The Central Appalachians: Mountains of the Chesapeake by Mark Hendricks

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

I picked this book up because the Bristol Public Library has started a photography club and I was interested in seeing how a professional photographer would capture the views of an area I know well.  The book turned out to be more than I bargained for, and I mean that in a good way.  It reminds me of an extra-large issue of National Geographic: many high-quality photos accompanied by informative and very readable text.

Growing up in Maryland, Hendricks became intrigued by watersheds, especially the enormous part of the Central Appalachians that sends water to the Chesapeake Bay. He concentrated on the areas contained in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, and divided the book up by seasons.  There’s more text than in most books of this type, and Hendricks sometime strikes a personal note.  For example, at one point he encounters a bobcat, an experience which leaves him excited and awed. He’s knowledgeable and observant, but he still has a sense of wonder. I found this especially interesting because he co-ordinates the Animal Behavior program in the Biological Sciences Department of Towson University. It’s nice to feel that he hasn’t become blasé about wildlife.

Other sections describe the re-introduction of elk, a profile of an Appalachian Trail Thru-Hiker who happens to be a friend and mentor of the author, a man trying to save bats, and a woman trying to restore larch (a coniferous tree with bright green needles) in Finzel Swamp, as well as other interesting asides such as how he set up a trail camera and his comments about buying gear.  Ordinarily, buying gear wouldn’t be of interest to me but I liked his introduction which basically says it’s not the camera, it’s the photographer’s vision and creativity that is most important.

Of course, it’s the photos that really make the book.

Much of the terrain looked familiar to me.  There were shots that I would have guessed had been taken right in our own area, but were not.  I appreciated that in most cases Hendricks noted the general location where the photo was taken; I appreciate even more his discretion in not naming delicate or endangered areas.

This isn’t a coffee table type book, so some of the photos are a bit small. Many of these are intimate shots of small things: hellbenders, frogs, and mushrooms. I especially loved the ladyslippers. Included are mesmerizing photos of elk, deer, and bears, all beautifully done.  There are a couple of photos of rattlesnakes that I found downright startling and wondered just exactly how close the photographer was when he took them. Some shots are so beautiful that I would love to have prints to hang.  One amazing shot is a crab spider on a flower (page 85); I had to look twice before I realized it was a spider.  There’s a lot of curiosity and character in the bear photo on page 100, and a large beautiful shot of the night sky over Seneca Rocks, West Virginia on page 101. The fawn and doe shots (pp. 66 and 67) were charming; and the juxtaposition of yellow lady slippers next to a goldfinch was delightful.

He has several interesting photos of birch trees.  Normally, that’s not something I’d notice but these images are indeed arresting. It was only after I stopped and looked at perhaps the third one that I realized they were all birches.  My favorite has to be the summer shot on page 75, taken underneath a starry sky.  

I only have one quibble, and that’s the lack of an index to look for specific photos or areas. What can I say? It’s a librarian thing.

Maybe it’s just that the weather has kept me indoors too long, but I found this book to be a breath of (pollen-free) fresh air as well as one that holds out hope for the future of wild places.