His message began: “Take a minute to watch something special…” Newtown Forest Association (NFA) President Robert Eckenrode was referring to a video submitted to him by “two young aspiring artists,” he said in a recent e-mail.

Just two minutes and 55 seconds long, the Blue Sky Farm and Studio video () came as “a surprise and a very pleasant one at that,” Mr Eckenrode said. Residents and NFA supporters Phil Keane and Garrett Uhde captured the open fields and sprawling sky washing over Holcombe Hill Preserve, an NFA property.vimeo.com/117509306

In a still frame poised to unfold as viewers click the video’s play button, the sun pushes its light through passing clouds and sparse trees’ shadows streak across a snow-covered hillside

Below the still is a brief explanation from Mr Uhde: “Right after a snow [in January] Phil and I went up to Holcombe Hill … looking to shoot some video, try to capture how beautiful this piece of land is. The wind was blowing hard and we were able to get some amazing shots of the snow being manipulated and [chaotically] thrown from the wind.” He said the preserve is “really a beautiful place hidden in Newtown.”

The video begins with the snow-covered ground and moves to a tree line and then the view from New-town’s highest elevation. Accompanied by acoustic background music, the video soon focuses on details — tall grass and tree limbs shivering in a winter wind, snow-filled evergreens. Portions of filming are time-lapsed — the vision of a sky sliding quickly above, and snow drifts whipping across fields as rapid shadows run sideways toward dusk.

The video at times pans outward for a panoramic view, or zooms in to watch a patch of ground where the wind wipes away prints in the snow. The videographers spend time capturing the wind and snow dancing in whirls in contrast to a dark horizon in the distance.

Toward its ending seconds, the video displays a wide, clouded, moving sky slipping over faraway hills only visible from elevations as high as Holcombe Hill. The film ends with the message, “Support New-town Forest Association,” and the web address: Newtownforestassociation.org. The NFA is a private land trust.

An Inspiration

The video “came from both of us sharing a passion for photography and videos,” said Mr Keane. The Holcombe film — one of Blue Sky Farm and Studio’s first productions, was a mutual idea, he said. “It’s a mutual place we both love,” he said. “The nature of the place spoke to us, and we wanted to capture the beauty and nature of the area.” The two Newtown residents recently combined efforts and expertise to form Blue Sky, and had visited Holcombe Hill Preserve in January.

The property cast its spell on both men. Mr Uhde said, “One of the most amazing things we caught up there was the snow and the wind.”

“What occurred to me while shooting,” and something that may go unnoticed by guests unless they stop and sit, is that “it’s meditative.”

Mr Uhde said, “As we were doing the video we realized it was moving us and we thought it would be a powerful tool for the NFA.” The video could help raise awareness for both the NFA, a private land trust in Newtown, and its properties.

“There are a number of other plots of land that are unique and we would like to capture those, too,” said Mr Keane

Tentative plans are forming to promote other NFA properties, and possibly reveal a property through all four seasons in one video. The partners have asked Mr Eckenrode for a priority list.

Mr Eckenrode confirmed that the Holcombe video has sparked thoughts from NFA members of creating films of other properties for promotional purposes.

“We are captivated by these spaces,” Mr Uhde said. “We want to show others the beauty. There are some magic spots on some of these properties and that’s what we are here to show.” Both having backgrounds in the photography/video/marketing/advertising fields, Mr Uhde continued, “We have an eye to see this, the world, in a different way and what we both try to do with our work is show it to others.”

With a Canon D Mark II and a Canon 70D, both DSLR cameras that shoot video, the business partners used various video and photography equipment to shoot the film.

The men intend for Blue Sky to start out working with local businesses to create quality video, photography, and marketing for clients. The website, which is under construction, is . Mr Uhde and Mr Keane are both longtime Newtown residents.blueskyfarmproductions.com

According to the NFA website, Holcombe Hill, an 86-acre parcel, “is situated on the southerly side of Great Hill Road and was donated to NFA in 1997 through the estate of Josephine Holcombe. The property boasts an elevation of 830 feet above sea level, it is the highest point in town, and affords spectacular views of three counties from the 30 acres of hay fields on the property. The buildings on the property are now occupied by NFA offices, maintenance equipment buildings and a caretaker residence.”