Philip L. McAlary Photography

“…Remember, whatever comes next, we have walked here.”– Excerpt “On Peter’s Hill” Guran, River Tracks, 2007

 “Together, poet Holly Guran and photographer Philip McAlary have witnessed the continuous inspiration of the Arboretum. Their nature- focused images and words complement each other, melding sight, sound, and mind. Frequent walks in the landscape were the influence and force behind this collaboration uniting McAlary’s vibrant images with Guran’s thoughtful words.

Holly Guran, author of the chapbooks River Tracks (Poets Corner Press), Mothers’ Trails (Noctiluca Press), and the forthcoming River Full of Bones (Iris Press), earned a Massachusetts Cultural Council finalist award in 2012.

Philip L. McAlary studied at Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. His photos have appeared on websites including Massachusetts Cultural Council, Wagner Society of Boston, and Carpenter Poets of Eastern Massachusetts."

As quoted from the Arnold Arboretum website Events page for our collaborative exhibition in the Hunnewell Building in Jamaica Plain (June 5-September 13, 2015).

Two artists are sketching the Spring scenery from the base of Peters Hill in the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.Their dog is resting while enjoying the view.

View from the top of Peters Hill in Mid-Spring at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University located in Roslindale and Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.

My good friend and neighbor Barry standing within the branches of a sumac tree in the autumn. This photo was taken in the beautiful Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University in Roslindale (Boston), MA.

A poem by Holly Guran. The background image is of Skunk Cabbage flowering in the Spring.

A skunk cabbage flowering in early spring before the green leaves have sprouted.

An autumn maple leaf driven by the breeze and caught by the great iron gate  at the entrance to the Arnold Arboretum on Mendum Street, Roslindale, MA.

Photograph taken on a November day while walking under the collection of Locust trees on the side of Peters Hill in the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Boston, MA. I am drawn to the color, shape and form of these seed pods, some of which are a foot long.

Visitors enjoying Bussey Brook in the Arnold Arboretum

Frozen crabapples after snowfall in mid-March. A granular snow covers the ground and part of the crabapple surfaces.

Photographed from the top of Peters Hill located in the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Boston, MA. The city of Boston skyline is in the far distance.

Leaves frozen into the ice atop a vernal pool.  This abstract image was made with two or more images layered together and then color was added in some areas.

An old style gym shoe in process of decay found in the abandoned stone quarry in the Arnold Arboretum

Looking closely I discovered the tiny seeds trapped in the roughness of the birch bark scar. Since this photograph was taken the birch tree has been cut down and removed. The impermanence of life.