Ledge Lake Leaf Labyrinth
an uncommon portrait of the Shawangunk Mountains
Photographs by Nora Scarlett
Foreword by Robert K. Anderberg, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Open Space Institute
Hardcover, 9″ x 9″, 168 pages, 188 full-color photographs
ISBN 9781883789954, $35.00

Photographer Nora Scarlett hiked, climbed, scrambled and bushwhacked throughout the Shawangunk Mountains for over ten years to create this visual story of a region she so loves—her own big backyard—a diverse area of glaciated slabs dotted with gnarled pitch pines, dark hemlock groves, striking cliff faces, deep crevasses, mossy swamps and sparking blue lakes. She quested for iconic ridge views under dramatic conditions as well as intimate vignettes of smaller, often overlooked scenes. She suffered frozen hands during unexpected snowstorms in November and batted mosquitoes and black flies in the June swelter. With her eye for the unusual, the unexpected and the visually bold, the result, an uncommon collection of compelling images, is presented with a mix of drama, passion, whimsy and humor.

Advance Praise for Ledge Lake Leaf Labyrinth
Scarlett presents us with many of the better-known natural features of the “Gunks,” as the range is affectionately known, including its famous sky lakes and its world-renowned rock climbing cliffs. But she also focuses on the remote and wild backcountry: the little-known waterfalls in the Mine Hole Hollow, the serene beauty of Rock Pond, the quiet woods near the Saunderskill stream.
Scarlett asks a question that I have pondered for the fifty years that I have explored the trails, ravines, carriage roads, crags and crevices of the Shawangunks: why does this area stand out as so uniquely beautiful? Although Scarlett tips her hand in the introduction to Ledge Lake Leaf Labryrinth, her answer can be best divined by studying the stunning photographs she has assembled from the southern reaches of Sam’s Point to the northernmost reaches of Bonticou Crag. For casual and serious wanderers of the Shawangunk Ridge alike, this book is an essential and enjoyable addition to the lexicon.

About the Artist
Beginning in 1976, Nora Scarlett began assisting several respected photographers in New York City, learning both technical and studio management skills. Inspired by large-format cameras and studio lighting, she discovered a talent for creating still-life photographs. After many hours in the studio developing her craft and style, themes emerged that still define her work: bold use of color and light; elegant and sometimes quirky composition; a fascination with making ordinary objects beautiful; and developing concepts that result in a series of images.
By the mid-1980s Nora was shooting major advertising assignments, working with leading agencies and talented art directors on well-known campaigns for clients such as American Express, The Gap, Reebok, Kodak, IBM, AT&T, Nickelodeon, General Foods, Swissair and Knoll. She won numerous awards from the Art Director’s Club, the One Show, the Clios, and Print Magazine.
She and her family moved to the New Paltz area in 1998, buying a home in the
woods bordering Mohonk Preserve. Now retired from active commercial photography, she has devoted herself to personal projects. In 2016 she authored her first book, Trunks of the Gunks. In 2018 a portfolio of her images was featured in Pulitzer Prize author Carleton Mabee’s book Saving the Shawangunks, which spawned the collection of images in Lake Ledge Leaf Labyrinth.