Fall colors are peaking in these last days of a warmer than normal October. For nature lovers venturing out with their cameras, WKSU鈥檚 Vivian Goodman offers the guidance of one of Ohio鈥檚 leading landscape photographers in today鈥檚 State of the Arts.
It鈥檚 Indian summer, and we鈥檙e not just talking Tribe.
It was 70 degrees and partly cloudy on a late September day when we met Ian Adams just east of Painesville and a mile west of the Perry nuclear plant.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in the initial 20-acre tract of land that was opened in 2012 as the ,鈥� says Adams. It鈥檚 a new unit of the , and his camera knows it well.
Ian Adams now calls Cuyahoga Falls home. He left Birmingham, England, 40 years ago. 鈥淎nd for the last 25 years of that I鈥檝e been a professional Ohio photographer, writer, and teacher.鈥�
Making others care
Adams has authored two dozen books, most of them about Ohio, including two volumes of
He鈥檚 a passionate lover of nature who says he takes pictures as a means to an end "to introduce people to places that I think they ought to care about and know about in the state of Ohio.鈥�
One of his go-to places is Lake County. "Of course you have the the second largest arboretum in the United States. You have the Lake Metroparks system which is a fabulous set of parks.鈥� Lake Erie Bluffs is the newest park, stretching for two miles along the shoreline.
Adams covers a lot of ground shooting pictures for coffee table books and calendars.
鈥淚鈥檓 up to 1.2 million miles on the road around Ohio,鈥� he says. And the spot we鈥檙e in is one of his favorites. 鈥淭here aren鈥檛 very many places like this that still exist along the Lake Erie shore.鈥�
is one of the least developed of Ohio鈥檚 natural areas, and at 600 acres, one of the largest on the lake鈥檚 south shore.
鈥淲e鈥檙e coming to the edge of some 40-foot shale bluffs created by Lake Erie. It just eroded them away.鈥�
Clouds improve thepicture
The panoramic view of the lake is spectacular from a new 50-foot observation tower that opened last month. But for landscape photography, conditions are less than perfect.
鈥淚 would prefer to be here early in the morning or late on in the evening,鈥� says Adams. 鈥淏ut we do have some cloud cover which lowers the contrast and provides some interest in the sky, and I like the fact that we鈥檝e got some blue sky which will reflect in the lake.鈥�
But Adams wants a different vantage point for a close-up shot of the bluffs. So we make our way down to the beach.
鈥淲atch your footing,鈥� Adams cautions. We鈥檙e on shaky ground as we descend to the shore. These are bluffs, after all, not cliffs. 鈥淭ypically a cliff is solid rock and this is not,鈥� says Adams. 鈥淭his is shale. It鈥檚 very muddy.鈥�
We reach the beach and Adams lifts his binoculars.
Bevy of blooms
Thousands of wildflowers cover the bluffs for at least a hundred yards.
鈥淚f you look over there,鈥� he says, pointing to a colorful bunch, 鈥淭he yellow of course are goldenrod, and right there next to them, you can see the purples. That鈥檚 New England aster, beautiful purple flowers with a yellow center.鈥�
The scene is a photographer鈥檚 dream, and this partly cloudy day is good for close-ups.
鈥淲ild flowers, mushrooms, diffuse overcast light is much better. You don鈥檛 want to do that in bright sun.鈥�
Further up the beach through a bramble of bushes at the foot of the bluffs Adams spots a patch of cerulean blue.
We鈥檙e treated to a dazzling display of blue wildflowers with spreading fringed petals.
鈥淎nd you鈥檙e looking at one of the largest populations of , which is a rare plant, in the state of Ohio. Maybe 10,000 of them just in this one section here.鈥�
Late-comers
Long after other flowers fade, these late bloomers are a treat for even an experienced photographer鈥檚 eyes. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I鈥檝e ever seen another wildflower that is a more spectacular blue than that.鈥�
Gentians abound on the bluffs, and in patches where goldenrod mixes in, Adams says the blue and yellow complementary colors are great for a wide shot.
鈥淎nd then get in closer and take a shot at just one or two of them as a portrait of the plant because it鈥檚 so beautiful in close-up.鈥�
Back on the sand he spots a branch of bleached driftwood he likes for a foreground.
鈥淎nd then the background of course is the beach, and the waves, and the horizon and the sky, but that something to put in the foreground often includes the driftwood and those big boulders that are right around it.鈥�
Adams shoots it with his I-phone.
鈥淒o I use it for my professional work? No. But the quality of the pictures coming out of the I-Phone is as good as my regular cameras within certain limits.鈥�
In two volumes of 鈥淎 Photographer鈥檚 Guide to Ohio,鈥� Ian Adams shows 300 natural areas.
鈥淚t would take you 10 lifetimes to explore them all thoroughly.鈥�
He says he photographs them to inspire others to preserve them.
鈥淲e need to protect these places because we can鈥檛 make a natural area. Only God can do that.鈥�
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