13 June 06: Gloucester -- Folly Cove and Halibut Point
13 June 06: Gloucester -- Folly Cove and Halibut Point
Visiting my friend Lee, who lives on
Folly
Cove in Gloucester.
Today I was trying to be photographic, aiming to do less tourist snaps
and more artistic photography, with awareness of composition,
contrast, stuff like that.
The view from Lee's front porch, looking pretty much due north at
Folly Cove and the coast of Maine in the distance.
This boat took off just after I took the above pictures.
The main quarry at Halibut Point state park. All the quarries are
more full of water than I've ever seen them, and many of the trails
are badly eroded and washed out, after the flooding rains of the last
couple weeks.
Views from the overlook at Halibut Point. The houses in the distance
looked very quaint in a New England way, and though they seemed pretty
close and clear to my eye, the camera doesn't bring out the detail the
way I would have wanted. Well, it's a fairly low res camera, compared
to what's out these days.
Looking down from the overlook, I noticed this cute little henge of
standing stones. We'll see this again later.
Gulls in flight. Again, they seemed pretty close and prominent when I
was looking with my own eyes, but the camera doesn't seem to emphasize
the gulls, some of these are like Where's Waldo for gannets.
The central lookout tower of the Halibut Point parkland, from the
overlook. I've heard you get great views from up there, but I've
never been. Gotta try that sometime.
Shots into the sun don't come out so well.
On the trail, granite blocks loom out of the undergrowth. There are
huge piles of massive granite blocks and scraps, from quarry days, and
also lots of small deep pools where small quarrying was done, now full
of booming bullfrogs and clunking lepoard frogs.
Remember the little henge we saw from above? Now we're right next to
it. That big pile of blocks in the background is the overlook, we
were looking down from the top of it.
Playing with lighting and view angles for the little henge. I have no
idea who built this thing, but it's clearly recent (wasn't here last
year when I came through). Looks like they had fun.
Trying to include some of the other stoneworks in this plaza, and get
some ocean in the background.
The shorefront is piles of slabs like this. Lots of fun to climb over
and hop around. Very surreal landscape.
Trying to catch waves breaking and frothing over this hodgepodge of
rock slabs. I don't think still photographs can really capture the
feel of the crash and flow, but I tried.
For Maxfield Parrish: gull on a rock.
Drill marks on granite blocks. This is how to quarry granite, by
drilling rows of holes in it and sticking something in the holes. Old
days, it was wood wedges, then soak with water and the wood swells,
cracking the granite open. These days they use TNT, apparently.
Bluets on granite. I like the contrast.
Staple portraits. You find a lot of these huge steel staples, along
with pins and rings, leftover from quarrying days, when cranes and
derricks would be secured to staples like these. It's a neat feeling
to walk among them and feel the bones of history.
Back at the main quarry, more views of the lookout tower.
The main quarry offers lots of interesting views.
Kids diving into the quarry (which is illegal and posted so), I tried
to get this one in flight, but the digital camera didn't take the snap
until he hit the water.
More random quarry shots. There were so many good views and
compositions, it was hard to choose. But I really like most of these,
I think they capture the contrasts of stone and water and leaves and
sky.
This particular ring, embedded in this white boulder, captured my
attention and I tried various ways of shooting it against the quarry
and forest. In the last shot, it's way in the distance, but still
there.
Now right next to the lookout tower, a few close views.
I've always liked this old man of sculpted granite. I thought he was
a Jizo at first, but no, he just hangs out here.
This page maintained by
Wil Howitt
Last updated 13 June 2006
