Exploring Wild and Wondrous Maine While Hiking, Biking, Kayaking, Skiing, Skating, and Balancing on Slippery Seaweed-Covered Rocks.

In a Zoom slide show, award-winning science writer, memoirist, and photographer Margie Patlak will talk about what inspired her to take the Maine nature photos that comprise her newly published photobook Wild and Wondrous: Nature's Artistry on the Coast of Maine, and her photography-on-the-fly process using an iPhone.

The talk will include a visual tour of the book, with examples from each of its 10 chapters, which cover rocks, islands, fog, clouds, flora and fauna and other key elements of the Maine landscape. Patlak will also provide some of the scientific background to appreciate the photos she presents, including the amazing photosynthesizing capabilities of spotted salamander embryos, and the powerful geologic forces that created the black basalt dykes that are so prevalent on the Schoodic peninsula. Readers of Patlak’s previous book More Than Meets the Eye: Exploring Nature and Loss on the Coast of Maine will recognize many of the featured photos as they depict scenes she described in that award-winning nature memoir.

For Patlak, exploring the unique Maine coast opens a door to deeper insights and a greater appreciation for nature’s artistry. Fog erases all boundaries and imparts a sense of the unknown. Repeating lines of clouds render infinity with their visual echoes. Tree reflections in a pond or tidal pool give us pause. From blueberry barrens ablaze with autumnal color to tidal shores decorated with barnacles and rockweed, Patlak’s lens captures Maine’s diverse habitats and inhabitants while conveying her sublime sense of wonder at its natural beauty. 

Margie Patlak is a science writer, memoirist and photographer. Her memoir More Than Meets the Eye: Exploring Nature and Loss on the Coast of Maine was given the "Outstanding Book" award by the American Society for Journalists and Authors in 2022. Best-selling author Sy Montgomery called it a “beautiful and surprising book in which bereavement gives way to awe.” Her photobook Wild and Wondrous: Nature's Artistry on the Coast of Maine, was published in July of 2023. Patlak's personal essays and articles have appeared in a number of newspapers and literary journals including, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Washington Post, Discover magazine, Hippocampus, JuxtaProse and many others. Her photographs have appeared in solo and group exhibits in Maine and in private collections. She has degrees in Botany and Environmental Studies and divides her time between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Corea, Maine.

This program will be recorded. A link to the recording will be shared with everyone who registers. .

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