Chesapeake Bay RAVE Dispatch 6 August 31, 2010 from Pine Creek, Pennsylvania

On the last day of the Chesapeake Bay RAVE, I stared at a rock for over an hour. The rock above actually. It was alone. The only rock breaching the surface of the scene. I used it to create a time lapse for a multimedia component of the RAVE some of my colleagues are working on. Time lapses are incredible tools that allow you to use multiple still images to create motion in a single scene. Subtle as it might be, the water ripples were the only thing moving, I was trying to elicit a mood that would suggest we can keep Pennsylvania’s rivers, streams, and creeks clean if we keep making positive changes.

The farmers in Pennsylvania who work so closely with the land are doing this. They are planting more trees to create corridors that can act as buffers along waterways on their property. More trees equal more nutrient absorption and less soil erosion, and overall better health for the watershed.

This morning I was working alongside Frank Rohrer, a stream buffer specialist who works with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. He is a photographer himself so the early rise at 5:00am was not too much hassle for the both of us. We worked the Pine Creek scene for a couple of hours, concentrating on simple compositions offered. Then, once the sun was up and the fog had dissipated, we headed home to conclude my RAVE assignment.

While I have no trouble staring at rocks for lengthy periods of time, I really was itching to see more of the Pennsylvania wildlife Rohrer talked about in the preceding days I was with him. Ideally, I would also get a chance to photograph these animals but as nature often chooses, this is not always the case. Sometimes the sighting is enough.

On the way back to the cabin in the woods, we were fortunate to glance a Bald Eagle, a White-tailed fawn, and a Black Bear mother with two cubs.

Check back here in the next couple of weeks to learn more details about the upcoming action exhibit later in September on Capital Hill. iLCP photographers will share images from the Chesapeake Bay RAVE.