Falling Leaves

Beech Above

2010-11-08T13:32:00.000-08:00

Poor, poor, neglected blog! The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and they are pervious. Anyhow, Landscape Architecture studies at Temple Ambler has been consuming the majority of my time, however that has not precluded photography. I've actually been taking quite a few photos in conjunction with my program: a recent field trip to NYC to High Line and Bryant Parks, and Paley and Seagram Plazas; a site visit to Green Lane Park up in Perkiomen for our studio class; and taking photos of trees for Native Woody Plant ID around town and also up in Howard, NY. The last is the origination of this post.
As I was sorting through photos to id trees for class, I tweaked this one a little bit. It was already way over-exposed so it was mostly highlights of the Beech (Fagus grandifolia) leaves over head, then I drained the color out of it in iPhoto. I like the result. It's abstract and elemental though still recognizable as leaves on a tree. I like being able to mix so many of my interests in one field with one course of study. Who knows, maybe I'll get my act together and share some of my designs on the blog. If so, keep in mind that this is the first semester of my first year in the program.

Out and About with a Purpose!

2010-04-11T09:54:00.000-07:00

It's been so long since I've posted to this poor neglected blog. Last year the plan was to revamp and change the focus beyond photography to something more comprehensive and more representative of my interests. So let's do it! It's never to late to be what you want to become, somebody once said.

So now in addition to photography, this blog will also be concerned with:
A. Landscape Architecture, (I'm starting my Master's Program at Temple Ambler this fall)
B. Hiking, of course!
C. Not to be cliched and band wagoney, but sustainable practices (i.e. my wife and I want to go into part time organic farming, and raise chickens and bees and goats and rabbits!)
D. Whatever else comes to mind!

As I embark upon Landscape Architecture, (I started taking classes this Spring - one online about the history of landscape architecture, a directed studies in horticulture about woody plant propagation, and one seminar last January about trees in the urban landscape, which totally turned me onto tree identification, so much so, that now I carry not one but three identification books with me when I hike: Peterson's Guide to Eastern Trees, Peterson's Guide to Eastern Forests, and The Urban Tree Book by Arthur Plotnik, all great guide books to have around.) I'm becoming more and more aware of the disconnect between us and the land around us. It's what I noticed when I hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2005-6. It was so refreshing to feel that connection, that I've been seeking a way to do so in everyday life ever since. I believe that landscape architecture will let me do that. I'll be able to design landscapes that reconnect us to the land and allow us to feel that sense of place that has been lost in our technological world. Maybe some of the sense of community and spirituality that I see missing too.

The funny thing is, a lot of people have realized this and written great books about it. I suggest Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle which I just started reading and my wife's been telling me to read for at least the last year; also Theory in Landscape Architecture has some great pieces by leaders in the field from the last 50 years for those whole really want an in depth perspective; and Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal by Joel Salatin which I also just started leafing through yesterday, about the challenges of small farming.

On my hike yesterday, I took my two year old black Lab, Lily, up to the AT at the PA 325 crossing and hiked 2.8 miles up to the junction with the western terminus of the Horseshoe Trail. Along the way I broke out the field guides and identified Chestnut Oak and Striped Maple and I think some Elm, although I'm not sure because the leaves are still coming in. I took pictures and collected specimens to use in the plant propagation program at Temple. It was a great day and a great feeling combining so many of my passions into one 5 hour hike.

Capturing the Stars

2009-05-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

Last winter, my fiance and I spent the weekend after Christmas at her parent's house in Upstate NY. There's limited development and much of the landscape is still pastoral farmland which means very little light pollution. So on clear nights, the galaxy spreads out in every direction like a bejeweled dome glistening in candle light.

I wanted to bring three elements into this photo: the contrast of the lighted house against the darkness of the forest behind and the starry sky above. My intent is to convey the feeling of warmth and safety from the house, while the forest looms ominously in the background bridged by the eerie glow from the sky. While inside you may be safe, one step beyond and you may not.

I setup my D70 on a tripod to prevent image blur, set the ISO to 1600 and the exposure to manual holding it open for five minutes. The extended exposure made the light from the house appear to glow in the windows in addition to capturing the stars. I set the aperture to f4 to let the maximum amount of light in. I took several exposures, experimenting with the aperture and the amount of time I kept the shutter open and found this combination to be the best.

Doing More. . .

2009-04-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

So there's no photo this time. Just some thoughts. . . That's what blogging is all about right? Well after two years of toiling away in corporate America and watching my staff dwindle from 9 to 4, I've sort of let go of trying to accomplish anything real. I need to be the warm happy Zen center of the Universe and let the tempest blow around me. I also need to focus on my future. This is just a stepping stone, and even though photography hasn't take off the way I would have liked it to, I haven't given up on finding a creative, professional outlet for everything that's bottled up in my head.
You see, I've had this vision. This idea of what life could be like. A paradigm shift really from what society quietly whispers in our ears. It started in my senior year of high school when we read Ishmael, and I had my beliefs challenged for the first time. It continued in college as I learned about biodiversity and sustainability. When I quit the government, hiked 2,000 miles, and found a deeply gratifying connection to nature, my idea became more focused. And at last, when my fiance took her first grad school class in planning last fall and introduced me to the work of Ian McHarg, my idea solidified. I want to find a way for our society to live with nature in our daily lives and reconnect to our environment and regain our sense of place. Something that has been vacant for too long and has had deleterious consequences. The overwhelming and prevailing sense of entitlement is one of them. The widespread estrangement from the land is another.
And the way for me to do this? Landscape Architecture. It's the vehicle I've been searching for to galvanize all of the thoughts that have been rattling around in my head for the last ten years looking for a voice. It's the way for me to pull it all together and express myself creatively as well. It's down right thrilling and it's been worth every step, even the 1,000 or so through the rains in New England in the spring of '06.
If you're at all intrigued, no worries, there'll be more to follow. And if you actually miss the photos, well I'll try to post more of them too. In the meantime, you can satiate yourselves at www.kitchensuccess.blogspot.com where I've started supplying my photographic talents.

Sand "Cliffs"

2008-12-01T16:54:00.000-08:00

This is another one from our trip to the Olympic Coast last summer. I've been experimenting on my Mac with making my digital photos black and white and have been really pleased with the outcome. Walking along the sandy coast of Kalaloch, I was drawn to the rushing waters of this tidal river as it left the confines of the forest and journeyed to the ocean.

I feel this photo gains a lot of power sans color. I've also cropped it to focus the viewer's attention on the schism between the sand and the water. Thus the image is reduced to its basic elements: the shape, texture, and interaction of the tidal river with the eroded sand "cliffs." I can feel the sand slipping away into the gushing waters dashing out to sea. The coast at Kalaloch is an enchanting place and one that beckons me to return.

Root of It All

2008-08-12T18:38:00.000-07:00

Another one from the Pacific Northwest, this photo comes from Rialto Beach at the beginning of the North Coast Trail in Olympic National Park. After a night in the Hoh Rainforest enjoying the quiet solitude of the gigantic verdant centurions that guard the gates of Olympus, my fiancee and I longed for the sonorous timbre of crashing waves and the sweet caress of ocean breezes on our faces. We hiked a mile up the trail and spent the night just north of Ellen Creek. After making camp, we wandered further up the coast, exploring the rocks, driftwood, and flotsam of Neptune's abode.

One particularly large tree lay on its side, baring its story. The cracks and crevices told the story of a Herculean life well led, one of strength and resilience until nature at last took its toll. Even here in the temple of the forest grand, the mighty cannot withstand the sheer force and fury of the sea's boundless energy.

I love the rough and splintered texture of the wood pocked with holes and bleached by the sun. The cross-like central feature seems symbolic of the burdens this forest elder faced until his last days, reflective of a time when one age must fall so another may stand. The forest beginning anew, its life ever-lasting.

The "Other" Waves

2008-08-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

On a recent trip to Olympic National Park, my fiancee and I were exploring the Pacific coast and were drawn to the amount of driftwood on the beach at Kalaloch. As we strolled the rocky beach, stepping over tidal streams and crossing pools on fallen trees, we were struck by all of the storm-lashed and wind blown logs that were weathered down and smooth to the touch. Some you could hold in the palm of your hand, others were the size of full grown trees. All products of nature's power and grace.

I drew in close for this abstract shot of the grain to capture the flow of the wood. The swirling and whirling of the different colors is reminiscent of the ocean cresting and breaking behind me. I was lost in the forms and textures of the wood and barely had time to come up for air. The Pacific Northwest is nature's gallery of the majestic and magnificent; this picture offers only a glimpse.

Blue Hues of Pan's Playground

2008-02-05T15:25:00.000-08:00

Last August on a trip to Pennsylvania's "Grand Canyon" aka Pine Creek Gorge, I decided to experiment a little with my Nikon D70. By setting the white balance for incandescent light (color corrected for yellowish red sources) in a natural light environment (blue cast of daylight), I achieved this distorted color effect in an otherwise typical forest scene. The standard earthy greens and golds are replaced by the much cooler blues of the shade. The bright color of the leaves in the top right foreground draw our eye deep in to the background where we discover the bright, almost washed out sun filtering in through the canopy. The soft, subtle hues of the rocks in the foreground provide a relaxing point upon which to rest our gaze on an otherwise hot summer day. The altered color effect increases the amount of contrast between the foreground shadows and the background highlights helping the scene to "pop." This altered state lends a certain enchanted feeling to the overall mood of the photograph; leaving the observer to feel that perhaps they just missed the gathering of satyrs, nymphs and pixies who departed a moment before their arrival. Only the soft, gurgling babble of the stream offers any evidence reminiscent of Pan's flute.

"Forgotten Collection"

2008-01-20T16:15:00.000-08:00

While on a trip to New York's Finger Lakes region over the New Year's holidays, I heard about a local oddity. A derelict farm that played home to a mountainous collection of one man's obsession: a lifetime's worth of scavenging everyone else's unwanted detritus. Three barns, a house, and everywhere in between was littered with junk. Vaccuum cleaners, televsion sets, sleighs, toys, magazines and even a full size caboose, served as a reminder of one man's life spent hoarding and absconding the debris of other's lives. Thoroughly horrified, yet terribly curious, I found it impossible to look away from this forgotten collection of dreams and manias.

"Winter Residents"

2008-01-20T15:53:00.000-08:00

On a recent day hike along the Appalachian Trail north of Clarks Ferry, PA, I photographed these icicles on their precarious branchy home. I'm drawn to this scene because as the branch leads the viewer's eye to the back, it is halted by the collection of icy inverted spires holding the viewer's attention in the center of the frame. While aware of the background confluence of the many, overlapping tree branches, they do not fully attract our attention since they remain out of focus. The contrast between the dark branches throughout the frame, sandwiched between the overexposed sky in the background and the light fingers of ice in the foreground adds depth to this otherwise bleak day. Even now, as I look at this photo I can feel the cold blast of January's unforgiving breath cross the back of my neck.

First Post on the new blog!

2007-11-19T15:39:00.000-08:00

Wow, so this is where it all begins! I swore up and down I would never do a blog, but as it turns out, I have something interesting to share with the world after all! As I go out and expand my body of work, I'll post new photos and thoughts. Once things settle down a bit, I plan on showing my Appalachian Trail portfolio somewhere (Harrisburg? Philadelphia? Lansdale?). I would like to follow that with an abstract show. I'll update as frequently as I can and will keep this page interesting. It'll also be a starting point to other avenues of interest and exciting events that I come across.