Cleveland Botanical Garden Fall Workshop

Leaf drop at CBG

It's always a pleasure to teach at Cleveland Botanical Garden. This fall was no exception as colors the weekend of my workshop were peaking. I had a great group, very eager to try new things. And this year it wasn't raining. That's a first!

Afterwards I was able to take a special friend, who had never visited Cleveland, on a tour of the place. I was very proud as everything about CBG looked perfect on that day.

If you've never been to CBG you should really check into it. This is the type of place that many cities just don't have. Another jewel in Cleveland's crown.

An Awesome Retreat Experience

Some tamaracks near Raquette Lake

Words don't adequately express the depth of experience I felt during this past week's Nature of Possibility retreat. Afterward Mark Bowie and I were both exhausted by the hard work but so positively energized. I can say without exaggeration that we've never had a better group to work with at any of the API events. Everyone was so talented, open-minded and willing to share. This was one of those times that makes me so proud of what the Institute has accomplished, and excited to see just how far we can go.

The best part was that Mark and I were participants, instead of just leaders and instructors as we are in the standard workshops. It was really fun to be out there every morning shooting with everyone, and making prints in the afternoon to hang on our Wall of Expression.



The retreat gang and our Wall of Expression








This has turned out to be a transitional year for me. I really didn't do a lot of shooting in the Adirondacks this summer/fall. At least not as much as I usually do. It's been all about waiting patiently for my next move to make itself apparent, but there's no better place to do that than up here.

I wrote this piece as my final essay of the retreat. The retreat was ending. The leaves are falling. Everything is in transition. I am in transition. Cycles end and will begin again.

Beauty at the End

The largest tree cries tiny raindrops
While the loon lays bare its despair on the darkness.
The wind moans of regret in the ancient tongue
Of a long forgotten land.

Ours is a shared loneliness
Staggering in its depth
As the wellspring.

I know you.
I don’t know me
Although there are clues I guess.
And while yours shines indifferently
Mine remains alone and locked away.

Life rains down.
There is memory in the song.
The howl washes all away.

Finally A Real Fall Day

It's been windy and/or raining seemingly forever up here. Today was the first of what I would call a typical fall day in the Adirondacks. As the shooting conditions have been subpar for a long time, I was really excited to get up this morning and head out into the field.

The colors are pretty conspicuous now, and I've always wanted to spend some time working with the areas of the highway that were blasted out of rock way back when. There's some really interesting patterns in the rock, and usually some interesting little trees, bushes and that sort of thing that get really pretty in the fall. This spot reminds of the face of an old waterfall, for some reason.

I wanted an ethereal look, so an image overlay (Nikon users may enter here!) seemed appropriate.

Can't wait to see what it's like out there tomorrow...

One To Remember

Day 3 of my fall shoot-out. I could tell when I stepped outside that conditions were potentially great for shooting over open water. I was expecting frost this morning, as that was the forecast as of last night. But the low temps never materialized because of the cloud cover. (To an Adirondacker 41 deg. isn't a low temp!) There was some high altitude cloud cover, with quite a number of openings. I passed on my previous plans and decided to go find some inspiration at Raquette Lake.

A Raquette Lake Morning

There was about a 15 minute window of rapidly changing conditions. I've never seen things change that quickly and drastically over such a short period of time. I missed numerous opportunities because of it, but I am very pleased with the few shots I pulled off. Raquette never stops calling me, and never stops amazing me.

The photo above was a gift to me. I share it here as a gift to someone special. You know who you are...

Starting My Photo Fall

This is the time of year that I eagerly await. The mornings are much cooler than even two weeks ago. The tourists are gone for the most part. Bugs are a distant memory. And the fall colors are starting to show themselves.

Eighth Lake Morning

I started my annual photo fall this morning at Eighth Lake, which I have rarely photographed in the past. I don't usually frequent the state campgrounds, because there's just too much activity for the type of shooting that I like to do, but I figured I'd give it a try.

It looked to me like there would be heavy fog to start things off, but this changed very quickly with the arrival of a small front. What I eventually got was a spectacular cloud display over a very still Eighth Lake. A great way to start my shooting this season!

All the while a middle-aged man and his father worked on the shore to get their boat ready for a morning of fishing. It seemed like it took then an awfully long time to finally get going, but then I realized that it wasn't about the fishing. At that moment I realized that I'd gladly leave all my camera gear on the shore and walk away if I could have another opportunity to go fishing with my Dad.

Taking The Show On The Road - Adirondack Cafe

Me & Felicity at Adirondack Cafe

I just got done hanging most of my Natural Resonance pieces at Adirondack Cafe. Thanks to Felicity, the proprietor, for suggesting this idea to me. The prints will be up thru Columbus Day. Somewhere in there we hope to have a little meet & greet, so stay tuned.

Adirondack Cafe is right next door to the T.O.W. Bar on Main St. in Old Forge. While you're there, I suggest trying the Blackened Chicken with Bacon, Brie & Herbed Red Peppers on a Roll. Amazing...

I'm In Adirondack Life This Month

Fresh off the press...

If you haven't yet, pick up a copy of the September/October issue of Adirondack Life magazine. Beginning on page 34 you will find a sampling of my new work under the title "Totally Radigan: A new twist on nature photography".

I'm excited that the magazine was open-minded about the possibility of publishing work that is outside the realm of traditional landscape photography. I thank them for the nice layout and thoughtful text!