environment – Quiet Light Publishing Blog

Last week I had the pleasure of working in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore with George Elder as part of our Great Lakes Project The Sweetwater Seas a documentary on all five of the Great Lakes and their beauty and environmental issues and how we use these lakes.

We went to Sleeping Bear because it is not one of the most beautiful places on the Great Lakes it is one of two dunes which lay on bedrock so they have become tall and do not naturally sink back into the lakes. The other is the Au Sable Dunes on Lake Superior. We also went to shoot the story about of the US Fish & Wildlife and National Park Service has worked together to bring the Piping Plover back from near extinction to a growing group of birds. These tiny shorebirds nest right on the beach and continue to come back to the same areas they were born in. At one time they were down to about 7 pairs and are currently up to around 70 pairs. We were fortunate to have Vince Cavalieri and Sue Jennings worked with us. While we thought we might be able to see some parents sitting on their eggs they had all hatched the few days before we got there. But we were able to photograph and videotape hatchlings only a few days old along with their parents running along the beach. They are quick little birds so it took a lot to keep them in the frame! Especially as I was using a Canon 500mm lens, sometimes with a 2x convertor to make it 1000mm!

The dunes themselves gave us a look at the beauty found in Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. Sunsets along the north shore of Michigan were stunning with clouds and fog giving us stunning views and clouds to capture on film and a background to show how people enjoy these places. Above is the confluence of the Platte River and Lake Michigan where the waves meet the current of the river.

To see more of the still images I shot you can use this link: www.mackphoto.com/BlogImages/SleepingBear Fine Art Prints will be available soon in the Quiet Light Publishing shop!

Cheers,

Richard

In celebration of Earth Day 2009 I am posting this photo from my upcoming book on Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This image was taken last November at Newfound Gap. This was an unusual day, in that it was crystal clear. The mountains in the background showed sharp edges – not just the fuzzy outline as most often seen. On this day the air was particularly clean because of the weather patterns. Most of the time there is a haze and visibility is limited. Often the mountains at the far side are not visible. Smog from the cities of Knoxville, Chattanooga and Atlanta to name a few tend to drift eastward and affect the air quality in the Smokies. So this earth day as we celebrate our earth we can be a bit more optimistic – maybe – because more and more cars are alternative fuels, natural gas and electric vehicles seem to be on the horizon (ever wonder why most cars in Argentina are LP Gas yet not here? Me too). We, as a country, are finally focusing our attention back on our natural environment as part of our national goals. And for this we can be thankful. But now comes the time we must all take part in that effort, by using our resources wisely, conserving energy, recycling better and all of the other things we can do as individuals which will collectively make a difference.

But it is not just air and water quality, there are many environmental issues. Another one in the Smokies is the Wooly Adelgid a beetle which has devoured the Douglas Firs on the tops of many mountains, most notably Clingman’s Dome. A few years ago it seemed every tree on the top of the mountain had succumbed to this beetle. Now some younger trees are growing once again, but they too will become victims of this beetle if we can not find a way to control or eradicate it at some point.

So, let’s celebrate our environment on this day, and once again pledge ourselves to making this physical world a better place, through our individual actions, which collectively do amount to big changes.

Happy Earth Day!

Richard

To see inside my new book Great Smoky Mountain National Park: Thirty Years of American Landscapes click here. See Inside the Book

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Category: environment

The Sweetwater Seas – Sleeping Bear Dunes

Celebrating Earth Day