Black and White, Mt. Katahdin
Saturday, August 4th, 2007
It’s where we all begin the hike.
Mt. Katahdin, Baxter State Park, Maine, 1986
When I made this photograph (4×5” sheet film), I thought at the time the light was terrific and I was standing at the perfect spot at the perfect time of day. That’s the west branch of the Penobscot River in the foreground. I was with 9 friends from a summer camp I’d been photographing and we climbed this mountain the next day. On the way to the top there is a sign that reads, “do not hike this trail in bad weather.”
Later I learned that for 300 days out of the year Mt. Katahdin (the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail) is in clouds and rain, that I had had a very lucky day. I also have a color photograph of this scene on istockphoto.com that anyone can buy a digital copy of for a few dollars.
I like this black and white version and wish I still owned that camera.