISO 100 gave me an overall medium exposure. Tha late-afternoon back-sidelight illuminated the grasses very nicely.
Over the years, as I have found my way to the fall color, as well as to the spring green, of Acadia National Park, my friend Dave Lloyd has been a never-ceasing source of photographic information and inspiration. He and his wonderful family have made our time on MDI a truly pleasurable experience.
Really liking this image. Hoping it is a preview of what’s to come in October. First, vertical was definitely the way to go with the trees. The flowers in the foreground (although at first glance they looked like dandelions that had gone to seed) give me a starting place in the frame and you picked a nice natural opening through the tress to lead me the rest of the way through. Also liking the contrast between the colorful ground cover versus the almost empty trees. A little surprised it was at 300 mm. I thought at first you were up closer.
Don, this is a beautiful image. The dead trunks interspersed with the very much alive grasses and wildflower stems create tension and contrast, and invite exploration. The darkness in the background create intrigue. I really like the way you captured the white tufts in cluster at the bottom to balance the darkness.
Last night, I read a fascinating article about the Fibonacci sequence and how, once internalized, it can become another way for photographers to see and compose. I think it’s fair to say we each intuitively carry the rule of thirds in mind to use or ignore as we see fit; I’m going to try to sense how Fibonacci’s graceful spiral may also become a tool in my visualization. Any tips welcome!
Thank you for a lovely start to a bright spring day in Virginia.
Ray
Howdy Don, oh my, how beautiful to start this cold New England (RI) day with fresh snow cover and to see your wonderful image with warm golden grass sprinkled with delicate white flowers and the strong bold graphics of tree trunks with sprinkling of leaves. I could gaze at this image all day. Thank you for sharing your art.
I love the copper and grey together–beautiful image. Thank you for posting it.
This is one of your most beautiful images. And I say that knowing how many others there are!
Another beautiful image, Don! I hope it’s ok to use this space for a brief comment to another commenter? Ray Foote, perhaps your Fibonacci article mentioned how the ratio of successive numbers approaches the Golden Ratio, approx. 1.618? Try Googling “golden ratio in photography” for some ideas. Best wishes!
I love everything about this photo! The vertical trees, the color, the anchoring flowers that are just the right number—just beautiful and perfectly balanced.
“It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.”
__ Peter Jackson
This image caught my eye with all the darkness in the back, the trees succumbing to the darkness, but the grasses have become thick and bright, almost like a fire. The white flowers in front seem to be the inspiration for the grasses keeping the darkness at bay.
That’s probably not what you saw when you made this immage. My vision must have been influenced by the mood of the world right now.
Thanks for sharing
Good afternoon Everyone. Thank you all very much for joining me for this conversation. What a delight to have all of you with me on what feels like such a special day. Earlier today I was cleared by my foot/ankle surgeon to begin driving once again. Even though there is still much healing to be done over the course of the next six months, the clearance to drive is a big step along that path. I am grateful for all of the kind thoughts and good wishes you have shared with me along the way. Your caring has meant very much so far, and I know it will help see me through the remainder of this ordeal.
Hey Kev. Thank you for all of your support through all of the past many months. You and Elizabeth have been wonderful friends. What you see in this Image is just a small indication of why we wanted to push the October adventure even further back into October. What we learned about fall color in the UP applies equally to MDI: peak is running about 6-8 days behind historic norms, even though climate change is a myth. I created this scene in a variety of ways – portrait and landscape and a variety of focal lengths up to 300mm. The anchoring seed-heads in the bottom and the slight diagonal line through the trunks showed themselves most prominently at 300mm. The contrast between grasses and background trees was a gift of the thickness of the forest on the far side of the marsh. You will very much enjoy this “small” wetland. Take good care.
Hey Ray. It’s always great to hear from you. The Fibonacci sequence is, indeed, another way of mathematical element placement that can be used to create dramatic and interesting compositions. In some ways it is quite analogous to the “Rule of Thirds,” but is a bit more complex in its construction. A young man named Tavis Glover wrote a small but useful book several years ago entitled Canon of Design which explores similar ideas. You might enjoy it also. Your metaphoric descriptions are also much appreciated: the intriguing dark background; the balancing of contrasts. All of these are aspects of composition that one comes to consider almost intuitively as one proceeds down the photographic path. Thank you for lending your perceptive interpretations to our discussions of the creative process. Have a great weekend.
Howdy Michael. I always look forward to whatever you may share with us. It’s a delight to have your voice with the others. I hope you have been safe and well. Thank you for sharing with us the eyes you bring to this scene. I hope spring will soon fill the Ocean State with flowers and new green.
Hey Lynne. Copper and gray: warn tonality and earth tone. It sort of stretches the warm-cool tonality idea, but I do think it works out okay. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. We always deeply enjoy our conversations with you and John, like sitting on the front porch with a comfortable old bulky hoodie sweatshirt rich with stories.
Hey Joel. Thank you very much for being with us. By now, my friend, you have seen quite a number of my images, and I am very much honored by your kind words. Thank you; be safe and take very good care.
Donald, it’s great to have you with us. Now that you have made the connection with Ray Foote, I’ll have to be very careful: the two of you may begin ganging up on me; but seriously, I’m glad to know that you regard our national forests with such esteem, as do I and he. You are our mathematics wizard, so we’re looking for big ideas. I’m supposing you have wandered back to Illinois by now. Wherever you are, I hope you are safe and well.
Hi Linda. It’s always a pleasure to hear from you. The three components you have singled out for us – trees, color, flowers – are certainly the keys for me. Of course, the light is what really creates the color, and the light that was present – good sidelight for richness – was a very big part of the whole. Please take good care and enjoy the Berkshire Foothills in the beauty of spring.
Hey Nancy T. What a wonderful reminder of how kindness and love seen in a myriad of small deeds and actions of just plain folks can sustain a world on the edge of darkness. And then your wonderful story to remind us of how those ideas work in the visual world. Sounds like we might want to remind you of how beautiful this world is, even on the edge of darkness, and how special you are as a part of that world. Just as the Dine always remind us: Walk in Beauty.
Thank you all, again, for all that you do to keep our world away from the shadows. May we all walk in that light, seeing the beauty that surrounds us.