Weekly Photo Challenge: A Day In “My” Life.
As Told By A Couple Of Beaver.
Sunday’s Hidden Treasure
Canon EOS 7D
Tamron 17-50 f2.8
ISO 100, 1 Second @ f11
Capture Date: 5/19/2012
Weekly Photo Challenge: Resolved
THIS IS THE YEAR!
I’ve said that before, haven’t I?
Over the last few years, instead of being envious of my friends who ventured into to mountains, returning with spectacular photographs, I was going to hike to the mountain tops to make my own. But there was always something in the way. Lack of proper gear to hike in the frigid, wind-swept mountains, also, while always smoldering, I seemed to lack sufficient “fire” to give me the final push. Always something holding me back.
This is THE year!
With my friend Nate, the summit of Mt. Avalon in New Hampshire was a good place to kick it off.
2013 Is Going To Be A Great Year!
Another 12 From 12
This weeks weekly photo challenge theme is “My 2012 In Pictures.”
Well as luck would have it I had already done a post of my favorites from the past year HERE. Let me tell you, it wasn’t an easy task narrowing it down to 20 for that post!
BUT…
Never one to pass up a challenge, here are another dozen, give or take, images from the past year that I’m rather pleased with.
Don’t forget, there’s still time to vote for your favorite image that I’ve shared this year!
Details and rules (Please read them carefully) are HERE.
Sunday’s Hidden Treasure
From late October through most of November, the most gorgeous golden light passes through the woods on the side of the road to my house. So far this is the best I’ve done to capture it. Taken back in 2008, only a few months after I bought my first camera, this is also my first attempt at HDR, not half bad if I do say so myself.
Canon 40D
Canon EF 24-70 f2.8L
ISO 100, 45mm, f8 @ 1/100
Weekly Photo Challenge: Near and Far
Straight out of “Landscape Photography 101.”
Now here’s a theme I can sink my teeth into. A strong foreground element starts your visual journey into the photograph, with the main subject in the distance, the destination.
Summer Warmth.
(from my favorite water-lily hot spot)
Winters Cold Embrace.
(I was particularly drawn to the apparent reflection, rendered in ice and snow, of the distant mountain)
Planning Your Shot With The iPhone.
My latest article for the New England Photography Guild (NEPG), and a reminder on how you can win a free print from one of the very talented photographers of the NEPG.
Click for article > Plan Your Shot With These iPhone Apps.
And now for the good stuff!
Free print of a beautiful New England scene? Who wouldn’t like that?
How would you like a matted, 5″ x 7″ print of a beautiful New England scene, for free? Just a few clicks of your mouse is all it takes to be entered in our monthly drawing. Each month, one lucky winner, drawn at random, will receive a matted 5″ x 7″* print from that months featured photographer. This months featured photographer is Jane Ogilvie, and as luck would have it, September’s featured photographer is ME!
All you need to do to get your name in the drawing is subscribe to the NEPG blog.
No purchase necessary, contest rules can be found here.
* Restrictions apply, see rules for details.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Dreaming
Dreaming? This is going to be tough.
Images that make me think “Dreaming?” This is going to take some thought. Along with an in-depth search of my Lightroom Library.
Here goes nothing…
A misty morning on my home lake.
My little girl fresh out of the water with a dreamy look on her face.
(I wish I knew where the RAW file for this image is. I have no idea what I did to get the image you see here)
I think this shot through the window of my favorite north country barn has a dreamy quality to it. Maybe not a good dream, but a dream none the less.
(To me, it’s the reflection in the window of the leafless winter trees that lends a creepy feeling to the photo)
A dreamy walk along the pier towards the setting sun.
Sure I might be reaching a bit, taking a little creative license so to speak, but that’s how I like to play.
Acadia At Last
The First National Park East Of The Mississippi River.
Over the July 4th holiday my family and I finally made it to Acadia National Park. It’s a place I’ve wanted to visit for a long time. A quick drive through the park on our first day however, told me the four days we were going to be there would not be nearly enough time to uncover all Acadia has to offer.
It’s going to take many visits throughout the seasons to fully enjoy, and photograph, this wonderful National Park.
Here are a few of the scenes I was able to capture on my much too brief visit.
Otter Cliffs
Seen here from just past Monument Cove on the Park Loop Road, Otter Cliffs is one of the first places in the U.S. to receive the suns rays in the morning. Often photographed, Otter Cliffs and this section of shore line, along with its amazing natural stone-work, yields composition possibilities too many to fathom. While the subject may be the same, with so many possibilities for composing an image, making this place your own should require little effort.
The Cadillac Mountain Sunrise Club.
No trip to Acadia would be complete without a trip to the summit of the tallest peak on the eastern seaboard. For almost half the year, from early October to early March, Cadillac Mountain is the first place in the United States to see the rising sun.
Here, a family sits looking out over the Porcupine Islands in Frenchman’s Bay, patiently awaiting the rising sun.
And The Crowd Sang Out.
Membership in the Cadillac Mountain Sunrise Club has but one requirement: experience sunrise from the top of the mountain. Not too tough, as long as you’re willing to get up early enough, and in the summer that means around 3:30 a.m., and be at the summit in time to greet the sun.
As the sun crested the horizon, the members of the Cadillac Mountain Sunrise Club, their numbers many and who had sat there peacefully, surprised me with a loud cheer! Hearing it brought a smile to my face and made me want to shout out as well. An outstanding start to the new day.
The club was much less exclusive than I had thought. Normally when I’m out shooting a sunrise I have the place all to myself. Or at least the only other people there are a few other dedicated photographers willing to forego sleep in pursuit of the perfect sunrise. On Cadillac there were dozens of people, many dozens. While I was the first one there that morning, I’m sure if I had gone back to the parking lot I would have found it full to over-flowing. Only on Mount Washington in New Hampshire have I seen a larger crowd up this early eagerly awaiting the sun.
The sun just crests the horizon with Frenchman’s Bay and the Porcupine Islands in the foreground.
And Then I Was Alone.
Or so it seemed. The sun was fully above the horizon, and the light going fast, by 5:30 a.m. Too early to head back to my campsite and wake my wife and daughter, so I lay back on the pink granite slope to relax and enjoyed the morning. By 6 a.m. I had the summit of the mountain all to myself, there wasn’t another human being around. But I soon found I was not alone. As I began my descent, this lovely whitetail doe was kind enough to pose for me.
Whitetail doe on the slopes of Cadillac Mountain.
Bridges Of Stone.
In the park there are 45 miles of gravel carriage roads, built between 1913 and 1940, and financed by John D. Rockefeller Jr. as a gift to the park. The roads are only open to foot, bicycle, and horse traffic. These carriage roads often travel over one of the 17 stone faced bridges, 16 of which were also financed by Mr. Rockefeller, found throughout the park. This one below, on Stanley Brook Drive, with its three arches and amazing detail, is my favorite of the ones I’ve seen so far.
One of the 17 stone face bridges in Acadia National Park.
Not Just For Photographers.
Acadia National Park offers opportunities not just for photographers but for outdoor enthusiasts of all types, from hiking, cycling, horse-back riding, swimming (if you dare brave the frigid Atlantic), and rock climbing. Otter Cliffs is a popular destination for the latter. Myself, I’ll photograph it safely from a distance, thank you very much.
Rock climbers on Otter Cliffs.
I have only had the chance to process a few of my Acadia images. As I work my way through the rest I’m sure I’ll be sharing a few more. In the mean time, if you find yourself in New England, Acadia National Park is well worth the visit.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Sun
The Sun,
Life depends on it. As a photographer, I live to chase it. Without its golden glow, photography as we know it would be lacking.
With it, the flowers grow.
Not there, and yet, there.
Even when not within the frame of the image, the suns presence and impact is both seen and felt, adding drama to the landscape.
For the birds.
Even wildlife seems to eagerly await the dawn of each new day.
The end is near.
The sun sets, and the anticipation of its arrival the next morning begins.
The Sun
Everyone else does it…
One of the most popular and often photographed lighthouses in New England, Nubble Light in York, ME is a popular stop for locals and tourists alike. A Classic New England lighthouse scene, the protected waters between the mainland and the island the lighthouse sits on is also popular with scuba divers.
Have you ever been to a location you just couldn’t bring yourself to photograph because every nut and their brother with a camera has photographed it? Well, the Cape Neddick, “Nubble,” Light in Maine is that location for me.
I first came to know of Nubble Light back in the 80′s when I was learning to SCUBA dive. The location is popular with dive instructors due to it’s ease of entry and exit from the water, and the cove is well protected from the often rough sea. In fact, if conditions prohibited safe diving anywhere else, it was always “off to Nubble” if we just had to get wet.
Anyway, back above the waves, and on to the photography part of this post. My biggest reason for not wanting to photograph Nubble Light stems from a desire to be different, to not photograph the same things in the same way everyone else does. And part of the reason that I have resisted the urge to photograph Nubble Light is the limited number of good shooting angles, I would call it a somewhat “compositionally challenged,” location. If you want a view that doesn’t show the utility lines that go to the island the lighthouse sits on, and I don’t want the lines in my image, you only have one basic view of the Light. Yes, you can get creative with some of the large blocks of granite that line the shore, get down low to the water, a little left, a little right, but the view of the Light itself is pretty much the same. I have however seen some extraordinary photographs of the lighthouse, but all the ones that really WOWed! me, did so because of the sky in the photograph. A dramatic sky, such as the tail end of a storm, lit by the setting sun, will certainly make for an impressive image.
I have decided that just because everyone else does it, is not a reason for me not to try to create my own image of Nubble Light, or any other subject or location for that matter. With that goal in mind, I have paid very close attention to the weather lately. And this past Sunday I thought I had it. Looking out over the Long Sands stretch of York Beach as I approached the Light, there was the cloud bank I was looking for. I could “see” how it was going to light up with the rays of the setting sun, the perfect backdrop for my lighthouse image. Unfortunately, as I arrived at the Light it was obvious the clouds were too far out to sea, and therefore too far below the lighthouse to give me the dramatic sky I was hoping for. I was able to capture a nicely colored, pastel pink and blue sky that I feel makes a nice image.
I will go back, and recommend others do the same. Not photographing your “Nubble Light,” just because everyone else has, is never a good reason not to photograph a location you enjoy. It took me a while to come to this realization, I hope others aren’t as slow a learner as I was. I will never not photograph something or somewhere I enjoy, and will always do my best to make it my own when I do.
