Beaver Pond Journal 2009

Journal entry foe August 9, 2009  "Arrived at the beaver pond about 10:15 A.M. under a threatening sky. Made a quick check of the pond then returned to the truck for my camera gear. Located my tripod over the flagged alder stumps, then set up my equipment using measurements documented in my journal. Once the set up was complete I shot three series of seven images for the 2009 beaver pond panorama.
I wasn't pleased with today's conditions, very hazy and lots of wind. My polarizing filter didn't do much to cut the haze, but did help with the glare from the wet vegetation.
Clouds were spitting a little rain while I was packing my gear. I hope to improve on today's images with another shoot before the end of the month, but at least I have something for 2009 if I'm not able to get back."

Beaver pond on August 9, 2009

Journal entry for August 30, 2009  "Arrived at the abandoned beaver pond about 10:15 A.M. After parking the truck I walked down the road to check out the pond before setting up my equipment. The first thing I noticed was the remains of the old dam had washed out even more.

Passing the dam I was scanning around the pond as I walked along when my peripheral vision detected a sizable track in a muddy section of the current shoreline. Staring down at the track I could hardly believe my eyes, four toes, no claw marks and a pad. The only conclusion could be a cat; retractable claws and a pad with four toes. Mary and I measured the track, 3 3/4 x 3 3/4". It must be a cougar track, there have been many sighting over the last few decades. I photographed the track plus a second track that was a good imprint. The tracks appeared to be quite fresh. (On September 7th while adjusting one of the cougar track photos I had to leave the office for a moment. Upon returning I was looking at the photo from the far side of the room and I was able to make out a nearly imperceptible fifth toe imprint. So, it wasn't a cougar track after all but rather a black bear, probably a yearling. The unanswered question is why aren't the claw marks visible?

Found my set up location then went to work getting my tripod level and the panoramic equipment in place and leveled. I didn't record any of the 2007 panorama set up measurements but did so for the 2008 panorama. I shot two panoramas in 2008 and I chose the wrong one for my set up measurements when I shot the August 9, 2009 panorama. Now I have recorded the set up parameters and will shoot all future of the beaver pond using them. My goal is to shoot this same panorama set up during the month of August for as long as I'm able.

Beaver pond on August 30, 2009

Before leaving I shot a few images of the pond using my 15mm f2.8 fisheye lens using both horizontal and vertical formats.

The fisheye shots

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You can see more images of the beaver pond by visiting my website

bunchlewisphotography.com

Thanks for visiting my journal,

Bunch

Beaver Pond Journal 2008

Journal entry for July 27, 2008  "Last August I thought it would be interesting to photograph the succession of the pond back to dry land. I accomplished last years panorama by shooting 7 frames that stitched into a 220° panorama of the pond. Today my goal was to photograph a 2008 duplicate of last years panorama.
Found the location where I set up last year, then positioned my tripod as close to last years set up as my memory would allow. I shot three 7 frame series of images under different lighting conditions. This would allow me to use the series with the most pleasing light for the final stitched image."

 Abandoned beaver pond July 27, 2008

Note, my memory was incorrect, the 2007 panorama was shot and assembled with 8 frames not 7 as I shot last week.

Journal entry for August 3, 2008  "Drove on to the abandoned beaver pond just east of Squaw Lake trailhead. Ate a snack while Mary and I waited for the rain to stop. Finally, about 10:45 A.M., the rain ceased and I got set up to shot the panorama of the abandoned beaver pond. This time I decided to use the 50 f1.4 mm lens rather than the zoom lens I used last week and last year. This set up required 8 frames as opposed to 7 frames at 46 mm that I used last weekend. Worked great with the fixed focal length lens, a much better chance of getting a duplicate field of view each year.

 Beaver Pond August 3, 2008

Mary picked blackberries while I shot the panorama, then I helped with the picking. Quite good!

A single frame of the abandoned beaver pond and lodge

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You can view more of my images on my website

bunchlewisphotography.com

Thanks for visiting my journal, more posts on the way,

Bunch

Beaver Pond Journal 2002-2007

Journal entry for November 11, 2002    Mary and I took the day off to visit Moose River Plains. We had driven in to the end of the road at the smaller Indian Lake. The journal entry reads: "During our return drive back towards the Plains we stopped at the unnamed beaver pond near Squaw Lake trailhead. Mary and I needed to stretch our legs, plus the beaver pond looked interesting enough to photograph, which we did."

 Beaver pond in Moose River Plains Wild Forest after a cold rain

Journal entry for June 24, 2007    "Drove on to Otter Brook then towards the end of the road at Indian Lake. Stopped at the beaver pond just east of the trail to Squaw Lake. The beaver had abandoned the pond and the dam is now in disrepair. The water level is down somewhere between 2-3 feet. It occurs to me as I write this journal entry I should begin a photo documentation of the pond reverting back to solid ground."

Journal entry for August 19, 2007    "About 10 A.M. Mary and I stopped at the large beaver pond east of Squaw Lake trailhead. The pond had been abandoned by its resident beavers two years ago. The dam has given away dropping the water level over three feet. It occurred to me it would be interesting to photo document the succession process from year to year.

As best my memory would let me, I framed an image similar to some I have taken in the past. The light overcast sky provided more contrast than the camera's sensor could record so I shot six bracketed exposures to try combining in Photoshop. While I was picking up my equipment I noticed some deer tracks in the mud and photographed them for stock.

The Abandoned Beaver Pond

Drove on to Indian Lake, which was crowded again this week. Turned around and, drove back to the campsite at the top of the ridge above Squaw Lake, where we ate lunch last week. We ate lunch there again and explored the immediate area around the campsite.

After lunch we returned to the beaver pond. I had decided to try shooting a panorama of the pond. Set up my tripod over a cluster of  four beaver cut alders. After adjusting my camera, I shot a series of eight images that assembled perfectly to provide a panorama that encompassed a view of 220°."

2007 Panorama

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More beaver pond images can be viewed at the Adirondack Beaver Pond Gallery on my website

bunchlewisphotography.com

Thanks for visiting my journal,

Bunch

Beaver Pond Journal November, 1999-2001

November 28, 1999- Stopped at the beaver pond east of Squaw Lake where we shot a few photos.

Beaver pond in Moose River Plains Wild Forest during a November 28, 1999 snow squall

October 11,2000- "The light was too harsh for photographs."

Obviously my memory failed me when I wrote my journal entry for the day. I shot four images looking across the beaver pond, the far hillside ablaze with peak autumn colors and the surface of the pond without a ripple, reflecting the hillside

The beaver pond on a glorious autumn day

October 7, 2001- Approaching the large beaver pond east of Squaw Lake we could see there were images here waiting to be captured. Pulled into the parking turnout, then walked over to the pond for a better look. Mary went back to the Trooper to retrieve her camera while I debated whether or not to get out the 4x5 camera. Big snow plops were dropping off of the trees. Finally I decided I would be far too distracted to do a good job with the big camera.

Eventually I got out my Minolta 7xi body, added the 28-80mm lens, mounted it on my tripod and returned to the pond.Composed two different images looking across the pond. These images contained lots of color, lots of snow and the pond. I had to wait about 15 minutes for the light I wanted before tripping the shutter.

Looking across the beaver pond after a snow squall

Mary had finished photographing by now. She and our golden retriever, Sairy, went for a walk up the road. Sairy seems quite spry today.

I changed my composition to look across the pond, parallel to the dam, towards a stand of spruce trees. This was about ninety degrees to the left of my first images.When I got the image framed snow began falling and the sky darkened. My shutter speed dropped to 1/15 second. I reasoned the snowflakes would show as streaks, adding to the mood of the image. We'll see. The intensity of the falling snow increased after taking a few images, so I shot a second set. 

By the time I was picking up it was really coming down!

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You can view more Adirondack Beaver Pond images on my website
www.bunchlewisphotography.com

More beaver pond journal entries from the past and photos will be on upcoming posts.
Thanks for visiting my journal,
Bunch

Beaver Pond Journal September 26, 1999

"Drove on towards Indian Lake. Stopped at the beaver pond at the side of the road just east of Squaw Lake trailhead. The fall colors on the hillside across the pond and reflection on the pond were quite good. The level of the pond was up since the last time we were here. I got out my compass to check the location of the late afternoon sun. Looked as though this would be a great scene as the sun begins to drop in the western sky. Mary and I decided to be back at the pond about 2:30 P.M. I'd try photographing this landscape with the 4x5 camera, Mary with her 35mm gear.
About 2 P.M. we began the drive back to the beaver pond, arriving at 2:30 P.M. The light looked O.K. so I set up the 4x5 camera to take a look on the ground glass, not bad. Then I added a polarizing filter and an 81B warming filter......WOW! Mary worked with both her Minolta 600si and 7000 bodies and a few different lenses to shoot a number of images while I worked with the 4x5 taking three images."

4x5 Camera Set Up

 The Beaver Pond 35mm

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Thanks for visiting Bunch's Journal, more beaver pond journal entries are on the way.

You can visit my website for more photos at:

http://bunchlewisphotography.com/

Bunch

An Adirondack Beaver Pond Journal

Deep in the heart of the ancient Adirondack Mountains lies an old beaver pond that beckons me to return, time and again. It is here that solitude, so rare these days, can be found.
As dusk settles over the mountains a whitetail deer silently appears at the shore of the pond to drink. Dead timber, skeletons of the trees they once were, are now standing like sentinels all across the pond. Wood ducks float quietly among these strange guardians.
Dusk deepens into night. A full moon rises above the treetops, its illumination discovering wakes on the still surface of the pond. Wakes left by beavers on patrol, inspecting the dam and preparing for a long nights work stocking the beaver lodge's pantry for the long winter ahead. Crickets are singing and a barred owl, up on the hillside overlooking the pond, cuts the dampening air with a series of hoots. Not wanting to be discovered by this avian predator a ruffed grouse hunkers down in a tangle of blackberry bushes. The moon slips behind a lonely, thick cloud that blots out the moonlight. The darkness deepens and where there were hundreds, now there are thousands of stars twinkling across the dark expanse.
A faint glow appears in the eastern sky, a new day is beginning. The beaver return to the lodge. A good nights work has been accomplished by nature's engineers and now it is time for some rest. The whitetail deer returns to the pond for a quick drink before heading off to its daytime bed.
The sun takes its turn to peek over the eastern treetops, the new day is here. The ruffed grouse leaves the protective berry patch, heading off in search of some succulent vegetation for breakfast. Soon a flock of cedar waxwings are busy plucking ripe blackberries from the pond-side berry patch that protected the grouse last night. A black bear intrudes on the cedar waxwings feast, scattering them to all points of the compass. Having eaten its fill the bear wanders off along the muddy shoreline of the pond leaving its tracks in the mud. The ripe blackberries signal the arrival of autumn at the beaver pond. The next feast for the pond's neighbors will occur with the ripening wild cherries and mast, beechnuts and acorns.
Long before autumn is officially over winter will arrive. At first with a dusting of snow on the landscape. The surface of the beaver pond turns to ice, locking the beaver in the lodge and under the surface of the pond. The beavers' work repairing the lodge will discourage a marauding coyote, bobcat or otter from digging into the lodge which now has a frost hardened mud coating that is as tough as concrete. The beaver will pass the winter safe and well fed under a heavy blanket of snow.
The black bear will solve the problem of surviving the long cold winter by hibernating, but only if it managed to obtain enough forage to provide sufficient fat reserves. Most of the ponds neighbors will struggle to see the return of spring, only the strongest will survive.
All is well at the pond. The cycle of life continues as it has for eons.

The Beaver Pond September 26, 1999

In 2006 the beaver that had occupied the pond, abandoned it. The trees and plants that are the beavers preferred food sources, especially aspen, had been exhausted from the larder that surrounded the pond. By late summer 2007 the pond was a mere puddle surrounded by a wide belt of soggy ground.

The change was dramatic and inspired me to begin photographing a series of yearly panoramas of the beaver pond. To obtain a photo of the entire pond required eight separate images "stitched" together to cover a 220° pan of the camera.

The original purpose for photographing the pond, after 2006, was to document the changes to the pond and surrounding area as it went through the process of succession. Now that a colony of beaver have taken up residence the focus of the project is changing from documenting  the succession of the pond to long term documentation and maintaining a photo-journal as well as a written journal of the changes at the beaver pond.

The Beaver Pond August 19, 2007

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Thanks for visiting Bunch's Journal, more beaver pond journal entries to follow,
Bunch
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Mink Encounter

January 15, 2012 was a banner day! I left home to walk around the local lake and try for some muskrat photos. The sun was out and it was bright, the temperature was 12° with a strong wind. Arrived at my favorite shooting location and didn't have to wait long until a muskrat was swimming back to the bank den. Captured three good images of the muskrat with bright blue sky reflecting on the surface of the creek.
Three minutes later a mink appeared on the opposite shore, directly across from my location. It didn't seem to notice me while I shot image after image of the mink as it explored every nook and cranny. It worked its way downstream about one hundred twenty feet continually poking around, then to my amazement it dove into the creek. The mink swam to my side, me photographing it all the way.

A mink searching for a meal 

The mink continued to investigate every hole and crevice as it headed towards me. I wasn't able to see much of the mink, just a quick glimpse of part of its body, allowing me to track its progress. When the mink reached the muskrat feeding house its progress halted on a shelf of ice at water level, behind the hummock. There was a great deal of activity behind that hummock. From the movements that I could see, I think the mink was eating something, a fish I'd guess, but I was never able to see what it had caught. 

What happened next made my day! The mink peered over the top of the hummock, looking directly at me. I shot eleven images with just its head showing. It disappeared, then reappeared on top of the hummock giving me eleven more great shots. The mink disappeared again only to reappear once more, this time on the ice from behind the hummock. It was very curious about me and was only thirty five feet away. I captured eight more great images before the the mink went on its way, traveling downstream and out of sight. 

Mink checking me out

  The mink on the hummock

 Satisfying its curiosity before moving on

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You can see more mink photos on my website:

 www.bunchlewisphotography.com

Thanks for visiting,

Bunch