The Work Acadia National Park Info
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What to do and Where to Stay
About the Photographer
Cort's Thoughts on Photography
I started to become interested in photography in 1987, the year after my father died. I must not have realized it until after he was gone, but my dad had a profound effect on my interest in photography. Dad was an avid advanced amateur photographer. When I was a boy, he would take several of us kids on Saturday afternoon hikes in the Connecticut woods. I think these walks instilled in me a love and respect for the beauty of nature. He was a very good nature photographer and almost always shot prints, rarely slides. He loved taking time out from his busy schedule as General Sales Manager for L. S. Starrett (a precision tool manufacturer based in Athol, Massachusetts), to shoot scenics in Smoky Mountain National Park. Being a native New Englander, he enjoyed returning tothis region in the fall to record the foliage and covered bridges on film. Dad had Canon equipment, an AE-1 with 50 mm macro, 28mm wide angle and 135mm Canon lenses. He also owned a "bottom of the line" 500mm, f64ish telephoto lens. He rarely ever used that long lens! Dad would use a dry mount press to mount his enlargements, and he cut his own mats. As he progressed, he sold some of his work. Many family members have his enlargements gracing their walls. In fact, he was an exhibitor at the 1984 World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he resided in his later years.
Things that puzzle me now about his photography: I don't think I ever saw him use a tripod. He hand held everything! And I am not sure he ever used a polarizing filter. I know that if he were still alive, we would both be sharing tricks that would continue to improve each other's shooting. I would have tried to get him to stop cleaning his lenses with spit and a handkerchief.The other major motivator in my photographic endeavors has been Paul Johnson, a professional photographer and naturalist, from Borrego Springs, California. Regina and I met Paul in 1992 at Acadia National Park. As the Kodak professional photographer in the park, his photo walks hooked us. Every summer for a month, we would participate in 20 or more of these two-hour lessons in beautiful places. On weekends, when he has no Kodak commitments, the three of us would occasionally go somewhere for a photo shoot, like a lobstering harbor or a picturesque main street. He mentored me on the use of a tripod and polarizing and split neutral density filters. More recently, he has helped me in pruning my backgrounds. I don't hold it against him that he uses Nikon equipment and Kodak film!I enjoy natural light color nature photography. I like to shoot color, although I think the true artists shoot black and white. I read a lot of photography books, mostly nature subjects by the likes of John Shaw, Rod Planck, Art Wolfe and Galen Rowell. My favorite subjects are large birds, "wild and domesticated" flowers, landscapes in various weather conditions and seasons, waterfalls, sunrises and sunsets, and state and national parks. I occasionally use photography in my work as a physician assistant, to document a skin rash, a wound or an x-ray to be used in slide shows for medical teaching. And I shoot sports, particularly football. If I was not busy treating injuries on the Cornell sideline, I kept busy making pictures. What I like about nature photography is that each photograph that is made is a unique experience in place, time and lighting conditions, never to be duplicated exactly again. And no matter how good a subject and its lighting are, there is probably a way to make improvements. Early morning and late afternoon light are the best, and I particularly like the light from one-half hour before sunrise to an hour after, and from about two hours before sunset until one-half hour after. If the light is right, even a mediocre subject can look spectacular!I look for beauty and simplicity in nature. I will seek out bits of color to add a special foreground touch to landscapes. I look for even lighting, as direct light can often cause bright areas and shadows that end up looking somewhat mottled and much less appealing on film than they do to the naked eye. I rarely shoot without using a tripod. With slow, fine grain film, I need steadiness for long exposures. Many of my shots are in the quarter second to eight second range. As long as there is nothing blowing in the wind, these long exposures usually work. My strong and silent companion also slows me down, makes me check for the best composition, allows me to play with different f-stops, and also cautions me to scan the background for any distractions.Proper exposure is extremely critical in slide shooting. I have checked the TTL meters in the Elans with the Sunny 16 rule, and they are accurate. For 95 percent of scenics, the evaluative metering mode provides the perfect exposure. I have tried bracketing and found the middle shot to be the best. However, if I am shooting snow scenes, if I open up one full stop, I seem to get the best whites that still contain detail. For tricky subjects in contrasting light, for instance a heron in the sun with a black area surrounding it, I will take an exposure reading off a neutral toned subject in the same light as my heron, and then set the exposure manually. Once in a while, especially when doing macro work, I will use an 18 percent gray card. But I often find that the evaluative metering setting will get the better exposure. Bottom line: when you have a great subject in great light, take a few bracketed shots so you will have one right on the money. Then show only your best exposure to others! Enjoyment for me is combining a half-day hike with photography. I just strap on my belt packs with camera, lenses and gadgets and throw the tripod over my shoulder and head into a local state park. I prefer wooded paths alongside water. There is usually a photo op around every corner, and if it doesn't rain, I always have a good time. Incidentally, when I am in a park shooting, I will usually take along a garbage bag and collect any stray cigarette butts, candy wrappers and other man-made eyesores when other visitors have left more than footprints.
In October of 2000, we temporarily moved to Northeast Harbor, Maine. This is on the beautiful Island of Mount Desert. Now I spend 5 months a year on the island and when you don't find me working in the Emergency Room at MDI Hospital, you will find me out on the trails of Acadia.
Cort is married to Regina Lennox. Regina has been Book Sale Chairman for Friends of the Tompkins County Public Library Book Sale. This is one of the three largest used book sales in the country.
Cort and Regina have one daughter, Kerry Bassett. Kerry senior graphic designer at Duke Clinical Research Institute in Durham, North Carolina. She also creates beautiful jewelry.
University
of Massachusetts BS Inter
American University MAE Emory
University School of Medicine BMSc For
23 years Cort wasa physician assistant in charge
of the Cornell Student Sports Medicine Clinic in
Ithaca, NY. Ithaca is surrounded by magnificent
waterfalls, deep gorges, forests and farmland. Presently Cort is semi retired but works as a PA in Ithaca at Cornell and the local hospital. Five months a years Cort works at MDI Hospital's Emergency room on the Island of Mount Desert, home of Acadia National Park.
Amherst, MA
San German, PR
Atlanta, GA
Cort's equipment is Canon. There may be a genetic predisposition here, as my grandfather and father also used Canon cameras. My first SLR was an AE-1 which I borrowed from Regina. We now have two EOS bodies, an older Elan and a newer Elan II. We have five autofocus lenses, three of which are Canons. They are the 28-80mm zoom, 75-300mm zoom and 100mm f2.8 macro. I also employ a Sigma 400mm f5.6 HSM macro lens and a Vivitar 19-35mm utrawide zoom. My kit includes 12 and 25mm extension tubes and a Kenko 1.5X multiplier. Bogen tripods and heads keep our cameras steady--3021 legs with 3038 ball head and 3001 legs with 3265 pistol grip ball head.Fujichrome Velvia (ISO 50) is my absolute favorite film. I feel it has the most vivid, saturated colors, which are sometimes even better than the original scene! Kodak's Elite Chrome 100 Extra Color also packs a lot of punch and provides an extra stop of shutter speed. I almost always have slide film in the Elan.
I also carry an Olympus point-and-shoot for people photos or for hikes on rainy days. I keep Kodacolor or Fujicolor 200 or 400 ISO film in this pocket camera, so I can get double prints to give to friends and relatives.
Awards |
|
2000 |
Allentown Art Festival in Buffalo- First Prize |
2001 |
Legacy of the Arts- 2nd Place |
2002 |
Bar Harbor Legacy of the Arts- Best of |
2003 |
Bar Harbor Legacy of the Art-1st Place |
| 2004 | Paradise City Merit Award Marco Island 1st Prize in Photography Airlie Garden Merit Award Bar Harbor Legacy of the Arts - Best of Show |
2005 |
Bar Harbor Legacy of the Arts |