Nature photographer showcases Quabbin

By Mike Briotta, PRIME Editor For more than 65 years, animals foraging in the pristine wilderness surrounding the Quabbin Reservoir have been greeted each winter by a solitary visitor in the woods: photographer Les Campbell. As a dark-eyed junco alights upon a gnarled tree stump, Campbell's camera eye catches the bird in mid-flight. Bald eagles, moose, bears, foxes and wildcats also share this snowy habitat with him. At age 85, Campbell remains a powerful force in the art of photography. He's not ready to slow down anytime soon. Although he's tried to cut back on his work in the field, it's only because he has a vast archive of thousands of images that he hasn't gotten around to making prints of just yet.

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"Perhaps no aspect of the Quabbin Valley is more striking than the overwhelming sense of lost communities that now exist only in scattered words or images."

—Les Campbell, renowned photographer

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Sometimes, a nature photo comes to him, as in the case of a wayward deer that Campbell spied outside his house. "The deer was eating my shrubbery," he said. "The least he could do was pose for a photo." Another time, Campbell set up a nesting box for owls, and was able to get up-close-and-personal images of the owl family. A humble outbuilding near Campbell's home called the Sky Meadow Gallery serves as his studio space. The edifice is fittingly adorned with a representation of the Massachusetts state bird, the black-capped chickadee. His studio is illuminated with ambient lighting, a roaring fireplace in winter, and a few well-placed spotlights. Ultraviolet lighting is off-limits, as it would fade the dyes of his prints. Campbell is among the best-known photographers of the Pioneer Valley, his work having appeared in such periodicals as National Geographic, National Audubon and many other publications. He's received many honors including four of the highest awards given by the Photographic Society of America. He had a 45-year career working at the reservoir and founded the Quabbin Visitor's Center and Friends of the Quabbin. Campbell has preserved hundreds of images of the pre-Quabbin Swift River Valley. To help those less familiar with the Quabbin, the reservoir is the largest inland body of water in Massachusetts and was built in the 1930's. It supplies water for Boston as well as dozens of other communities. Four entire Western Massachusetts towns were submerged, and parts of others flooded, to create the reservoir. "Perhaps no aspect of the Quabbin Valley is more striking than the overwhelming sense of lost communities that now exist only in scattered words or images," Campbell said. "Some people still recall villages, farms, woodlands and streams now submerged in a startling new landscape with a beauty of its own. I have attempted to personify and articulate my own special understanding of a Quabbin known, loved and treasured by hundreds of thousands of visitors whose affection transcends knowledge of its existence as a drinking supply." He's equal parts photographer, nature lover and local historian. His own land is surrounded by state property and features numerous hiking trails that access the reservoir area. Campbell is an advocate of the axiom: "Quabbin for the joy of it."

Visual Legacy

Not only is his studio chock full of nature photos, but Campbell also offers classes in framing images as well. "Using very basic equipment, keeping it to a minimum," he explained of those classes. "We can teach about three to four people at a time in here." As would be expected from a photographer known for his Audubon contributions, many of the images lining his cozy studio are bird photos. "When you know your birds, and you know where to find their feeding station or nesting site, you just wait," he explained. "My first hobby was bird-watching," Campbell said. "I was an active birder in the late 1940's and 50's. I had seen all the birds you could expect to see, and wanted to share my enjoyment through photography. I soon learned that birds are connected to everything else." Campbell's subjects certainly aren't limited to avian creatures. His collection of photos includes sweeping landscapes of the area, portraits of the human form, and other flora and fauna. "Anything that appeals to me artistically," he said of his subjects. "Landscapes, natural history, wildlife. I did a lot of black-and-white photos in the 1960's, and in 1958 was considered the number one nature photographer in the world [recipient of the Buxton award], but I soon realized that I'm not interested in competing. I'm interested in sharing my experiences." Something of a Renaissance man, Campbell is also interested in preserving the visual record of the area's history. "Four whole towns were disincorporated, and lost from existence," he said. "Dana, Prescott, Greenwich and Enfield, Mass., plus parts of many other towns, were lost to create the Quabbin Reservoir." Campbell is essentially a curator for the images of pre-Quabbin photographer Walter Gardner. Gardner's late 1920's photos show young people in the area growing up in the now-submerged towns. One image depicts area orphans pulling their sleds in the winter. In another, local folks enjoy swimming in a watering hole. A vertical portrait of a Tom Sawyer-like boy is a slice of life: standing proudly in his flipped-brim straw hat and overalls, the boy displays a fish that he presumably caught. "There's a human emotion of loss [to the flooded towns]," Campbell said. "You can't put a price on that. We're trying to set up a fund drive to save the visual records. There are tons of books about the Quabbin, but not a visual record. You see the images of these people and it moves you. You can't get that from a book. We have [Gardner] to thank for preserving their legacy. He was a historian in his own way." The reservoir is named for a Native American chief called Nani-Quaben, meaning place of many waters. During a period of seven years the waters of the reservoir slowly rose behind the Winsor Dam, and the water gradually submerged the roads that had linked the towns. It swallowed all but the peaks of about 60 hills and mountains, transforming Prescott Ridge into Prescott Peninsula. Old roads that once led to the flooded towns can still be followed to the water's edge. Not all elements of the towns were flooded; some memorials and cemeteries in the four towns were moved. In addition to communities in eastern Massachusetts, the Quabbin's waters also serve Chicopee, South Hadley and Wilbraham. Campbell's views of Quabbin encompass four main modes of thought: the engineering perspective; historical meaning; as a wilderness sanctuary; and personal or inspirational interpretations of the area. Said the photographer, "A place like Quabbin is as essential to our spiritual well-being as clean water is essential to our physical well-being."

Projecting Beauty

Another aspect of the Sky Meadow Gallery is Campbell's use of multiple slide projectors working together to show images on a 48-foot screen. He helped to pioneer the use of multiple projectors, developing slide show presentations as an art form. "The high-water mark came at the Detroit international convention, when I was the final speaker," he recalled. "Up until that time, the final speaker of that even had always been Kodak." His photo exhibit "Glimpses of the Pre-Quabbin Swift River Valley and Quabbin Reservoir of Today" ran from fall 2010 through early January of this year at the UMass Amherst campus, and his photos were also a major component of the New Year's Eve festivities in Belchertown this winter. When PRIME magazine caught up with Campbell, he was heading to one of his many exhibits in the Belchertown area where he lives, displaying some 60 images that evening. "You'll remember some of these scenes, but others you'll be seeing for the first time," he said of the diverse exhibit, which also included architectural photos. Some of his shots are sold to companies including Country Bank and Wing Memorial Hospital. The former used Campbell's images in a series of billboard advertisements, and the latter will be displaying his work in hospital waiting rooms. "We just sold 16 pieces to Wing Memorial," Campbell said. "One of them is a Quabbin picture that's 14 feet wide. They're adding a new cardiology wing and wanted something people would enjoy looking at in the hospital." Elaine Darr-Morton joined Campbell in 2008 as assistant in his photo activities. She helps him to conduct matting and framing workshops, and her own work can also be seen on display at Sky Meadow Gallery. Campbell calls his style "classical pictorialism" and emphasizes that, unlike modern photographers who heavily edit with computer programs, there's no trickery after the image is taken. "This is traditional, no manipulation," he said. "Everything is done in-camera. I may clean up a few things, but I definitely don't alter what's going on. Nowadays, you can't trust pictures anymore. You don't know if it's graphic art or a photo." Although his images of birds in flight would seem the most difficult for him to capture, Campbell said that a good landscape photo takes the most time to achieve. "The easiest thing to do is to fill the whole frame with the subject, but to make the subject dominate within a landscape is difficult. In landscapes, you're at the mercy of many factors: the time of year, the lighting. It all has to fall into place for you to get something worth printing." For those who want to check out Campbell's work first-hand, his Sky Meadow Gallery is open by appointment until April. From April through May, he offers a variety of slide shows set to music. "If you're a Quabbin lover or a lover of traditional photography, you will enjoy my photos," Campbell said. "If you haven't been to Sky Meadow Gallery, get off your butt and get down here. This is a hidden treasure, open all year around. It's worth a visit." PRIME For more information about Les Campbell photography or to set up a visit to Sky Meadow Gallery in Belchertown, please call (413) 323-7405.