On March 11th, 2011, a devastating tsunami hit Japan. One of the towns that was destroyed was Rikuzentakata, the birthplace of the Japanese landscape photographer Naoya Hatakeyama. Kesengawa is his intimate portrait of that place and event. You can read about this remarkable book in our Out of Print section in resources.
Author Archives: HakusanCreation
Snow Day
Today we are housebound. We are expected to receive 24″ of snow, about 60 cm, in blizzard conditions. Click on the image for a larger view.
Harbinger
Ice crystals in the atmosphere creating a halo around the moon. This was our view this Wednesday. Today, we had one of the largest storms this season, about 8″ to 9″ of snow. Click on the image for a larger view.
Winter Woods
Our forest in winter feels open. Unlike the other seasons, nothing is hidden. It is like walking into a large empty warehouse where the entire space seems to reveal itself, leaving little to explore. Click on the image for a larger view.
Winter Fields
The field where we grow our blackberries has a hardness in winter that is hard to describe. It is not barren, Rather it has lost an intimacy with its visitors. A place to pass through, offering little cause to linger. Click on the image for a larger view.
Pleasant Pond in Winter
Pleasant Pond, Maine being illuminated by the setting sun. It is very different in summer. Click on the image for a larger view.
Winter Blackberries
I explored our land this weekend. We have had unusual amounts of rain, freezing rain, and sleet this winter. The snow pack is hard and slippery–normally when I wear snowshoes, it is so I don’t sink too far into the snow, but now I just need the crampons on the shoes to stop from slipping.
Our blackberry field is like an abstract painting of hard black strokes on a brilliant white canvas. This is such a stark transformation from what this field looks like in the summer. Click on the image for a larger view.
A Different Light, Part 2
A Florida tree farm in near infrared. Click on the image for a larger view.
Winter Constellations
High altitude clouds create halos around the bright stars in the winter constellations: Orion, on the right with his famous belt and sword; Taurus, in the center marked by his blazing eye; and the Pleiades, the tight blue group on the left. Click on the image for a larger view.
Road Closed
The journey along the Blue Ridge Parkway is not always predictable—what journey ever is? Sections of the parkway can be closed because of landslides. But when one road closes, another opens. This closure was just after the entrance to Mt. Mitchell, the tallest peak east of the Mississippi River.
The ride up Mt. Mitchell is very different from Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. While Mt. Washington is 400 ft lower at 6,289 ft—compared to Mt. Mitchell’s 6,684 ft—the summit is an alpine zone. The tree line extends to Mt. Mitchell’s summit. 
This December, it was a windy 37°F at the summit lookout. A park ranger walked up with us and explained this weather was unusual. Normally, he explained, there would be a snow pack of several feet and freezing weather. He is a member of a troop of rangers that man the summit year round. We ended the day at Green Knob Overlook on the way down. Click on the images for larger views.
