Monthly Archives: October 2012

Dual Bridge Scouting

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Tom, Marguerite, and I decided to scout two bridges in one afternoon. We wanted to see Deer Brook Bridge and Chasm Brook Bridge. There’s no safe approach for either of these bridges with snow on the ground. We need to fit them into the rotation before the snow falls.  We’re saving easy drive-up and shoot bridges (Eagle Lake, Jordan Pond Road, Duck Brook and even Stanley Brook) for the snow.

The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed our hike and bridge scouting. We all took plenty of photos too. There was a heavy rainfall over the past couple of days, giving us opportunities to shoot waterfalls. After 1.2 miles we arrived at Deer Brook Bridge and I determined the best position for the camera. I must haven taken 30 shots and about 5 different angles / locations.  I finally settled on what I think captures the unique features of this bridge. I left thinking we’re gonna need lots of folks – this will be the first attempt at shooting a double arched bridge. I hope we can hide the people and light the underside of both arches.

We continued on to Chasm Brook Bridge as Tom announced, “It’s about the same distance we’ve already hiked.”  Basically, we were halfway there. So another 1.2 miles and more stops to take pictures along the way. When we arrived, both Tom and I hiked up to the waterfalls and snapped a few shots. Here’s the one I took.

The first place my tripod landed to shoot the bridge was the location to capture the image.  Snapped a couple of shots, showed Tom and packed up to head home. It was about six hours from start to finish – boy, I’m a slow walker. On a personal note, I came up with a new configuration for holding my camera and tripod in my backpack. It’s a more efficient way to pack and unpack the gear. I was considering a new backpack – for now, I’ll give this a try and see how it works out.

Hadlock Brook Bridge Light Painting

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The project is at the halfway point! Eight bridges and one gatehouse to complete the project. I’m hopeful for continued good weather and community support, both are essential for the April deadline. This project has turned me into a part-time weather bug meteorologist, watching the doppler radar to determine if it will be raining 2 hours before the shoot. As it turned out the rain had mostly passed by the time the shoot was scheduled. Basically it was soggy and foggy, which made for a great little waterfall under the bridge. The riverbed was completely dry two weeks earlier when we did the scouting trip.

Here’s the pre shot.

Hadlock Brook Bridge

There was a fantastic turnout for our first Saturday afternoon, given the soggy, foggy weather with 19 light painters including 6 new folks. Tom rode his bike with an attached wagon carrying the treats and extra flashlights. I was trying to capture the environment surrounding the bridge, so there were lots of light painters in the forest lighting trees and some lighting the waterfall too. After a few tweaks to compensate for different lights and the fog diffusing the light, here’s the final image we were able to create.

 

Hadlock Brook Bridge Light Painting Acadia National Park

The light painters with some fog in the shot.

Hadlock Brook Bridge light painting acadia national park

We all enjoyed Brenda’s raspberry thumbprint cookies, my special request. And boy did those cookies go fast – no extra to take home. Matt was the second name drawn and won the raffle of Jordan Pond Gatehouse print, the first person drawn wasn’t there this time.

Jordan Pond Gatehouse Painting

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We were invited by Linda and Alex to light paint the Jordan Pond Gatehouse. Wow, 32 people participated, a record number of participants attending a painting event. We asked folks to spread the word and they did. A BIG thank you to the 17 first time light painters; we really needed you. And we owe a huge debt of gratitude to Linda and Alex for inviting us to their home, the gatehouse. I am truly amazed by the positive community response to this project. Three months ago, I would have never thought 31 other people would have joined me on a rainy Wednesday evening to shine their flashlights on the gatehouse. But they did; it’s a lot of fun and everyone shares in the success of the final image.

The pre-shot.

The set up went smoothly and we started shooting the gatehouse. As the first image appeared on my computer, I was struck by how bright one area was. It turned out Carol purchased a new flashlight that is incredibly bright. I thought I had bright flashlight! Let’s just say I can’t hold a light to Carol’s. After some rearranging of lights and folks, we were able to capture this image. The blue light of twilight really came through in the shot, even though the skies were gray and rainy.

 

Jordan Pond Gatehouse Light Painting Acadia National Park

The group shot in the breezeway.

Brenda outdid herself by baking two treats, a double batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies (my request) and Oh Henry Bars. Folks enjoyed them, there were no cookies left and only a couple of Oh Henry Bars. Jeannine won the raffle of the Cliffside Bridge print and Cort won the raffle of the Bubble Pond Bridge print.

With all the interest and participation of new folks, we’re looking forward to our next painting: Hadlock Brook Bridge scheduled on Saturday, October 20. We’re changing to Saturdays for the fall and winter because of the earlier sunset times.