I visited Acadia National Park last summer for the fifth time. On past trips to the park, I focused (pun intended) on the larger scale landscapes that the park has to offer. Shortly before my most recent trip, I caught a screening of a film that made me see the park with new eyes.
The wonderful Brattle Theater played a newly-restored version of Andrie Tarkovsky's, Stalker. The tells the story of three men who traverse a sentient wilderness called "The Zone". I won't get to deep into the plot, however I must point out that the themes and cinematography moved me. The shots were well composed and often used slow pans that were hypnotic. Above all, there was an emphasis on the textures of the scenes in the film.
I was still unpacking the film in my head when we were setting up camp for the week on Mount Desert Island. As we started our hikes, I started to notice that Acadia is rich in textures as you walk through the park. I decided to photograph what I saw by the trailside and keep sharp composition in mind. The trip ended up being on of the best to the park. It yielded many new photographs, which I sorted through afterward. As I went through the shots, many stuck out to me. These images became a new body of work based in Acadia that I call The Zone.
You can see the new work here.