G. Steve Journal

Satisfied

I was out yesterday afternoon for about three hours, hiking up the east side of the Shawangunk Escarpment along one of the new access points available since NY state purchased the land from developers some years ago -- thank you NY state!

The afternoon was warm and breezy, the colors at their peak and, though I enjoyed my stroll immensely,  I was not captivated by any particular scene and made only one photograph -- this one just before I arrived back at my car.

I glanced up to see a tree in peak yellow foliage with leaves fluttering in the wind and decided to leave the shutter open to capture a more impressionistic effect. To my mind, I succeeded in achieving the effect I'd envisioned.

I've been telling visitors to the gallery that because I've spent so much time on the Ridge recording what I've seen, I no longer feel as compelled to photograph similar views.  My response to the scene here is a reflection of my search to now portray the beauty of the natural world in alternative ways.

I came across a quote of photographer Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879) that eloquently sums up how I feel about my images thus far of the Shawangunk Ridge: "I longed to arrest all beauty that came before me, and at length the longing has been satisfied."

Skytop

 

I'd like to share with you another image from a recent photo outing, taken just below the Skytop monument, our area's most iconic feature and, for me, a psychic pivot point around which I seem to be drawn, not unlike a moth to a flame.

There is a school of painting in Japan that includes their Mt. Fuji in any painting – that seems to be the way I feel about Skytop, even though it is a manmade feature of the landscape (a stone tower constructed to memorialize the passing of one of the Smiley twin brothers, founders of the spectacular Mohonk Mountain House) and even though it is not actually in every photograph I make of the area.

I was hiking with a friend when we came across this scene of trees in peak autumn foliage growing among the talus boulders that one finds at the base of the cliffs.  I was struck, as always, by the way that life seems to find purchase, and even thrive,  in what would appear an inhospitable spot. To my mind,  part of the beauty in this image is the juxtaposition of the geometric and unyielding blocks of Shawangunk conglomerate populated by the graceful forms of the trees.

At the end of our trek, we arrived at the base of Skytop where my hiking companion made this photo of me in the waning light of the day.

 

Autumn

 

 

I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon photographing the fall foliage with Jo-Ann and Anthony Campagiorni on Sunday.  They were kind enough to bid on an outing with me in order to raise funds for St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital.

We had a perfect day - sunny, warm and the foliage at or close to peak color.  We talked about a lot of photographic concepts and I had decided prior to our meeting that I wanted to leave them with a few "take-home points."

First one: "what are you trying to say?"  The challenge of photography, and really of any creative endeavor, is to distill a personal experience into an evocative (or provocative) final product using the medium you've chosen.  Will the image you've framed in your viewfinder deliver that experience to the viewer? 

Second tip: for the optimal color, photograph the fall foliage with the light behind the leaves in order to achieve a glowing backlight effect.

And, finally, pay close attention to the edges and corners of the frame.  This is where I find it very helpful to use a tripod - it's easier to examine closely how I've framed an image and then make subtle but telling adjustments.