Pulled Pork Ruined My Sunset!

Can you see it? Look carefully through the trees, that brightens low in the sky.

There’s not going to be much of a sunset anyway.

Normally, in order to better plan and prepare for going out to photograph I pay very close attention to the weather forecast. Especially if it’s predicted that any type of storm or cloudy skies will be clearing out so as the tail end of the weather system is moving out as sunset approaches. This will greatly increase the odds of there being some dramatic fiery color in the sky. You know, the kind of sky we landscape photographers live for.

Well the most recent forecast for yesterday, at least the most recent one I remember reading, gave me absolutely no indication that I should be thinking about heading to somewhere more scenic than my back yard to watch the sun go down.

Now you can see it, right?

So instead, around 9 o’clock yesterday morning I decided to fire up the smoker, season up a nice piece of pork shoulder, and get to smoking it, with a yummy batch of pulled pork being the end result

– my apologies to the vegetarians and the vegans in the audience –

No big deal, right? The sky is grey and it’s been spitting snow all day anyway, so instead of photography I’ve got dreams of tasty barbecue dancing in my head.

Camera, what camera? I’ve got food on my mind.

OH, COME ON!

Fast forward to 3:57 p.m.

Here I am, sitting in my chair, laptop open and a cup of coffee on the table beside me while I work on editing some photos. There’s not much I can do while I wait for my juicy pork to finish cooking anyway. Checking the temperature it appears Ive got another hour or so before it’s ready. Again, no big deal, I’ve already written off the idea of going out for sunset, which at this point is only about 45 minutes away.

As I take a sip of coffee I glance out the back window. Is the sky getting brighter? No, that can’t be, it’s supposed to be cloudy all day and into tomorrow. The forecast couldn’t possibly have been wrong 🙄

SON-OF-A…..!

I hope this boulder is enjoying the show.

But it is getting brighter! It’s doing exactly what I would normally hope for every single time I go out for sunset.

Now what?

I’ve got to do something! I can’t really go anywhere because the grill is going and if I left it unattended and ended up burning down our house, I’m pretty sure my wife might be just s teeny-tiny bit upset with me. Besides, at this point even if I could leave, by the time I got my cameras together and drove anywhere I’d most likely end up watching the light fade as I was still behind the wheel of my car on my way to wherever I was trying to get to.

So in an effort to capture something, anything, without venturing too far, I grabbed my Fujifilm X-T3, slapped the XF10-24mm f4 zoom on it and headed out the back door. Up the hill behind the house I went, looking for anything that might make a halfway decent composition. That sky was too good to pass up. I knew I wasn’t going to come away with any website worthy images, but I had to at least try to make a few decent photos. Boulders, tree stumps, snowy ground, and bare trees silhouetted against a fiery sky backdrop, I tried it all. I even ran out to the front yard to get a shot of our house beneath that sky.

This old stump too.

Sweet fern taking it all in.

Silhouettes at sunset.

For better or worse, I had plenty of time to run around too.

Home sweet home.

It just went on and on.

More so than the fact that I was unable to go anywhere, the real slap in the face was that this amazing sunset just went on and on and on. From the time there was no doubt what was about to occur, (see second image), to when the last light faded from the sky, the spectacular light and fire lasted almost 35 minutes! Anyone who’s ever witnessed such a display knows how fleeting they usually are, often with the color fading in as little as 3-4 minutes.

Though the pulled pork may have ruined my chances at a good sunset, I got even when I took the first bite!

Adding insult to injury. (or maybe, Mother Nature just hates me).

As if not being able to make it out to photograph last evenings sunset wasn’t bad enough, below is a quick phone shot from the light show as the sun set today.

And I wasn’t even cooking anything.

That’s right Mother Nature, go ahead and kick me when I’m down.

Wordless Wednesday.

Fort Foster ~ Part 2: The Rocks (and maybe a lighthouse).

So Many Rocks!

Sandy beaches are for relaxing on a hot July day, and Maine has them if that’s your thing.

But, if you’re a seascape photographer a nice sandy beach can seem rather boring.

Ok, I lied, sandy beaches aren’t “rather boring,” as far as I’m concerned smooth sandy beaches are the equivalent of a clear blue sky,

B. O. R. I. N. G!

Luckily, in-between those boring stretches of smooth sandy beaches the coast of Maine has no shortage of rocks.

Glorious rocks!

Ok, now back to Fort Foster.

The problem with the rocks here is that all the really good ones are either all or mostly submerged at high tide. For example, when it’s high tide the only thing you can see of the rocks in the above image is the light colored tips of the tallest rocks.

This next fine example of geological beauty isn’t visible at high tide at all.

This rock is the size of a large automobile, yet when the tide is high you’d never know it was there. Surprising since it rests only about 20′-30′ from the high tide mark up on the shore.

When is the best time to visit Fort Foster?

Low tide! (weren’t you paying attention?)

Ideally you’ll want to visit on on incoming tide, as this will maximize any wave action you’ll get crashing upon the rocks. The other reason to time your visit during low tide is that is the BEST time to photograph The Pier.

Let’s review.

(In case you still weren’t paying attention)

You’ll want to plan your visit to Fort Foster for either sunrise…

or sunset…,

(I did mention that Fort Foster is a great sunrise and sunset location, right?)

How about that, if you catch the tides right you can book-end the day with images of the same rock. First in the morning, then again later as the sun sets.*

*In the interest of transparency, the above and below images were not captured on the same day. With the right planning though they certainly cold have been.

and at or near low tide, with a rising tide being ideal.

You know, for the waves.

Granted there aren’t always good waves crashing on the rocks to photograph, but when there are they’ll be at their best on the incoming tide.

Up next in Part: 3, the lighthouse and the historic remains of the fort.

Fort Foster ~ Part 1: The Pier

My Favorite Fort.

The Pier at Sunrise.

Located along the shore of Gerrish Island in Kittery Point, Fort Foster was once part of the U.S. coastal defense system. Active from 1901 thru 1946, the fort is now part of Fort Foster Park, and managed by the town of Kittery, Maine.

The park is a year ’round favorite with everyone from families to scuba divers, with a beach, playground and walking trails. For the history buffs, there’s something too. Scattered throughout the park are the historic remains of Battery Bohlen and Battery Chapin. In Part 3 I’ll be sharing images of some of these remnants of history.

Photographically Speaking.

For me the park is one of the best seascape photography locations on the southern Maine seacoast. With rocky shore, sandy beaches, and views of Whaleback Lighthouse and the Wood Island Life Saving Station, there’s something to satisfy any seascape photographers desires. One of the best qualities of the park is that due to its location on the southern tip of the island, it has the rare distinction of being a great spot to photograph both sunrise and sunset.

Low Tide, Sunset.

That Glorious Pier.

One of my favorite landmarks located within the park, and the subject of this post, is the pier jutting out from the shoreline and into the Piscataqua River that forms the border between New Hampshire and Maine. This beautifully photogenic pier has been the subject of more than a few photos I’ve made over the years. In fact, because I photograph the pier so often it’s become a personal challenge to try to come up with something different each time.

Seaweed in the Sunlight.

On, under, or around, about the only preferences I have when photographing near the pier are good light and low, or nearly low tide.

Legs.

Backlight.

Encrusted.

The Wide View.

In part 2 I’ll be back at Fort Foster with some rocks and a Lighthouse.

Stay tuned…

I Haven’t Gotten Out Much Lately.

But the view out my back door occasionally makes up for it.

Winter Sunset.
From the back deck.

Isolation Project, Day 28.

Evening Fire.

What a way to end the day.

Since I’ve been back to work it’s been harder and harder to fit in the time to make new images each day as I continue with this project. Initially I had thought I would end up using one of the photographs I had previously made over the past few weeks as the image for Day 28. Especially considering it was an all around rainy miserable day here in New Hampshire.

Aglow.

Then the skies began to clear.

First, it was just a sliver of blue sky that I could barely see through the trees to the west. With a storm passing I knew this could potentially lead to an amazing sunset. Which of course had me wishing I was anywhere but in my own backyard.

Somewhere in the mountains would have been perfect.

Of course I knew I couldn’t go anywhere. Even if I wasn’t staying home to be a good social distancer (is that even a word?), there was no way I’d have the time to make it anywhere more scenic, with a more open view towards the setting sun. So I did the best I could with what I had. Surprisingly I’m rather pleased with the way some of the images turned out. I say that because the sky was so spectacular that the entire time I was photographing from my back yard I was indeed wishing I was somewhere, anywhere else.

Winter Light.

Oh What A View!
Mount Willard, Crawford Notch, NH.

Finally, Some Time In The Snow.

Reading all of the recent reports and seeing all of the photos of the snow in northern New Hampshire, has had me eagerly awaiting my first “winter” hike of the season. Wanting to get my feet on the snow and my first snowy sunset of the season, my friend Suzanne and I set off this past Saturday heading north in search of mountains, snow, and majestic views.

Frosted.

Though I’m a fairly experienced winter hiker, Suzanne is not, and with extremely high winds coupled with temps in the low teens, I made the call to attempt a much lower, much less exposed summit for our adventure.

Trying to decide on which mountain offered the right combination of ease of hiking, protection from the weather, and a killer view as a reward, I decided on Mt. Willard for our adventure.

With the mountains in and out of the clouds all day we were unsure of what would greet us when we reached the top. On this day the weather gods were indeed smiling on us! The view was as amazing as I anticipated, with the most beautiful light illuminating the summits lining Crawford Notch.

That Light!

Dancing With Waves At PHL.

Sunset over a Maine classic.

The waves are coming to get me!
Seconds after pressing the shutter on this shot the wave rolling in from the left caught me off guard, spraying me and my camera.

It’s been several years since my last visit to this iconic lighthouse along the coast of Maine. Fortunately, a few weeks back my good friend Nate sent me last minute text to say he had the evening off from work and to ask if I would be interested in getting out for sunset?

Of course I was interested, but then came the issue of where to go?

That wonderful swirl in the foreground and the way the ripples in the water reflected the colors in the sky above, practically screamed for a vertical composition.

After a little research using PhotoPills to see how the sun would line up at several different seacoast locations we decided on Portland Head Light. Having only photographed at PHL at sunrise I had always wondered how it would be at sunset? The biggest question being, would there be enough late day light falling on the lighthouse to make it worth the hour+ drive?

As it turned out, not only was the light great, there was also an amazing sky and some really good wave action too!

This wave missed me, but not for a lack of trying.
It pays to keep one eye on the camera and one on the sea.

So yea, definitely worth the drive.

Gear used to make these images:

Camera ~ Fujifilm X-T3

Lens ~ Fujifilm XF16mmF1.4R WR

Filter ~ Formatt-Hitech Firecrest Circular Polarizer in Firecrest 100 filter holder.

Tripod/Head ~ Gitzo GT2542 Mountaineer Carbon Fiber with Acratech Ultimate ballhead.

Moody Monday.

Avalon Revisited.

Winter Light.

Oh what a view.

It’s been a about a year since I’ve set foot on the summit of New Hampshire’s Mount Avalon, and I think it’s time to go back, soon.

Located in Crawford Notch, Mount Avalon holds a well deserved place on the NH 52 With A View list.

Notch Views.

The hike to the summit is somewhat steep in places, but the views are well worth the effort. With the temperature hovering around -15°F it was little surprise I would have the summit all to myself as the last light of the day left the sky.

Solitude at Sunset.

I thinks it’s coming time for another evening watching the last light of the day leave the winter sky from the summit of this beautiful mountain.