A Photographic Introduction to Climbing in Acadia National Park
Project Overview
Over the past four years at College of the Atlantic (COA) I have been one of the most active members of the rock climbing community in Acadia National Park. While my passion for climbing is all-inclusive, my focus is on a specialized type of climbing: bouldering. As the name suggests, bouldering focuses not on the tallest edifices to be found, but rather on tests of physical strength and technique, battled out rope-less and low to the ground on boulders. Instead of forever chasing after a higher peak, with a clearly attainable goal of reaching each summit, in bouldering the challenge, as well as the goal, is in the experience, the process itself, which preserves a certain subjectivity, making the art of bouldering ever unique and highly personal. The choice of bouldering over roped climbing thus reflects a personal philosophy, an approach to life, a journey of self-discovery. Although Acadia has a long history of climbing, with well-documented resources for the traditional roped pursuits, there is a lack of information and media showcasing the beautiful world-class bouldering found in the park.
The goal of this project, therefore, is to produce a web-based resource for bouldering in Acadia National Park. This project is dedicated to the development of a web-based portfolio, which showcases the beauty and outstanding quality of the climbing in Acadia. What I want to do is pull from all my life and educational experiences to produce a single, cohesive, visual resource for climbers, creating something new, something useful, something valuable through the perspective of Human Ecology, the guiding philosophy of COA.
This project goes beyond mere documentation, however, because it will also be a photographic essay introducing, describing, and expressing each of Acadia’s unique bouldering areas. As a culmination of the last two years I have spent studying photography, I plan to produce an extensive photographic composition that engenders the beauty and grandeur of one of the best kept climbing secrets in the country, for the benefit of my community, both climbers as well as artists.
––Kory Cooper-Fenske, 2010
Project Overview
Over the past four years at College of the Atlantic (COA) I have been one of the most active members of the rock climbing community in Acadia National Park. While my passion for climbing is all-inclusive, my focus is on a specialized type of climbing: bouldering. As the name suggests, bouldering focuses not on the tallest edifices to be found, but rather on tests of physical strength and technique, battled out rope-less and low to the ground on boulders. Instead of forever chasing after a higher peak, with a clearly attainable goal of reaching each summit, in bouldering the challenge, as well as the goal, is in the experience, the process itself, which preserves a certain subjectivity, making the art of bouldering ever unique and highly personal. The choice of bouldering over roped climbing thus reflects a personal philosophy, an approach to life, a journey of self-discovery. Although Acadia has a long history of climbing, with well-documented resources for the traditional roped pursuits, there is a lack of information and media showcasing the beautiful world-class bouldering found in the park.
The goal of this project, therefore, is to produce a web-based resource for bouldering in Acadia National Park. This project is dedicated to the development of a web-based portfolio, which showcases the beauty and outstanding quality of the climbing in Acadia. What I want to do is pull from all my life and educational experiences to produce a single, cohesive, visual resource for climbers, creating something new, something useful, something valuable through the perspective of Human Ecology, the guiding philosophy of COA.
This project goes beyond mere documentation, however, because it will also be a photographic essay introducing, describing, and expressing each of Acadia’s unique bouldering areas. As a culmination of the last two years I have spent studying photography, I plan to produce an extensive photographic composition that engenders the beauty and grandeur of one of the best kept climbing secrets in the country, for the benefit of my community, both climbers as well as artists.
––Kory Cooper-Fenske, 2010