ku # 483 ~ incredible # 2

Birch and erratic in the forest • click to embiggenWhat with a trip to Montreal, my work load and grand jury duty (a 3 month term, but only 12-14 days of actual jury-ing), I haven't had much time to think about things photography. However, as I stated in ku # 480, my intent was to return to the boulder field in the woods, and I have managed to do so, ever so briefly.

And it was on ku # 480 that James stated, "... I know it's not always as fashionable to appreciate strictly "natural" shots here...".

I did take note of this and have intented to respond so here goes - in the beginning, The Landscapist was almost all about strictly "natural" shots, although, truth be told, certainly not your average camera-club nature shots. Over time, my gaze has drifted more towards the 'social' landscape, but I still picture the strictly natural world with as great passion as I ever have, even if sometimes the strictly natural world is 'just' a stage or backdrop to some human 'intervention'.

That said, it is my hope that "strictly" natural shots will always be presented - by me and others - and appreciated here on The Landscapist.

Comments

[James]

Mark...I noticed that about your work (how it began with strictly "natural" shots), as I have spent some time enjoying your portfolio and return to it often.

What is different for me about your more "natural" picturing is the feeling I get that you are exploring aspects of the forest, especially recently, that are not easily captured...and explore this region in ways that others tend to overlook. Or maybe what I am trying to say is, these are in no way "typical" of what I have come to expect from "nature photography" in this region.

These boulder shots tell a story about a unique forest and its history that is not easily captured. They are not "grand scenic" or "marcos", which sort of allow you to cheat a bit and wow your viewer with their scope, hiding the dead branches and dying trees...but rather intimate and real the way you would experience them stumbling through the Adirondack forest. It engages you in an entirely unique way.

This is not to say that I don't enjoy the "urban kus" as well, I just find these particular shots haunting and beautiful in the very real way they define this region's hidden natural history...and natural "grit", for lack of a better term.