In preparation for this day, I had to figure out many things in advance. For instance, my normal photographic developing store had closed. The question was, where do I go to buy film? I ventured to Target as it was the closest place. There was not much of a selection so I settled on Kodak 400 speed film. The second step was to figure out where to go. The choice was actually obvious - the ocean! The ocean is where I had always gone when I needed comfort. I love the sound of the waves and the smell of the ocean. I could sit there for hours and contemplate life.
On the morning of April 10, I loaded a roll of film into my camera and packed my beach bag with my towel as well as my windbreaker and a pair of jeans for back-up. The weather was gorgeous at home but could very well be cold and windy at the beach. Preparation is key. There was so much pent-up anticipation in leaving on this journey that I could hardly wait to arrive. My destination was Reid State Park. Why did I pick this place as my first adventure? I had not traveled to Reid State Park in so many years that the anticipation of finding my way there could drive me forward, perk up my emotions and open my eyes to everything.
The parking lot was nearly empty as you would expect this time of year. I maneuvered into a parking space between Half Mile Beach and Mile Beach. There were several people coming off the path and back to their vehicles. You could see them all bundled up. I was not deterred at all. As it was quite chilly and windy, I moved into my backup plan and placed the camera firmly on my shoulder ready to hit the path to Half Mile Beach. The narrow path to the beach was filled with trees and vegetation that was on its way back to life.
My first two photographs were of one of these trees that you could just imagine were thriving in the summer. The angles were fantastic. Snap, snap. Oh yeah, here we go. As you venture down the path, you get to the end of the easy part and walk your way over ocean-smooth rocks and puddles of water everywhere. Hold on! Here we go! I had to hold a good grip on my camera and have shore footing as well. I hoped that I wouldn't fall as there were no people around to help me. Well, I guess if there were no people around they couldn't see me fall. I would just laugh anyway. Oh well.
Photographs 3 through 6 were taken on the rocks just before stepping onto Half Mile Beach. I could see the ocean waves crashing into the rocks so I wanted to so desparately capture that as a moment in time. The next shot shows the calmness of the day but the breaking of the ocean waves on the distant rocks. An even closer shot was needed to show the smoothing of the rocks from the numerous ocean waves crashing onto its hard surface. Oh, I can't forget about the jagged path of water between the rocks that lead back out into that glorious body of water!
As I walked along the upper part of the beach, there were many sights to take in along the way. These shots became Photographs 7 through 11. Oh what things you can see! My first stop was the erosion on the beach from the many winter storms. Even a caution tape was placed at the top of the dune so that people would not fall onto the beach. Oh that would be a sore sight to see. Some of my favorite shots consist of driftwood and logs stranded. I think these are ornaments on the beach. A cluster of driftwood leaning against a log was a prime target to capture with the looming sky in the background as well as a close-up shot of parts of that masterpiece of nature! The next experiment was to see close-ups of the inside of the log to see what nature had bestowed upon this once-living thing.
As I continued my adventure in seeing life on the beach, I just had to get a feeling of what it was like to just sit and listen to the sounds of this wonderful piece of life. Photographs 12 through 15 show life as seen on that particular day. A long view taking in the crashing waves as well as the cottage in the distance. Oh, I wonder what it would be like to be at the cottage all day sitting outside to take in everything around you! What a fantastic life! Can't you just imagine it? I can. I had to capture the breaking waves crashing onto the shore as well as the sand gradations from the waves kissing upon its shores. Oh, I can't forget about the plovers playing on the waters edge. They were so adorable to watch them play!
After maneuvering my way back to the path from Half Mile Beach to the parking lot, I ventured over to Mile Beach. I can certainly say that there was a huge difference between the height of the waves on Half Mile Beach to the spectacular waves on the Mile Beach! Oh wait. What is that? We have surfers. Oh, what a sight. I was so glad to see that they had wetsuits and were prepared to tackle nature's will. Photographs 16 and 17 show real human life at the beach with the aid of surfboards.
As I wander down the beach, I spy more driftwood up ahead. I slowly walk up to see what is in store for me this time. Photographs 18 and 19 show two views of this piece of nature - one of a snarly mess of wood and the other is a close-up tangled view of the same piece of art. It is just fabulous in its twisted ways.
As I stumble my way back down the beach to the beginning, I wonder where to head next on this adventure. Oh right. I had not ventured onto the rocks overlooking Mile Beach. I had to slowly find my way down the rocks holding onto my beach bag and camera. I found a safe level place to leave the bag so that I could wonder further down to see what I could find. Photograph 20 shows life among the rocks with some of nature's plant life. I then sit and ponder life and watch life as the ocean waves crash onto the rocks. Oh what a glorious sound the waves make when they are trying to leap forward as far as they can to make the earth tremble with its pounding. Photograph 21 shows the blue ocean waves coming forward and crashing to claim its rightful place. Photograph 22 shows the view from these rocks across the right side depicting the rocks and land beyond.
As I leave this worldly breathtaking place around 2:00 p.m., I find myself pented up with anticipation wondering how the photographs would come up. However, my stomach decided to tell me that I really should eat something today. I made a stop at the Dairy Queen as I exited the road near Bath. With all my preparations, I had totally forgotten sustenance. What did I purchase? A hot dog and an ice cream for a reward!
As I ride north, the question was, where do I go to get them developed? As you can imagine, I was not going to ship them out and wait for them to come back. I called Elm City Photo in Waterville to see if they still developed in the store. Lo and behold, they were open! Woo Hoo! I was so excited. The store closed at 4:00 p.m. so I had to drive directly to Waterville. The owners of Elm City Photo are just great! They were so helpful in answering my questions and giving me options. Oh, options. I decided to have these photographs developed so that I could have the negatives as well as a CD. Something else new for me is photographs with white borders around the perimeter. Also, matte finish is the way to go. The photographs would be ready on Tuesday!! I decided to have them send them to me through the mail so that I would get them on Wednesday. I was so excited when I dropped them off that I couldn't wait to see them and also to figure out where to go next.
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