Friday, November 5, 2010

Pilings or No Pilings?

~A Photographers Perspective~
As controversy and litigation surround the removal of pilings on Cougar Bay, of Lake Coeur d'Alene; fighting over Osprey habitat and motorboats, of which I thought I had no opinion....my thoughts turn to all the photographs I have taken over the years in our piling filled bays.


Silver Solitude (Cougar Bay)

Wolf Lodge Sunset


Cougar Bay Shallows

How those same pilings have acted as interest elements in my compositions, artistic silhouettes,
leading lines and abstract patterns.

Dusk on Cougar Bay
These are just a few photos of the "soon to be gone" pilings.
Cougar Bay Abstract




Spokane River Twilight


On occasion I've found them annoying too, but not for the same reasons of current controversy.
  
Spokane River Sunset
Ice on Cougar Bay
Yesterday I returned to a favorite photo haunt to discover the absence of my favorite weathered pilings that jutted from the bay.
Remnants of a Bygone Era-Cougar Bay
I'm sure it seems odd that anyone would have favorite pieces of ragged,
protruding wood in a lake, but I did.
They were the ones in the photo below.


Tugboat in the mist hangs as 6 ft. Canvas
in the Kootenai Cancer Center (Post Falls)
and a 3 ft. print in the Federal Building, Cd'A


On a nearby dock stood the CDA press photographer waiting for a ride on a tugboat, to shoot for todays
CDA Press story on the issue.

Twin Silhouettes

As the boat transported him out to the working equipment,
I photographed the tug passing that very spot again and realized in an instant that the whole scene had lost something vital from a photographic standpoint.

 I watched from a distance with a bit of sadness,
the removal process, as equipment pushed over one piling at a time,
and then plucked it from the depths.

Without me even realizing it, these pilings have been a reminder of the history of our region and a
connection to the past.


Silver Dawn- Cougar Bay

They've added character, and intrigue.
Just my little tribute to something I think I am actually going to miss.
Spokane River Pilings

4 comments:

  1. Absolutely beautiful! Your pictures are breathtaking and remind me everyday why I live in this wonderous place that I call home. Thank you for all your beauty!

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  2. Incredible photos. And our sentiments exactly.

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  3. Simply beautiful but I wonder if a winter
    scene or two might add to this excellent display.

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  4. Yes, beautiful pictures of a time that has benifited the people of that era, now it is time to make way for what is to come. Clean as you go.

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