The mesmerizing photography of David Wolk of New York City (and Southport), at the Gold/Smith Gallery in Boothbay Harbor is a feast for the eyes … and the mind.

Wolk's photographs, hung on the walls of the first floor, are more than might first meet the eye. Each one is an experience.

Wolk's images are composed of layers, layers of subject matter and the emotional responses inspired in the viewer. Each photograph reveals itself slowly, as you immerse yourself in the scene depicted. There are things in the picture you can see, and others that develop.

Take one of my favorites, “Waterfall I.” It is so alive. The texture and movement developing before your eyes; the water in the image induces sound — the rhythmic fall of the water as well as the sounds of the water splashing at the bottom of the fall.

As I absorbed myself in the water, at first, my eye was drawn to rock faces at the top of the waterfall, faces I interpreted to be water spirits. These faces are so alive, I found myself pondering whether they were stationary, or if Wolk had caught them in mid-motion.

Another favorite of mine, “Vermont Farm at Dawn,” is a photograph to travel through.

Initially the layers represent themselves through the changing ground: grass, plowed field, trees, fog and the trees behind the fog. Then the layered emotional response kicks in. A calmness descends, I saw the farmer on his plow, but the fog and the trees within the fog created an admiration within me for nature, for the allure of fog, and my desire to simply hover there within it.

“Burnt Tree,” is a compelling image. At first glance, you are aware that the tree is dead, but it is still so alive, everything else in the image just fades away.

The detail of the bark, the shape and contours of the branches and its very presence is astounding. I had to tear my eyes from the tree to experience the rest of the scene at Harriman State Park.

The textuers of the trees, the grass, and that sky — slightly ominous, but is the danger potential or passing?

This exhibit is a must see experience now through Oct. 18 at Gold/Smith Gallery. For more on Wolk, visit www.davidwolkphotography.com.