My trip to Maine is turning out to be exactly what I needed. Honestly, I am not looking forward to going back to Philly. I am enjoying this nice quiet life for a change. Maybe it just means that I’m getting old. Oh well.
A couple of months ago, I had reconnected with a friend who I had met 20 years ago. We were pen pals for quite a while (he lived in Montana and I in Pennsylvania) until we graduated high school. So we hadn’t spoken to each other for at least 16 years and hadn’t seen each other in 20. Well, as it so happens, he now lives in Boston and had a few days leave from work that happen to coincide with my time in Maine so he drove up here to hang out with me. We had a blast! Hiking, kayaking, laughing, conversation, drinks, good food, etc etc. It was easily one of the best times I’ve had all year. But he left this morning and I’m a bit bummed out about it. But nevertheless, I am very happy to have reconnected with my old friend.
One of the hikes that we did lead to some cool tidal pools. We found these little larvae like creatures in one of the pools that were no bigger than a few millimeters. They were in small clumps and a weird blue-gray color. You couldn’t really see the detail of them with the naked eye, but a macro lens makes all the difference in the world. This is exactly why I love macro photography so much! This photo was only cropped; no manipulation has been done. I didn’t know what these little guys were, but someone has ID’d them as an insect called seashore springtails (Anurida maritima)…adults, not juvenile. The are found throughout the world on rocky shores and tidal marshes and feed on dead marine animals, particularly mollusks and crustaceans. The retreat into the protection of rocky crevices or under weeds an hour before high tide, but spend most of their time floating on the water and scavenging nearby rocks for food.
I took a little hike around part of Eagle Lake on Wednesday. I got quite distracted along the way taking photos of the many little critters and awesome plants and other details. It was also my first hand at trying to do HD video with the 5DmkII. All that I can say is that I am in love with video!! I’ve shot about 50 videos so far, but I’d say that most of them are crap because I’m still learning. It’s incredibly different than shooting still photos…but incredibly different in a good way. And macro video!….Such an amazing thing to capture the behaviors of tiny organisms on video!! Hopefully I can figure out how to post them on here at some point to share. Anyway, for now, here are some shots from the Eagle Lake hike.
So I was selected to start shooting editorial photography for Getty Images and I am heading off to Istanbul, Turkey in November to start!
My first day consisted of some grocery shopping (complete with Maine Blueberry Jam), a hike around Jordan Pond, a little drive off the beaten path where I discovered some enormous houses, and an amazing dinner at a French Bistro in Bar Harbor.
I never had the chance to explore the ponds during my last visit to Acadia so visiting them was a top priority on this trip. The ponds were developed during the glacial period. They supply drinking water to the communities on Mt. Desert Island so no swimming is allowed. I’ve never seen such clean, clear water in a body of water in my entire life. It was so clear that it looked like there was no water there. Apparently visibility ranges from 45-60 feet. I decided to take the Jordan Pond Shore Trail, a 3.3 mile moderate hike around Jordan Pond. The walk around the pond exceeded my expectations. There were so many micro-ecosystems along the route.
A boardwalk hovered above one side of the pond to prevent damage to the ecosystem.
Twisty, rooty trees lined the path…
Wildflowers emerging from little crevices…
The area was dense with new life that was bursting out everywhere…
Sundew (my favorite carnivorous plant!)…
There were a couple of these little bog areas that were hidden in little inlets of the pond….
The sky was the most amazing shade of blue and provided for some interesting reflections on the water…
The awesome rocks that lined the shore with a view of the North and South Bubbles in the background (yeah those two that look like breasts)…
I needed to get out of Philadelphia for a while so I drove to Maine yesterday (left at 5am). I’m going to be spending a while on Mt. Desert Island doing lots of photography, hiking, biking, exploring, and relaxing. I really needed it. I’m renting a house just outside of Acadia National Park in Otter Creek. There’s a huge window that overlooks a field and the backyard. I’ll write more about that later. And photos of Maine to follow soon.
For now, here’s a shot of the George Washington Bridge in NYC at sunrise yesterday morning.
These gardens are located on both sides of the historical McIlvaine House here in Philadelphia.
