The little community of Blue Rocks is a working fishing village a few kilometres outside the Town of Lunenburg. With blue slate rocks, hugging the edge of the ocean, it is an endless source of beautiful imagery, both spectacular and subtle.
It was discovered by many artists and photographers beginning in the 1940s.
The Point Road and Herring Rock Road follow the water’s edge - a great place for a walk.
Fog and mist aren't just frequent visitors to the Nova Scotia coast, they live there. They bring mood and atmosphere, creating dreamlike views of the land and sea.
In Blue Rocks, Stonehurst and elsewhere up and down the South Shore, fishing shacks hug the rocky coast. They come in all shapes and sizes. Some are quite humble, some elaborate, dressed in weathered shingles or sporting vivid paint.
Past the fishing shacks nestled behind the shelter of Blue Rocks Island, past the rocky slate shore lies the Point. Looking east is the archipelago of small islands that make up this tip of land; to the south is Feltzen South, with the open Atlantic beyond.
This simple structure is apparently the most photographed building in Lunenburg county. In the right conditions, it seems to float as if on a cloud.
A jumping off point for voyages of the imagination, this simple blue boat finds itself in my viewfinder again and again.
Shipshape or not, the shapes, lines and colours of ships, boats, dock buildings and things nautical are an irresistible draw for the eye.
Winter skies transmit softer light than in other seasons. Clouds shift in the early morning light, painting the sky in pastel colours; even brilliant winter sunlight does not feel as harsh as such light is at other times.
The Atlantic water is cold most of the time, but the white sand warms in the sunlight. Fog banks can appear almost instantly on bright days, creating otherworldly scenes.
The slate rock of Blue Rocks really is blue in certain light; the golden yellow of the rockweed is the perfect complement.
The beach sand is the canvas for the ocean's brush strokes. Each low tide leaves behind countless tiny ephemeral compositions. All I have to do is collect them.
These rocks, found in Blue Rocks, have been etched and carved by the relentless action of tides over unmeasured time. The sculptures so created are like ink blots, leaving the viewer free to decide what the lines, whorls and colours represent.
The town of Lunenburg was established in the mid-eighteenth century by the British. Designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1995 to ensure protection of its unique architecture and civic design, it is the best example of planned British settlement in Canada. An active seaport and shipbuilding centre, Lunenburg is perhaps best known as the home of the iconic Bluenose II.
This combination of rich architectural heritage and strong maritime connection provides a multitude of creative opportunities for photography and other visual arts.
Monhegan is a small, rocky Island ten miles from the nearest mainland and scarcely a square mile in area, accessible only by boat - there are no cars or paved roads on the Island. Since long before Europeans first arrived, it was known to Native Americans as a prime fishing area, and today its economy is still ruled by those who make their living from the sea, fishing and lobstering.
For more than 100 years, Monhegan has been a summer haven for artists and other visitors who appreciate its isolation, the beauty of its wilderness areas, its quiet relaxed atmosphere, and its unhurried pace.
Monhegan Associates, founded to preserve and protect the wild lands of the island and its “simple, friendly way of life,” is responsible for the protection of the undeveloped parts of the island outside the village and harbor. About 12 miles of trails, often steep and strenuous, lead through wooded areas and over rocky ledges up to the highest ocean cliffs on the Maine coastline.
The food we eat can also nourish the eye - shape, colour, texture, pattern, reflective or translucent - all part of the visual feast.
Barcelona is a feast. As a first time visitor, I was drawn to the openings - the architectural, visual invitations of the doors and windows I saw, that beckon one to peer inside or to enter.