Woody Packard

Words + Pictures

Canacadea

These are very large stitched digital files, made from hand-held and aligned exposures. What they lack in precision is largely made up for by the fact that without a tripod, I was able to wade right into high water to locate my position, even when it was a foot and a half under water. I have printed these images as large as 92" wide, and have used them to produce a time-lapse video that loops back to compare before with after.

During the period between March, 2008 and May, 2009 I was living in Alfred, NY, working on my MFA at Alfred University. I stayed on property that bordered Canacadea Creek, and as part of my routine I began to photograph it as often as my schedule allowed. Within a few weeks I spotted beavers and began to anticipate the exciting changes that could happen. When the beavers moved on, I was left with what I thought was to be the steady progress of the seasons.
  Around that time the landowner removed a logjam and cut an access road beside the stream. Over the course of the winter, ice covered the stream, and in the spring, high water nibbled away at the stream bank as well as the newly cut road. Action was taken to preserve the road, but it was no use, for once the stream had decided to change course there was no stopping it.

close notes—back to pictures

October 16, 2008

October 16, 2008 - 2081016

October 16, 2008

~ 2081016

Canacadea Creek, above Almond, NY