Girl in Grass
Girl in Grass: Paul Brians
This is a revised and expanded version of the first show I did in the Bainbridge Island Photo Club exhibit area in the lobby of the Senior/Community Center a few years ago. The shots with Independence Day themes also appeared in the annual 4th of July Photo Club exhibit there.
Although most July 4th activities have been canceled this year, a scaled-down version of the Photo Club’s Annual Show is going to be open to the public from 11:00 to 4:00 with strong ventilation and masks required, at 370 Brien Ave. SE, Bainbridge Island. Come see our latest work!
Many of the photos included here were done for the Bainbridge Island Land Trust, an organization I love and have done many projects for, including the majority of photos in the books “Natural Bainbridge” and “Thirty Walks on Bainbridge“.
Watching Ivy Fall
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I was documenting the work of Bainbridge Island Land Trust volunteers pulling invasive ivy off trees when I took this shot of Billee Gearheard looking up in a way that reminded me of baroque scenes of saints gazing heavenward.
Birders Birding
During the 2016 BioBlitz census of plant and animal species on Bainbridge co-sponsored by the Land Trust and Islandwood this team was trying to spot as many different birds as they could in the Grand Forest.
Watching Horseback Riders
This boy had been working hard with a party of volunteers pulling Scotch broom out of the Hilltop meadow in April when this riding class happened by. He paused to watch them pass. If you look closely at his ears you can see that like the other volunteers he was wearing a face mask. This was the first Land Trust open weed pull since the pandemic began.
Fishing on the Point White Pier
On my way back from a walk I happened upon these folks at the pier in an interesting variety of poses.
Olaf Ribeiro Looking Up
Olaf is a dedicated tree lover and expert, and it’s only suitable to picture him in this pose. Taken during the 2016 BioBlitz as he led a group of us through the Hilltop forest.
On the Forest to Sky Trail
My favorite maple tree on this trail—which connects Battle Point Park with the Grand Forest—is at right and stretches over the man walking his dog.
On the Virginia V
Two women clad in black and white create a striking image at the rail as the old steamship approaches Eagle Harbor, after having circumnavigated the Island on its 2015 fundraising outing.
Weeding Blackberries in the Agate Passage Preserve
Josie Meier, BI Land Trust stewardship intern for 2020 and early 2021, tossed a blackberry branch just as I snapped this photo. She was part of a youth work party removing invasive species from the Agate Pass Preserve. Two more work parties area scheduled for July 7th— open to all—to uproot new blackberry seedlings at the same site. You can sign up at https://www.bi-landtrust.org/work-parties/.
Playing in the Treehouse
As I was preparing my 2016 exhibit of tree images for the Bainbridge Performing Arts Center I decided I really needed a treehouse photo. The owner of this magnificent structure volunteered hers—built for a book on the subject—and recruited the neighboring family’s children to pose in it
Tree Over Tot
As I was walking in Fort Ward Park on a sunny March day in 2018 I heard his parents call (in French!) for their dawdling son to catch up with them. I was struck by the contrast between the scale of the leafless tree towering above and the tiny boy running below.
Walk in the Woods
This touching shot of my neighbor David Sigmond and his grandson Caleb walking in the Bloedel Reserve wound up in Natural Bainbridge (with the permission of his parents)
Flowery Fourth
Though I’m confident this young woman was not looking down at her tattoos, her pose called attention to them with the lovely flowers making a striking contrast with her Independence Day-themed top.
Dryad in Grand Forest
My wife Paula Elliot posing with one of the biggest trees in the forest.
Girl in Grass
During the 2016 Bio Blitz this girl and her family joined the team exploring the Hilltop meadow to identify as many plant species as they could. She was an enthusiastic participant. Her parents granted their permission for the shot to be used in Natural Bainbridge.
Handing Off a Branch
During a Land Trust weed pull a couple of volunteers created this classic pose which became one of my favorite shots.
Into the Eerie Woods
At another Land Trust weed pull, the drooping mossy branches on these trees created a haunted look with the volunteer in the background plunging undaunted into the shadowy woods.
John van den Meerendonk
John was leading one of his nature lecture tours, this one on the Land Trust-protected Agate Passage Preserve. It seemed appropriate to depict him surrounded by ferns since he is a world-class expert on them.
Boy & Dog Waiting for the Parade
At the Bainbridge July 4th parade this boy with his dog captured perfectly the spirit of the day. He was surrounded by some clutter which I removed digitally. One of my very favorite photos.
OTHER PHOTO ALBUMS
ABOUT PAUL BRIANS. Paul Brians does extensive volunteer photography for the Bainbridge Island Land Trust. He created the photo book Four Seasons on Bainbridge Island (2010), was principal photographer for Natural Bainbridge (2019)and contributed the majority of photographs in Dave and Alice Shorett’s Thirty Walks on Bainbridge (2020) published for the benefit of the Land Trust. He also took photos for some years for Bainbridge in Bloom. He has had six exhibitions of his prints on the Island and his pictures have appeared in many regional publications and on Bainbridge-related Web sites. He posts photos daily on Facebook and is an active member of the Bainbridge Island Photo Club.