Heron fishing on the point on a foggy morning.

Thanks to my sister Anne, I was able to spend long weekend at our family vacation home in Bristol, Maine. Although I was expecting bad weather the whole time, I was fortunate enough to enjoy some sunshine on Friday and Saturday.

The big treat from a photography perspective was some early morning heron photos and a large family of Canadian Geese that has moved into the two coves on either side of the house. I got several good photos of them. On Saturday evening the geese actually chased a heron out of the cove.

Family of Canadian geese on the point

 

Canadian geese in the back cove at our vacation home in Bristol, Maine

It was really good to get the kayak out on the water. One of the most memorable events while kayaking was a sighting of some Harbor Pourpoises. I saw dorsal fins break water four time. I saw one seal way up near the top of the East Branch of the Johns River, which is unusual. I did not see many (two sightings) on the their usual spot near the head of the bay where the east and west beanch meet, but I was out at high tide which is not the best time to see them.

Lobster boat on Johns Bay

An added pleasant surprise was when Steve and Patricia Carndall stopped by for a visit on Saturday afternoon. Plus my sister Anne and her family arrived Sunday evening so I was able to visit with them and play with Tristan and Erin for a while before leaving on Monday.

I just made a big jump in camera technology for my photography hobby. After weeks of research I decided to get the Pentax K2000 Digital SLR for a starter digital SLR camera. One of the major features I was look ing for was image stabilization. The Pentax K2000 has the image stabilization in the body and not the lense. I also got a great deal on the price. I was able to find the kit that included both a 18 – 55mm Lens and the 50-200mm Lens from Amazon.com. I have to get a few acessories now and get out to practice and learn.

I went to see a play based on the Steinbeck classic The Grapes of Wrath at the Hopkins Center last Saturday night. The show was excellent! If you have read the book or have been curious about the story I would recommend this play.

It’s a powerful story of a family leaving the “Dust Bowl” of the Midwest hoping for work in the fruit orchards of California and a new life. They arrive only to discover the farm owners are exploiting the workers and paying starvation wages. In addition to the Study Guide I discovered a fantatic overview and analysis Website about the story at SparkNotes.com. While class and economic divide is a major theme in the story, I think there are many lessons about human nature, compassion and family as well.

There will be an 8pm show on February 25-27 and a 2pm show on February 28th, 2009.

The Dark Knight finally hit Pay per View! It has been on my list of movies to see since it was released. This is another film by Christopher Nolan, producer of Batman Begins.

It was as good, if not better than everybody said it was. It set a tone to the story that was more realistic and less “comic strip like” than previous Batman films. There is a lot of potential for another sequel film in the same style and cast of characters.

Heath Ledger did a fantastic job as the Joker! Ledger’s unexpected death and the subsequent success of the Dark Knight have been mentioned as one of the top entertainment stories of 2008. He has recently been nominated for a Golden Globe award. A Reuters.com article even mentioned for a “rare posthumous Oscar recognition.” I would vote for him! What do you think?

 Of course there have been a ton of rumors about the Dark Knight sequel film and especially which villain will be in the film who will play the part.

I am new to the world of Facebook so I am still on the journey of discovery. A friend that did not know much about Facebook asked me what is was all about. I had to think for awhile before answering, “It is many things to many people with networking and communication as the commen thread.”

I initally made a Facebook  profile to join the AIGA NH/VT group. Once I got a profile started I  started to wonder what other groups were out there. I was glad to find a uvScene.com group had already been started, which I quickly joined. If you visit the uvScene.com and have a Facebook profile (or want to make one) please join the group. It would be cool to see the membership grow. A few people also told me about an Upper Valley (NH/VT) regional group, which I also joined.

I then discovered that Facebook is more than profiles and groups. There are lots of cool Facebook applications you can add to your profile. There are so many of them it takes some research to find good ones. I am learning about many apps based on what people on my friends lists are using. Thanks everyone! In addition to the basic applications they start you out with like Status Update, Photos and Notes, I am checking out applications like:

• (Lil) Green Patch
• WeRead
• Music iLike
• Where Ive Been
• Flickster Movies
• Visual Bookshelf

I am currently comparing WeRead and Visual Bookshelf. More people on my friends list use Visual Bookshelf than WeRead. Anyone have an opinion about which one is better?

I just added Bumper Stickers and Causes to my application list but have not fully expored them yet.  I also just discovered the Facebook Marketplace, which seems popular with everyone on my list. Anyone have suggestions for more applications?

A few weekends ago I got the opportunity to spend some quality time using Adobe Illustrator to create new map graphics for work.

We had a graphic that showed the towns in our territory but none of the surroundingt towns. It also did not show where we were located in relation to the rest of VT and NH.

My goal was to create a series of graphics with layers that would allow me the flexibility to customize the map depending on the project.

The project gave me the chance to experiment with the live trace and live paint features in CS3. I was able to make a tracing from two seperate state map graphics and place them together in one file. Since the tracings are not perfect (but pretty damm close.) I got some practice with the pen tool. Mastering the pen tool is essential to mastering Illustrator.

I eventually made a version of the VNA & Hospice territory map that showed only the towns in our “territory” and surrounding communities.  This will be better suited for the limited space on a brochure panel.

Overall it was a rewarding project which allowed me to get some much needed practice with Illustrator’s pen tool, the live trace and live paint tools.

Creating Impressions Project

You can learn something from every experience, and the Creating Impressions project was no exception. My project paid homage to the fantastic design work in National Geographic Magazine. I had the chance to study the design evolution of the magazine and learn about the Magazine Publishers of America.

Inspiration

As the deadline for submitting the art work was drawing near, I was putting some serious thought into a project theme. I was sitting on the couch, casually flipping through the latest National Geographic magazine when I realized how well the magazine is designed. I knew this was a theme I could build on. I started my research by looking through my collection of old Geographic magazines. The design had come a long way since since the first issue.

Design History

Nationalgeographic.com describes the first edition of the magazine to be “A studious, scientific journal with a nondescript, dull-brown cover.” Reading this made me curious about the design evolution of the magazine.

I started to look through a few of the older editions in my collection in addition to some online research. Looking at editions from the 1940 revealed the pages are filled with text in the same two columns throughout the magazine. Article titles are center aligned and in the same font as the body. It still had qualities of a “studious scientific journal.”

The book Graphic Design Today provides a few interesting design history facts about the magazine cover. The familiar yellow border and oak leaves and acorns “first gracing the February 1910 issue, was so successful that it remained intact with only minor modifications for nearly fifty years.” The designer given credit for this design is Robert Wier Couch of “Matthews-Northrups Works of Buffalo”. They were a “leading engraver and printer” of the time.

The book also mentions that the first cover photograph is on the July 1943 edition, which is one I have in my collection. Too bad it is not in good condition. If I remember correctly, the oak leaf border started to disappear during the 70’s and were pretty much gone by 1979.

Magazine Publishers of America

I also learned about the Magazine Publishers of America, which is a professional organization for the magazine publishing industry. I was not surprised to learn that National Geographic won three awards in 2008. A New York Times article explains,

“National Geographic won three National Magazine Awards on Thursday night, more than it had ever captured in a single year, including a prestigious award for general excellence the second year in a row.”

Project Theme and Message

The awards tell me that I was not alone in my high opinion of their magazine design. Good design has value because it delivers a pleasurable reading experience. Many people rave about the fantastic photo journalisim in National Geographic, but it is the designer that presents it with high impact.

The Show

The design project will be on display at Studio Place Arts in Barre until November 8th. Be sure to swing over to Barre and check it out. There is a fantastic stone sculpture art display on the first floor that is worth seeing. I noticed several interesting restaurants near the gallery if you wanted to combine your visit with a night out.

-Mark Karl

Wednesday was a perfect day for kayaking on the Johns River. I got up early with plans of heading down towards Johns Bay and South Bristol.
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The wind was light and coming from land, which keeps the waves down. It was just me, the lobstermen, and the birds on the water. I paddled across the Johns past Peabow Island and headed south at Sproul Point.


I passed High Island, paddled along the shore and turned into McFarlands Cove just as two sailboats were getting underway.

I continued behind Witch Island through a channel named “The Gut” to the village of South Bristol, Maine. I rounded the corner and went past the South Bristol [Lobster] Co-op.

Next I watched some lobstermen loading their boat using a winch (it was low tide).

Finally Osier’s wholesale seafood market and general store next to the bridge over the channel to Damariscotta River.
I was able to get under the bridge with my kayak, just just barely. I had finally made it over to the Damariscotta River. I decided to turn around and head back and got to see the South Bristol bridge open to let a boat through.

On the way back I noticed something strange in the water behind Witch Island. A stuffed bear was tied to a reclining chair and placed on a platform out in the water. I bet there is a good story why the bear is ouot here.

I made it back about 11:30 and was ready for a rest after spending about three and a half hours in the kayak. Overall it was a great trip.

Monday afternoon I hopped on a striper fishing charter out of Boothbay Harbor, Maine. I went with Captain Dan Stevens and his 28 foot boat, the Blackjack.

The fog was thick as we left Boothbay. We made a short stop to jig for a few mackerel to use as bait.

We headed west across Sheepscot bay past the mouth of the Kennebec River to the Popham Beach area. We passed a small island with dozens of seals hauled out.

We finally arrived at our fishing spot.

It was not long before we started landing stripers.

I was one of the lucky ones and landed a 22 inch striper.

The trip back was better since the fog had lifted. I was able to see a few area lighthouses. The fist one is Seguin Island Lighthouse near Popham Beach. Captain Dan said it was the highest lighthouse on the east coast with a focal plane of 186 feet.
Next we passed Pond Island Lighthouse, also near Popham Beach. As we got closer to Boothbay Harbor we passed Cuckolds Light.

We passed very close to Burnt Island Lighthouse so I was able to get some great shots.


Overall it was a fantastic afternoon on the water.

I am back in Bristol, Maine this week, for what could be one of the last trips. I hope to get some good days for kayaking, photography and perhaps some fishing this year. Good photographs are even more important this year for preserving memories.
I arrived Friday evening and the place was socked in with fog. It had cleared out by Saturday morning and I was able to get out on the water. Before I even left I soptted a Great Blue Heron feeding in the cove next to the deck.

Several lobster boats were checking their traps as I made my way towards the far side of the Johns River.

The seals were hauled out enjoying the sun. This time of the year they are still pupping and moutling so they are hauled out more time than normal. I could not get too close as they are pretty skittish this time of the year. I was surrounded by a group of swimming seals most of the trip. They kept pretty good taps on me and played games as I paddled along.


I came off the water for the hot part of the day and waited until evening for a short sunset trip.

I was treated to another fantastic Maine sunset as dinner was cooking.