Lynn Amber - Travel & Photography
sharing my thoughts through words and images
Photo Challenge: Acadia: May 19
Since ancient times, people have bestowed names on each full moon of the year. Different cultures had unique labels for the full moons – usually designated by characteristics of the particular month in which each occurs. The descriptive tags often refer to the tasks carried out by those who lived off the land including – planting of crops, important flowering/fruiting plants, or harvest time. May’s full moon is called the “Flower Moon” as a tribute to all the flowering plants that we enjoy during this month. You remember that age old saying – “April showers bring May flowers.” I read where this nomenclature may have been sparked by all the lupines that bloom during this month in North America. Well, they are not yet blooming here in Downeast Maine although their leaves are stretching skyward.
While perusing the internet, I was confused when I saw reference to this moon as the “Blue Moon.” Isn’t that when there are two full moons within one month. And, this had not occurred in the month of May. Time to do some research. It turns out that when there are 4 full moons within a “season” – the third one is called a “blue moon.” Hence, the reason why there have been so many references to this month’s moon as the “Blue Moon.” Personally, I prefer “Flower Moon.” 🙂
Photo Challenge: Acadia: May 18
I’m obsessed with Amelanchier right now – sorry! It was a beautiful, sunny day and I was pumped to do a hike up Gorham Mountain to see if the Serviceberry were blooming yet. I was rewarded immensely for my efforts. The Amelanchier laevis was putting on a spectacular display along the trail. I seemed to be the only hiker who stopped and admired its delicate flowers – or maybe I’ve just been starved for some spring blossoms! Just in case you are in doubt that I was indeed on Gorham Mountain – I’ve included a shot below of the coastline in the background 🙂
Photo Challenge: Acadia: May 17
This photograph captures the essence of what our weather has been like over the past several weeks! DRIPPY! I’ve been anxiously awaiting the first sign of flowers on the Amelanchier laevis that grows throughout Acadia National Park. Finally, the first of the Serviceberry blossoms are making their dainty appearance! I love that the white flowers emerge in conjunction with the red-tinted new leaves. The effect is stunning 🙂
Photo Challenge: Acadia: May 16
A sunny day always brightens the spirit and brings forth an inner vitality often suppressed by extended gloomy, overcast sky’s. We have certainly had our share of inclement weather over the past couple of weeks!
The cloud cover increased somewhat this evening, however, the setting sun still entertained us with a colorful display – albeit somewhat subdued. The winds were calm along the coast making my foray to the rocks doubly pleasant this evening. I enjoyed the quiet and solitude of the moment. I find it always worthwhile to force myself to venture outdoors after dinner and enjoy the company of mother nature – even though the prospect of staying put and curling up with a book or movie often competes for my attention! 🙂
Photo Challenge: Acadia: May 14
Today was cold and rainy with temperatures that just chill you to the bone. I had a long, long day of work and training sessions. For my photo today, I chose to once again review some of my photographs from last year – as I anticipate what will be coming into bloom in the coming weeks. It’s been a great exercise to look over last years spring photos as it reminds me what to look for in both the native and public garden environments on the island for the rest of the month.
The above shot was taken at Asticou Azalea Garden and is a beautiful peony that I stumbled upon last year. When I downloaded this photograph last year, I realized that the one flower was somewhat obscured by a bud that was hovering in the foreground. But, I still love the photograph. The rest of the flowers and the petals are in good focus and capture the essence of this delicate flower. I plan on photographing this same plant this year – and hopefully do a much better job of composing the picture! 😉
Photo Challenge: Acadia: May 13
Sunset this evening was fairly unremarkable. I had committed to getting down to the coast after work tonight with my camera and tripod and I was not to be deterred. While the sunset was not as colorful as I would have liked, the tide was coming in and the waves were pounding onto the shoreline. I thought I’d experiment with capturing some water shots using the slow shutter speed. The stationary objects are not as in focus as I would have liked them to be. The camera’s timer was not appropriate to utilize as I wanted to control the precise moment I released the shutter. And, I do not as yet own a cable release or some other remote shutter release method. So, I got a little camera shake, I suspect 😉
I still like the effect and will experiment with perfecting this type of shot over the course of the summer. It’s a start!
Photo Challenge: Acadia: May 12
May flowers tease me
With their brilliant display,
I hunger for more.
—- Lynn Thomas Amber
Strolling through the campground late this afternoon, I came upon this rhododendron blooming in the amphitheater along the woods edge. What a surprise! Guessing this is a Korean Rhododendron – so how did it end up in the park campground?! It was a bright spot in an otherwise dark and dormant forest.
Photo Challenge: Acadia: May 11
I spend a lot of time walking around the natural areas incorporated within the Land and Garden Preserve here on Mount Desert Island. Adjacent to Acadia National Park, the preserve is a quiet place with rustic hiking trails and carriage roads that offer views of Little Long Pond and some of Acadia’s mountain peaks. It was my home away from home last summer. Late afternoon today was my first chance to stop in and stroll around the lake. The willows were blooming along with some very small herbaceous plants in the meadow, such as Bluets (Houstonia caerulea) and Pussytoes (Antennaria).
Photo Challenge: Vermont: May 10
It’s been a steady and sometimes heavy rain here in Acadia all day – low 40’s and wet! No chance to get out and take pictures today. I looked through my computer files for any photographs I’ve taken on May 10 and found this one from last year. I have these little spring bulbs blooming in my garden in Vermont each year. Last year, they were particularly showy 🙂 I wonder what they look like today??
Tomorrow I will be visiting Little Long Pond after work. Should be good weather for capturing that evening light. I understand there are loons nesting on Little Long Pond right now. Can’t wait to see them.
Photo Challenge: Acadia: May 9
Since I still do not have water available at my campsite for the season, I was forced to fill a 6-gallon water container several times after work today and fill by hand. After completing this task, it was going on 7:15 pm and I still had not eaten dinner. I was not up for any evening hiking without dinner first – and while filling up my fresh water tank could hear the evening chatter of nearby birds. I decided to just sit quietly with my Canon camera with the telephoto lens and see if I could capture one of the birds I was hearing. While I did manage a couple of photos of a dark-eyed junco ground feeding around my campsite, I cannot say they are really worthy of my photo challenge. So, I pulled a photo from last year to share 🙂 It’s kind of relevant since I did a hike along Bubble Pond a couple of days ago. I remembered this photograph from last year – it was a misty, foggy early June day and the bright green of the new foliage was just popping out in this filtered light.
The same day that I took the Bubble Pond photo above, I discovered a drift of lupines blooming along the Park Loop Road. Again, the raindrops and mist provided some interesting texture.
I thought I’d at least include one of my Dark-eyed Junco photos from this evening just because these little fellows are so cute.
Lynn Amber - Travel & Photography 