Thursday, October 22, 2009

Day five, Maine...


It is hard to find words for Acadia National Park. "Acadia" means 'heaven on earth,' and this place is aptly named. Everywhere I looked in Acadia, I saw tapestries. On the rest of the trip I saw paintings, but I wanted to weave Acadia. The shot above is one of many that I took of reflections. (By the way, some of these photos need to be enlarged to appreciate them at their best. Just click on them to see them bigger.)




I also took a lot of seagull and cormorant shots in Acadia. (Thanks for the inspiration, Jamie Wyeth!)



And, speaking of Jamie Wyeth, I am just positive that this is the same view of the Bass Harbor lighthouse that he painted several times. His paintings have iris in the foreground.


As we left Mt. Desert Island, we saw this place, and had to take photos of all the colorful bouys. It seemed to bring me back to the 'real world,' as I don't see this as a tapestry. Or do I?

When we got back to Camden we went around trying to get some night photos. None of us were very successful, so I intend to study up on how to do that well. My seafood for the day was shrimp fajitas.

Back at the cabin, I told the others how I had gotten up in the night the night before and had seen the Big Dipper resting on the 'mountain' on the other side of the lake. So we went out in the cold night air to see if it was there yet. Not only was it there, but it was perfectly reflected in the still lake! Absolutely stunning! We tried to get photos of it, but to no avail. There were no other visible stars in that part of the sky or in the lake. Just the Dipper. Below is a "simulated" image of what we saw - totally PhotoShopped from a lake photo I took at another time. It doesn't capture the magic of the real thing, but will serve as a reminder to me of how lovely it was. And what a visual gift to us!

6 comments:

Jennifer said...

I agree in seeing the tapestries in these! I first gasp "Wow" at the sky reflected in the pond with the leaves. I did enjoy the ferns and the big dipper in the lake was wonderful!!! Good for you to make it happen anyway!

Theresa said...

Acadia is probably one of the most beautiful parks
in the nation, and you have seen it at such a perfect time. Those pictures take my breath away with their quiet reflective beauty. I can only imagine what a tapestry that first photo would make. Each days photo assortment is almost better than the day before. I almost wish you had stayed a couple more weeks just so I could feast on your photos for a while yet. ;-)

Brenda said...

Oh MY! I am so very very jealous! What a BEAUTIFUL place! I can see why you chose it as a place to fill up on inspiration!

I think it's things like that I miss the most from when I lived in Vancouver. Everyday was visually inspirational. Here its 3 months of the year brown and dry looking, 2 months of browner, drier, and deader looking and 6 months of snow to my waist (which is actually kind of pretty, I just don't want to go out in it!)

I would love to see the images of Acadia in tapestry, I look forward to seeing how you capture that quality of light, and the reflective water! :)

By the way, thank you for your suggestions regarding the bra display and the embroidery. I don't knit, but I do crochet, and may be able to adapt the pattern on the link, and yes, I intend to do the stitches again, for a sample book. I will post pictures! Thank you!

Owlfarmer said...

PhotoShop is finally forgiven: you've discovered what it's really for! I've often wondered what one could do (aside from painting a remembered view) when photography lets us down as a medium for visually recording memory, and your re-creation of the big-dipper-in-the-lake moment is sterling. Thanks for the inspiration.

Sherri Woodard Coffey said...

Re the seagulls: We saw Jamie Wyeth's exhibit at Brandywine Museum last month. It is called "Seven Deadly Sins" with seagulls demonstrating the sins. The docent was Victoria Wyeth, granddaughter of Andrew. I will never see sea gulls in the same uninteresting way again. Victoria is a very vivacious, knowledgeable presenter.

Your pictures are gorgeous! Love the Maine tour.

K Spoering said...

Sheri, I'm so jealous! We only saw a couple of Jamie Wyeth's Seven Deadly Sins, but also saw some of his other work.

I keep thinking about the Acadia photos as tapestry, too, but wonder if I want to make myself that crazy! Before I get that far, though, I have to get the one off the loom and deal with a large commission.

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