civilized ku # 567-72 ~ more golf in the kingdom

from the 13th tee ~ Lake Placid Resort GC ... in the Adirondack PARK, Lake Placid, NY • click to embiggen
on the 14th green ~ Lake Placid Resort GC ... in the Adirondack PARK, Lake Placid, NY • click to embiggen
on the 15th fairway ~ Lake Placid Resort GC ... in the Adirondack PARK, Lake Placid, NY • click to embiggen
on the 16th tee ~ Lake Placid Resort GC ... in the Adirondack PARK, Lake Placid, NY • click to embiggen
15th fairway from the 16th tee ~ Lake Placid Resort GC ... in the Adirondack PARK, Lake Placid, NY • click to embiggen
on the 16th green ~ Lake Placid Resort GC ... in the Adirondack PARK, Lake Placid, NY • click to embiggen
Yesterday, despite 94F degree heat and high humidity, I stepped onto the 1st tee (at 5:15PM) at my home course in Lake Placid hoping to give my rebooted heart a good test. The first thing that I noticed was that I had the entire course to myself - apparently those of more sound mind and body had decided it was just too damn hot.

In any event, as I made the turn from the back end of the course back towards the west, the sky / light began to get rather interesting. That said, as many of you know I am not of the chase-the-light persuasion, picture making wise, but, nevertheless it was becoming very obvious that I was encountering an f8-and-be-there picturing opportunity. And, sure enough, as I continued on my golfing way, the light got very pleasant indeed.

FYI, the pictures are presented in the order in which they were made. All of pictures, with the exception of 15th fairway from the 16th tee, were made looking toward the west/north west. The 15th fairway from the 16th tee picture is looking back toward the east.

In my experience, there are many interesting pictures to be made, quality of light wise, by picturing the landscape and/or any other scene that is 180 degrees opposite from the sunset.

In this case, the line of trees and grasses were illuminated by the diffuse warm light of the setting sun. The fairway in the foreground was blocked from that light by a line of trees behind me resulting in a rather dramatic / interesting contrast of colors.

civilized ku # 564-66 ~ the 500 yard rule

Front yard with trellis ~ Indian Lake, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
New door / old house ~ Blue Mt. Lake Lake, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream ~ Blue Mt. Lake Lake, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen

Somewhat tongue-in-cheek - at least, I assume so - it has been opined that ...

Anything more than 500 yards from the car just isn't photogenic. ~ Brett Weston

It has also been stated by Carl Weese - on civilized ku # 557-59:

Mark, you live in a fascinating area. I've been up there several times in recent years. My initial intention was to work "in the woods" with big cameras to make negatives for platinum printing [as here] but found myself drawn away to do color digital capture in the towns and the active farms north of the park itself ...

It is in fact quite true that I live in a fascinating area. And, like Carl, my initial picturing activity (both before and since moving here) was devoted almost exclusively to making pictures of the natural world, "pure" division. However, what I have come to more fully appreciate, fascinating-wise, about the Adirondack PARK is the unique integration of humankind (and their artifacts) with the forever wild natural landscape.

Consequently and subsequently, over time, my picturing activity has evolved from "pure' landscape pictures to include more "inclusive" pictures that illustrate the presence of humankind in the landscape. Other than the stylized and romanticized pictures of historic and/or rustic edifices and structures, as a picture making genre all of the other signs of the hand of humankind have been mostly overlooked and/or ignored.

Unlike the early so-called local/regional Adirondack Postcard picture makers, who made pictures that (intentionally or not) "explored regional identity, occupations, change, popular culture, transformation of the landscape, and photographic representation of the wilderness", today's pretty-picture crowd eschews such rich and diversified picturing opportunities in favor of the ever-repeating nature/eco-porn ouevre of ain't nature grand.

That said, one of the fascinating and amazing things about where I live is, in fact, how many photogenic subjects there are that are all within 500 yards from my car.

civilized ku # 563 / ku # 722-24 ~ wild & styled

First green ~ Inlet GC - Inlet, NY in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
Cedar River GC ~ Indian Lake, NY - in the Adironack PARK • click to embiggenAs part of the recent oh-boy-my-heart-is-working tour, the wife and I played golf on 2 distinctly different golf courses located in the central Adirondacks - the wild and scruffy Cedar River GC near the village of Indian Lake and the beautifully landscaped and conditioned Inlet GC near the village of Inlet.

Golf at the Inlet GC was like a walk a park. Golf at the Cedar River GC was like a walk in the PARK.

picture window # 49 / civilized ku # 562 ~ 4th Lake

Woods Inn ~ on 4th Lake - Inlet, NY on the Fulton Chain Lakes • click to embiggenThe view from the dining porch at the Woods Inn in Inlet, NY.

civilized ku # 561 ~ the 4th

4th of July ~ on Mirror Lake in Lake Placid - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggenHugo and I paddling about while waiting for the fireworks in Lake Placid - it's turned into a bit of a tradition for Hugo, the wife, and me to watch the fireworks (lit off from the shore of Mirror Lake) from canoes that we place front and center just off the shoreline.

FYI, picture by the wife.

civilized ku # 560 ~ oh-boy-my-heart-is-working

Change in the weather - view from a restaurant ~ Plattsburgh, NY • click to embiggenIn case you're wondering, I didn't die during my heart procedure. In fact, it was a "textbook" cardioversion - my heart returned to a normal beat after the first shock was administered. Hooray!

The procedure took much longer than normal - killing most of the day - due to the fact that my cardiologist got caught up in the installation of a pacemaker (on another patient) and I had to lay around for a couple hours wired up like a modern-day Frankenstein waiting for him to show up.

In any event, I didn't post an entry yesterday because I had to make an early AM run over to Saranac Lake to pick up The Cinemascapist's dog (dog sitting while he, his the-wife, and Hugo are away). The day was so perfect that I decided to play a round of golf at a rather distant course. It was an oh-boy-my-heart-is-working celebration of sorts that killed the whole day.

That said, I am back in the blog saddle and working on the previously promised entry, although, holiday weekend and all, it'll have to be worked on during in between a vigorous oh-boy-my-heart-is-working bike ride and an oh-boy-my-heart-is-working over night trip with the wife (oh-boy-his-heart-is-working) to the central Adirondacks for an oh-boy-my-heart-is-working round of golf and some picturing.