TRUNKS OF THE GUNKS
a visual odyssey through the Shawangunk Mountains in search of the unexpected
144 pages
hardcover 9.25″ x 9.25″
Black Dome Press
135 full color photographs
original map illustration, foreword by Dr. Paul C. Huth, introduction, and index
Nora Scarlett hiked for over ten years throughout the “Gunks” (the Shawangunk Mountains of New York State) on a quest for the unusual trunk, stump, root, and log. “I looked for intriguing formations, humorous characteristics, improbable locations, surprising shapes and other wondrous growths. I became awed at scene after scene displaying how life adapts to adversity and how it succeeds in astonishing ways. Tiny seedlings emerge from small cracks in rock, sprouting a handful of needles or tender leaves, knowing only to keep trying to grow. Enormous hemlocks hang off ledges, improbably rooted to something, looking as if they shouldn’t be upright, and yet … there they are.”
Drawing from her years of studio photography experience, she considered every detail of light and composition while crafting these striking images. They reflect an endeavor to see beyond the ordinary into a forest of surprise and delight.
“Every now and then someone comes along who looks at things in a different way, with a different eye so to speak. Nora Scarlett is one of those people. … [She] has captured … a determination to live that is not only inspiring and thought-provoking, but evokes in me a renewed respect for the complexity of life itself.”
—Dr. Paul C. Huth, Director of Research Emeritus and Associate Curator, Daniel Smiley Research Center, Mohonk Preserve
$35.00
Ledge Leaf Lake Labyrinth
an uncommon portrait of the Shawangunk Mountains
168 pages
hard cover 9.25” x 9.25”
Black Dome Press
188 full color photographs
original map illustration, forward by Robert K. Anderberg and introduction
Photographer Nora Scarlett hiked, climbed, scrambled and bushwhacked
throughout the Shawangunk Mountains (of New York State) for over ten years to create this visual story of a region she so loves—her own big backyard—a diverse
area of glaciated slabs dotted with gnarled pitch pines, dark hemlock
groves, striking cliff faces, deep crevasses, mossy swamps and sparking
blue lakes. She quested for iconic ridge views under dramatic conditions as
well as intimate vignettes of smaller, often overlooked scenes. She suffered
frozen hands during unexpected snowstorms in November and batted
mosquitoes and black flies in the June swelter. With her eye for the
unusual, the unexpected and the visually bold, the result, an uncommon
collection of compelling images, is presented with a mix of drama, passion,
whimsy and humor.
Featuring 188 gorgeous full-color photographs, a hand-crafted map of the
region, and a foreword by Robert K. Anderberg, Senior Vice President and
General Counsel for the Open Space Institute.
$35.00