Article

Dan Grenier

Black and white photograph of a trail crew worker with their arms crossed. Forest scene in the background.
Acadia Pathmakers- Alex

Photo Coutesy of Dan Grenier. Used with permission.


During my residency, I photographed the park trail crew, associated volunteers, and the Youth Conservation Corps in their work setting at Acadia National Park; creating environmental portraits documenting the individual, their dedication to their work, and their connection to the natural surroundings of the park. My intent was to build a small project portfolio that highlights the importance of stewardship and land management in ensuring the long-term integrity of our shared natural heritage.

To accomplish this, I used black and white film and large and medium format cameras to capture images. I chose to use these larger formats as my medium because the dynamics of the camera near-forces the photographer to contemplate and concentrate on each individual image. The enhanced creative involvement associated with larger formats exposes the artist to the photographic process different from the quick decisions making that is intrinsic to a 35mm digital camera. With larger film formats, creating each photographic image is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and therefore, I believe, helps the photographer to have a more intimate visual experience. As such, this photographic process has equated to a best expression and communication of my own personal experience, and my own way of seeing and describing the world around me through my embrace of process. My film was hand processed and used to produce fine silver gelatin enlarged prints in a traditional wet darkroom using the negatives, an enlarger, light-sensitive silver coated paper, and chemicals. Film provided the added benefit of its timeless look, and proven archival properties of the negative and museum quality silver enlargements.


– Dan Grenier

Photo of artist Dan Grenier wish shoreline in the back ground.
Dan Grenier

For more than fifteen years, I’ve made my living managing conservation lands for The Nature Conservancy in Maine. My academic background is in biology/forest ecology, having earned a bachelor’s degree in arts from the University of Maine at Farmington, Farmington, Maine, USA, and a master’s degree in science from the Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada. Art and photography have been a relatively new pursuit. I mainly use antique cameras and film, preferring the feel of this equipment and materials to meet vision. I process my own film and make silver gelatin prints by hand (i.e., optically enlarge) in a traditional wet darkroom lab.

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Black and white photograph of three trail crew workers on the side of a carriage road with shovels in their hands.
Acadia Pathmakers- Youth Conservation Corp

Photo Courtesy of Dan Grenier. Used with permission.

Black and white photograph of a trail crew worker standing in the middle of a trail with his hat in his hands. He is wearing a piece of cloth tied around his head.
Acadia Pathmakers- Chris

Photo Courtesy of Dan Grenier. Used with permission.

Black and white photograph of a female trail crew worker in the forest, wearing her hard hat, and using her arm to lean against a tree.
Acadia Pathmakers- Christa

Photo Courtesy of Dan Grenier. Used with permission.

Black and white photograph of a male trail crew worker in the forest and wearing a hard hat. He is leaning against one leg and has a chainsaw in his hand.
Acadia Pathmakers- David

Photo Courtesy of Dan Grenier. Used with permission.

Black and white photograph of a male trail crew worker standing next to large rocks and wearing a hard hat. He has a large beard.
Acadia Pathmakers- Chris

Photo Courtesy of Dan Grenier. Used with permission.

Black and white photo of four trail crew workers in front of the trails shop. All are smiling.
Acadia Pathmakers- Gary and His Crew

Photo Courtesy of Dan Grenier. Used with permission.

Female trail crew worker standing in front of Eagle Lake. She is looking off to her right and has a thumb in one pocket.
Acadia Pathmakers- Heather

Photo Courtesy of Dan Grenier. Used with permission.

Black and white photograph of a male trail crew worker with a hard hat on and one leg stepping on a large rock.
Acadia Pathmakers- Ivan

Photo Courtesy of Dan Grenier. Used with permission.

Black and Photograph of a trail crew worker with large rocks in the back ground.
Acadia Pathmakers- Mike

Photo Courtesy of Dan Grenier. Used with permission.

Black and White photograph of a trail crew worker using a pry bar to move large rocks.
Acadia Pathmakers- Roger

Photo Courtesy of Dan Grenier. Used with permission.

Black and White photograph of trail crew worker with a hard hat on and working on a trail. They are bent over and have a hammer in their hand.
Acadia Pathmakers- Sarah

Photo Courtesy of Dan Grenier. Used with permission.

Black and white photo of young trail crew worker with her hat on. Forest scene in the background.
Acadia Pathmakers- Youth Conservation Corps

Photo Courtesy of Dan Grenier. Used with permission.

Acadia National Park

Last updated: August 13, 2023