Hiker’s Art at Blue Ball Barn: Alapocas through the seasons

Program leader Lynn McDowell's Stream and Sky

When Delaware State Park employee Elizabeth Drummond and photographer Lynn McDowell began guiding public nature hikes with photography in mind, the results were a wonderful mix of photographic talent, healthful hikes and…now…a photography exhibit in the Blue Ball Barn  of Alapocas Run State Park.

After a year of Ms. Drummond encouraging people to hike and look carefully and Ms. McDowell telling the hikers to look with a camera, the two realized that they had amassed some impressive photographs.  Their hiker companions used cell phones and digital cameras and brought myriad levels of experience to the project, but the collaboration seems to have inspired one and all to view the seasons with creativity and imagination. 

Gavin's Reaching for the Sky

The youngest photographer whose work is on display is Gavin, 12, who attended the opening with his father and brother.  Gavin had taken a photograph of a dead tree from an angle where you see the trunk, but he managed to get the lacework of black twigs in perfect focus against a purplish blue winter sky.  The quality of the photograph makes it hard to believe he took it with a Panasonic Point and Shoot.



Don Thureau's Snake on the Rocks

On the far wall was a photograph which seemed to be of a swirl of colored autumn leaves.  Up close, you can see it is a snake which photographer Don Thureau photographed just as he extended his bright red tongue as he contemplated his human audience. 

Virginia Lockman's A Spider's Web

With McDowell’s encouragement, Virginia Lockman took a dramatic picture of a spider web.  McDowell decided to bring out the light by spraying the web with droplets of water which made a prismatic effect.

The project truly seems to have taken hold, with the joy and exuberance of both professional and amateur photographers excited to collaborate and capture the beauty of the Delaware State Parks on their hikes. The exhibit will be on display at Blue Ball Barn through March 16.

See DEstateparks.com.