Tag: nature

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Citadel

Citadel (Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, California)
“Citadel”
Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, California
© 2017 J. G. Coleman

Alcatraz Island rises from the fog-laden waters of San Francisco Bay, its sundry array of towers and buildings illumined against the hazy silhouette of distant, coastal hills.

Hollywood films over the years have ensured that visions of a bleak and notorious federal prison are conjured in our imagination whenever we think of Alcatraz. But despite the vast amount of space that impression occupies in our memory, it actually comprises a fairly narrow slice of the island’s long and varied history. After all, Alcatraz Island was used as a federal penitentiary for less than three decades.

Relatively few recall that Alcatraz Island was the site of the first lighthouse on the West Coast or that as many as a hundred cannons were mounted on the island during the Civil War. Perhaps a more peculiar story though surrounds the origin of the island’s name. “Alcatraz” comes down from an old Spanish term for pelicans and was assigned to the island when early Spanish explorers found massive flocks of the seabirds roosting upon its cliffs in the late 1700s.

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New Print Releases The American Northeast

Salvelinus Sanctuary

Salvelinus Sanctuary (Pherrins River, Morgan, Vermont)
“Salvelinus Sanctuary”
Pherrins River, Morgan, Vermont
© 2017 J. G. Coleman

As a rainstorm brews in the clouds above, the Pherrins River lazily snakes through the wilds of Northeastern Vermont, concealing a thriving population of the much sought-after native brook trout.

I produced this piece during a June fishing trip in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom last year, not long after my friends and I pulled several beautiful “brookies” from pools and riffles along this river. With June approaching once again, I’m growing excited to see where this year’s Vermont odyssey brings me.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

McCook’s Refuge

McCook's Refuge (McCook Point Park, East Lyme, Connecticut)
“McCook’s Refuge”
McCook Point Park, East Lyme, Connecticut
© 2017 J. G. Coleman

Early May doesn’t generally present the most welcoming beach weather in Southern New England, but it’s far preferable to the biting, 15° F winds that I encountered at McCook Point before dawn during the first days of March this past winter.

Found along the Connecticut coast on the sandy shores of Niantic, McCook’s Point had been known instead as Champlain’s Point prior to the mid-1800s. It wasn’t until a theology professor out of East Hartford, Reverend John James McCook, began spending summers there in 1869 that the proverbial seed was planted for a change of names.

What probably cemented McCook’s name on the point was a legal battle with state government in the 1920s. A small, state-operated tuberculosis hospital had been established nearby and it quickly became clear that a larger facility was required. McCook and his family refused to sell their 16-acre property to accommodate the hospital expansion and even fought the state in court when an attempt was made to condemn the property. The McCook family prevailed and the state abandoned its efforts in 1930, just three years after old John McCook passed away.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Whigville, April’s End

Whigville, April's End (Whigville Falls, Burlington, Connecticut)
“Whigville, April’s End”
Whigville Falls, Burlington, Connecticut
© 2017 J. G. Coleman

It’s waterfall season, folks: that exciting window in the second half of spring after the leaves start emerging but before waterfalls on smaller woodland brooks are rendered as trickles by warm, dry summer weather.

Whigville Falls (above), a little-known cataract in Burlington, hasn’t appeared in my work before; I scouted it out this past winter and had been waiting for just the right conditions before heading back. When a touch of morning mist was forecast a couple days ago, I knew it was time!

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Ceaseless Waterfalls

Waterfalls of Connecticut
Graham's Secret (Carr Brook Falls, Portland, Connecticut)
“Graham’s Secret”
Carr Brook Falls, Portland, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

In “Graham’s Secret” (above), the latest installment in my Waterfalls of Connecticut project, the cool waters of Carr Brook slip over a forest-shaded cliff, descending into a ceaseless whirlpool at the bottom of a rugged ravine just a few miles east of the Connecticut River.

When I set about my “Connecticut Waterfalls” project back around 2010, eager to interpret the beauty of the Nutmeg State’s varied natural waterfalls, I’m not sure that I was thinking about how long it might take to see the endeavor through to its conclusion. And so here I am, after more than six years of work, and I’m still expanding the formal collection a couple times each year with imagery from new waterfalls.

Flume at Collins Hill (Carr Brook Falls, Portland, Connecticut)
“Flume at Collins Hill”
Carr Brook Falls, Portland, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

Of course, the core of the project came together a couple years ago in the form a dedicated website, “Waterfalls of Connecticut”, which I invite you to visit. But even as I was busy pulling together the body of work that would premier in the collection, an effort which might customarily mark the end of a thematic project, I knew that waterfalls had earned an enduring place in my subject matter for years to come. I also knew that there was, and still remains, a great many stories of cascading water left to tell in the wilds of Connecticut.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Waterville Echoes

Sheffield Revenant (Old Sheffield Street Iron Bridge, Mattatuck State Forest, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA)
“Sheffield Revenant”
Old Sheffield Street Iron Bridge,
Mattatuck State Forest, Waterbury, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

The year was 1884. The Waterville manufacturing district in the north of Waterbury had grown to be quite the industrial powerhouse, churning out a seemingly endless supply of brass and cutlery. But Hancock Brook, a tributary of the Naugatuck River which coursed through a steep ravine along Sheffield Street, was a routine impediment to the transport of goods eastward.

Iron Relic of Waterville (Old Sheffield Street Iron Bridge, Mattatuck State Forest, Waterbury, Connecticut)
“Iron Relic of Waterville”
Old Sheffield Street Iron Bridge,
Mattatuck State Forest, Waterbury, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

In an era when wooden covered bridges were still being phased out of mainstream construction in New England, the famous Berlin Iron Bridge Company was contracted to build a hefty iron bridge over Hancock Brook that would accommodate two lanes and exceptionally heavy loads. For years afterward, as countless tons of product fresh from the Waterville factories began their journey to distant destinations, they first cleared Hancock Brook over the Sheffield Street Bridge.

But that was then; this is now. As Waterbury’s golden age of manufacturing declined, the industrial landscape it occupied atrophied and eventually grew wilder than it had been in over a century. Today, the forgotten bridge off Sheffield rusts away in the forest near an isolated quarry. Much of the old wooden decking has long-since decayed, though stray planks sometimes still break free and plunge into the waters below. All that remains of the Sheffield Street Bridge is a haunting, iron skeleton hung high above Hancock Brook… an eerie, lonesome witness of bygone times marooned in a vastly different world from the one in which it was born.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Waking the Shadows of Mount Tom

Waking the Shadows of Mount Tom (Mount Tom State Park, Litchfield, Connecticut)
“Waking the Shadows of Mount Tom”
Mount Tom & Mount Tom Pond,
Mount Tom State Park, Litchfield, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

A flurry of shoots all over Connecticut and Massachusetts during this past autumn has left me with a backlog of some 2,000 photographs which I’ve been meticulously processing since mid-December. There’s so much new imagery that I’m eager to share over the coming year!

For now, I’d like to offer a couple pieces that I finished developing last night. In “Waking the Shadows of Mount Tom” (at top), we find ourselves amidst lily pads and grasses on the shores of Mount Tom Pond during mid-October. Sunlight breaks over mist-laden hills in the distance as dawn lends comforting warmth to the landscape. The same luminous morning offered a dreamy backdrop for “They Who Dwell in Reflections” (below), in which we find a solitary boat of fishermen amidst the the majesty of autumn forests, morning haze and the mirror-like waters of the pond.

They Who Dwell in Reflections (Mount Tom Pond, Mount Tom State Park, Litchfield, Connecticut)
“They Who Dwell in Reflections”
Fishermen on Mount Tom Pond,
Mount Tom State Park, Litchfield, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

Despite being a fairly small lake, at only about 55 acres, Mount Tom Pond actually straddles a “tri-point” of town boundaries. So while the bulk of open water is in Litchfield, the southern end of the pond reaches into Washington and the eastern shore of the pond falls within in Morris.

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New Print Releases The American Northeast

Coburn Hideaway

Coburn Hideaway (Unnamed waterfall in Westfield, Vermont)
“Coburn Hideaway”
Unnamed waterfall, Westfield, Vermont
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

In my new release, “Coburn Hideaway”, dense forest underbrush embraces a vigorous brook which tosses about in a frenzy as it cascades through a gully of glistening boulders. Mosses spread in vibrant blankets amidst the waterfalls, undeterred by the swift current and furious plunges.

When a few friends and I came upon this brook snaking beneath a small bridge in the wilds of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, the tell-tale sound of cascading water could be heard echoing up from the forest understory downstream. I couldn’t resist making a descent into the gorge to investigate the waterfall, lugging everything from my camera bag and tripod to my fishing rod and waders.

Without even the faintest trail to follow, the bushwhack down to the base of the falls was grueling. But the absence of a footpath, as well as the overall remoteness of the place, makes it likely that I’ve been the only person in many decades to peer up from the foot of these cascades. That’s worth every scraped elbow and labored breath!

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New Print Releases The American Northeast

Deadwood at Goldmine Brook Falls

Deadwood at Goldmine (Goldmine Brook Falls, Chester, Massachusetts)
“Deadwood at Goldmine”
Goldmine Brook Falls at Chester-Blandford State Forest, Chester, Massachusetts
© 2015 J. G. Coleman

Bark peels from the trunk of a fallen birch wedged into the boulders of a gorge in Western Massachusetts. Just ahead, Goldmine Brook Falls descends 40 feet into the ravine amidst ancient, weathered rock faces softened by jackets of moss.

Drive through the quiet, wooded town of Chester, Massachusetts where I produced “Deadwood at Goldmine” (at top) and it might seem hard to believe that area was historically bustling with mines of all sorts. First came the early iron mines; later, in the mid-1800s, a somewhat rare, abrasive mineral known as emery became the object of commercial efforts. Yet the name “Goldmine Brook” is still a bit puzzling, since there doesn’t seem to be any record of sincere attempts at mining the precious metal at any point in Chester’s past.

While there is undoubtedly gold in the valleys of Western Massachusetts, it’s been scattered too broadly and too thinly upon the landscape by the prehistoric advance and retreat of glaciers. Suffice it to say, the amount of gold you might get after a day of panning a creek in Southern New England wouldn’t even cover the cost of driving home.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Fields of Kale at West Granby

Yankee Farmlands № 32 (Farm field with kale, Granby, Connecticut)
“Yankee Farmlands № 32”
Field of kale, Granby, Connecticut
© 2015 J. G. Coleman

In the latest addition to my Yankee Farmlands project, wrinkled plumes of kale climb over encroaching weeds on a swath of sunny cropland in the hills of West Granby. Warm, summertime air drifts lazily through the field, the breeze too faint to stir the still forests along the farm edge.

Vegetables such as kale, collards, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi and brussel sprouts are popular greens that occasionally even share the same field. But would you believe that every one of those vegetables represents the same species? That’s right… even though they may look dramatically different, they all possess genes which are virtually identical to those of a weed known as “wild lettuce”.

How was such a diverse array of vegetables derived from a single species? Thousands of years ago, early farmers carefully selected generation after generation of cultivated wild lettuce to promote certain desired traits: long stems for kohlrabi, enlarged flower buds for broccoli, broad leaves for kale and so on.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Keeper Woods’ Lament

Keeper Woods' Lament (Old Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse, Old Saybrook, Connecticut)
“Keeper Woods’ Lament”
Old Saybrook Breakwater Light off Lynde Point in Long Island Sound, Old Saybrook, Connecticut
© 2015 J. G. Coleman

Remember how cold it was last winter? Or did you already block that memory out? Well, my latest releases were produced during the waning weeks of winter this year along the wind-swept coastline of Old Saybrook and feature the Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse perched on the far end of a serpentine, granite jetty beneath a twilight sky streaked with foreboding clouds.

Known sometimes as the Saybrook Outer Light to distinguish it from the Lynde Point Lighthouse on the mainland nearby, the Saybrook Breakwater Light was built in 1886 roughly 1/3-mile offshore at the terminus of a long, granite breakwater. The massive stone jetty had been created to prevent the formation of dangerous, shallow sand bars at the mouth of the Connecticut River which had plagued shipping traffic for years.

Twilight Upon the Granite Path (Old Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse, Old Saybrook, Connecticut)
“Twilight Upon the Granite Path”
Old Saybrook Breakwater Light off Lynde Point in Long Island Sound, Old Saybrook, Connecticut
© 2015 J. G. Coleman

I titled one of my new works (at top), “Keeper Woods’ Lament”, based upon the story of Joseph Woods, who was tending the lighthouse in 1917 when he submitted a grievance to officials regarding the rigors of his job. “I am on duty twenty-four hours out of twenty-four hours and the only relief I get is when my wife begs of me to rest while she stands watch.” All he asked was that an assistant be posted at the lighthouse so that he might have time to relax on occasion. His request was denied.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Okumsett Fringe

Okumsett Fringe (Glen Falls near Okumsett Preserve, Portland, Connecticut)
“Okumsett Fringe”
Glen Falls near Okumsett Preserve, Portland, Connecticut
© 2015 J. G. Coleman

In my new release, “Okumsett Preserve”, Glen Falls glows with whitewater as it careens over a sheer, 20-foot ledge, plunging Cobalt Stream into a shallow, woodland oasis lined by mossy cliffs, gravel beds and swaying ferns.

As early as the mid-1600s, the lands surrounding the mile-long Cobalt Stream were firmly believed to be rich in various ores and precious metals. Connecticut’s first governor, John Winthrop, laid claim to some 800 acres in the area and legends tell of him camping out in the hills, assiduously mining gold and casting rings that he would carry back to his home in New London. The territory consequently received the nickname, “The Governor’s Ring”.

Generation after generation of enterprising men made countless attempts to mine the Governor’s Ring for about 200 years. Some sought gold and silver, while others set their sights toward cobalt and lead. Except for occasional veins of cobalt, most of these operations proved fruitless. By 1844, a Connecticut geology professor finally summed up two centuries of unproductive mining around Cobalt Stream: “it is a curious fact, that after all that has been done in this mine, very little is really known to the public as to the worth of the minerals located there, and whether it could be worked to any profit.”

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