Confirming my Hopewell hopes

A while back I posted this black-and-white photograph of a particular flower-pot rock at Hopewell, taken from the book This is New Brunswick, by Jessie I. Lawson and Jean MacCallum Sweet (Ryerson Press, 1951).

I promised to try to take the same photo, showing the same rock from the same angle, the next time I went to the Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park.

I had found a shot in my collection from 2012 that showed what I thought was the same rock (I was right, by the way) but wanted to make sure with a more carefully planned picture.

The new shot is still not a perfect recreation (I was a bit rushed as the tide was coming in) but it's not too bad.

Amazing how much has changed, isn't it? And yet how much has stayed the same. The "face rock" to the right (which is actually standing behind the rock that is central to the photo) hasn't changed much but a full one-third of the main rock is now gone. Neat, huh?

A Hopewell Rock: Then and Now

During a recent visit to the Owl's Nest Book Shop here in Fredericton, I was looking for books on New Brunswick history to help with a writing project upon which I am working. I was pleased to find a hardcover book called This is New Brunswick, written by Jessie I. Lawson and Jean MacCallum Sweet and published by The Ryerson Press in Toronto in 1951.

In this book, these two women write about their travels to the four corners of the province of New Brunswick in 1950, providing a first-hand account of the province's many towns and villages, its rivers and valleys, and its people. They also provide a great deal of New Brunswick history, all written in an approachable and enjoyable style and accompanied by a collection of black and white photographs that were taken during their journey.

I was pleased and excited to find the top photo taken at the Hopewell Cape, which shows quite clearly some of the magnificent rock formations created by the ebb and flow of the world's highest tide as such rocks appeared in 1950.

So I went to my iPhoto archives to look at my own shots of Hopewell, taken on several trips to the Provincial Park over the past several years. I wanted to see if I could find a photo of the same rock, but as it appears today, 60 years after Ms. Lawson and Ms. MacCallum took their picture.

And I think I've done it. My photo is from a slightly different angle but I am convinced it's the same rock, even though it has changed a great deal over the years.

Now don't laugh. They are the same rock, I'm certain. First, recognise that the modern shot is taken with the photographer standing in a slightly different position - I am to the right of where the photographer for the first shot must have been, such that the rock in behind the main one is more in the shot.

Second, you have to accept that, in the 60 years between the photos, a full one-third (the left third) of the main rock has completely disappeared. The vertical lines on the face of the rock cut it into three parts in the 1950 photo while only two of those three parts remain in the newer shot.

Just look at the horizontal lines on the face of the rock in the modern photo and compare them to the horizontal lines on the face of the righthand two-thirds of the rock in the older shot. They match perfectly. And, in the old shot, you can see the bumps on the side of the rock in behind the main rock that look so much like a face in the modern shot.

I think it's the same rock. And I think it's amazing to think that, in a mere 60 years, the tide has wiped away a full one-third of this massive form. That's why it's so important to visit Hopewell every couple of years, since things are constantly changing.

In fact, we're going back to Hopewell this August and, when we do, I'll bring this interesting book and try to reproduce the original photo exactly.

Or, as exactly as time and erosion will allow.

Day 186 - The majesty of the Hopewell Rocks

I'm cheating a little bit, I know, but I thought this photograph from our trip to Hopewell on Sunday was good enough to bring forward and use today.

With beautiful weather and bright, deep blue skies, we picked a fantastic day to go to see this natural wonder. We arrived at 10 a.m., just as the tide was at its lowest point. That allowed us to walk on the ocean floor and see the magnificent "Flower Pot" rocks from below. We were lucky that, at such an early hour on a Sunday morning, we also managed to miss the usual crowds that flock to the site.

I under-exposed this shot just slightly to overcome the tendency of the bright sun to bleach out the colours. Just look at that sky, and the deep greens of the trees at the top left-hand corner of the frame. Wonderful. I had to use iPhoto's cropping function to trim the bottom and right side of the photo a bit, both for the sake of balance and to remove the one human figure that managed to sneak in. I think it's pretty great that I was able to get a number of scenic pictures without any bipeds in sight.

Three hours after this photo was taken, the tide had come in and the water levels had risen by almost 40 feet. That meant that the entire floor you see here was submerged and the water levels rose well past the base of kelp and seaweed at the base of these rocks. It's really quite amazing to see.

Day 184 - Winsome lass at low tide

A trip to the Bay of Fundy on a breezy, beautiful summer day bring us this photograph taken at low tide.

Our friend Steph decided to take a shoeless walk in the mud of the ocean floor at the Hopewell Rocks world nature site and I was lucky enough to capture her in this winsome pose, shoes in hand, gazing out to sea.

The colours today were unbelievable. Unfortunately, the bright sun has a habit of bleaching them out so I had to underexpose my shots just slightly to hold the colours. Although I love this photograph, I am somewhat disappointed that it doesn't include the incredible sky that we enjoyed today. Even so, I'm pleased with the overall effect of this shot.