Nature – Page 35 – The Inner Frame

Fragility

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If Nature has intended to create sacred places for us, then the Silver Cascades waterfall in Shades State Park, Indiana,
is certainly one of them. Don’t expect roaring cascades. Instead, when approaching the secluded site, you will hear nothing but the quiet murmur of slowly running water.

Besides its stunning beauty, this unusual waterfall is partially convex, giving it a womb like appearance.

While frost wedging is responsible to the concave upper part, this process is less effective in the lower part, as it is less exposed.
In Winter one can see how the flowing water prevents freezing.

The whole area is quite fragile, and the spots where the pictures here have been taken are now closed off due to rock fall. The best time to visit is during the early morning in the Fall, when it is quiet and there is no direct sunlight on the leaves yet.

The now inaccessible front view offers an entirely different, still irritatingly erotic, perspective.

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Nature Morte

The french Nature Morte is a peculiar contrast to the english Still Life. For today’s images, the french version is better suited.

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The dead tree, resting on a large boulder in front of McCormick Creek State Park’s canyon wall, invites to contemplate about decay and the passage of time very much like many still lifes do.

The image also follows an iconographic pattern, which consists of a platform, a presented object on the platform, and a backdrop. Traditionally, in a still life, the platform is usually a table, the objects can be fruits and flowers, and the backdrop is often a dark wall or piece of cloth. Here, the platform is the rock, the object the tree, and the backdrop the canyon wall. Several of Francis Bacon’s paintings (e.g. the Figure at a Washbasin) not only rely on the same pattern, but are compositionally reduced to it. In his case, the platforms are tables or chairs, the objects distorted people, and the backdrop is often a door or window.

I have probably taken about a dozen images of this tree over the years. It survived several winters.

However, heavy flooding has moved the tree out of the frame, making room for the next object.

Seasons

While there are few natural lakes in Indiana, the many artificial lakes have some beautiful shores. One of my favorites is at Strahl Lake in Brown County State Park. To appreciate its beauty, I recommend to be there at the right time of the day. The best time is just after sun rise when the sun illuminates the entire lake front, but not yet the water. This way the reflection in the water is strongest and the sky is not too bright yet. Actually, I recommend being there when the sun just touches the tips of the trees, and then spend some 30 minutes listening to birds, fish and leaves.

I first realized the beauty of this spot in late September 2009, when the Fall leaf colors were on full swing.

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I decided to return at different times of the year, to find out how the same view would look in other seasons and weathers.

Late in the Fall there is a curious asymmetry due to the deciduous trees to the right and the evergreen trees to the left.

In an early snowless winter, the best time for this view is actually just before sunrise. With a bit of luck, one can then catch the fog over the lake, and the dark colors of the remaining leaves create a gloomy mood.

With the winter in full swing, it can get tricky. The pictures I have with the lake frozen are no good because they are too bright. It might work in a night with modest moon shine, but I will have to try that yet. Here is a view from late winter where the cloud cover makes a nice contrast.

In Spring, one gets all shades of green one might wish for.

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Then there is Summer. The enormous humidity can cause the fog to last longer than the sun rise. So yes, it is warm and wet. But the mood is still quite special.

All these photos were taken with a 24mm lens (35mm/FF).