Branching Out

Sutton, Vermont

Of all of the seasons of the year, my favorite one is the fall. Maybe it is the need to escape the heat of a long summer or the promise of hiking through the woods with a sweater on. For most, it is the wonderful colors of the foliage which dominate the landscape. The anticipation for me begins when there is a crispness in the air. New England is a prime destination for the foliage season. Thousands of "leaf peepers" try to guess when the peak of the foliage season will occur and make travel plans. Every year, the timing of the peak is determined by temperatures and moisture, which are very difficult to predict. I've seen the peak as early as the first week of October and as late as Thanksgiving. Maybe part of the attraction of the fall is playing this foliage "lottery", the winner of which gets to experience the peak. For those of us living here in New England, the lottery is pretty much rigged in our favor as we don't have to travel far when it does indeed peak.

This image is of a tree at a church in Sutton, Vermont. The sunlight was falling just right on the leaves which contrasted nicely with the bark of the tree.

Echo Reflections

Echo Lake, Franconia, New Hampshire

Wow, what a long strange week it has been. Not sure how much national press was given to it, but here in New England we got hit with a storm 8 days ago. It was a typical northeaster that dropped up to 18 inches of snow. What wasn't typical was that it was October and the foliage had not yet fallen. The unusually heavy snow weighed down on the leaves and caused a massive number of trees to fall. The end result was a massive power failure that affected over a million homes. What made in even more challenging was that huge areas were 100% out which resulted in no available food or gas. We lost power on October 29th and were only restored Saturday night. Seven days of no electricity, limited gas, no heat and no hot water. We are still without internet and TV, but that seems insignificant now as there are thousands still without power.

This event has given me a new perspective on how much we take for granted and rely on power. It also gives me a new perspective on what others have gone through with the recent hurricanes and floods in CT. We only lost power and still have our homes to go back to. Victims of the recent flood and hurricane haven't been as lucky.

This image is from my recent photography workshop and is of Echo Lake in New Hampshire. I hope to have the internet back soon and will be back to posting.

I Found Darth Vader

Victoria, British Columbia

Okay, I am a Star Wars fan and have always believed that Darth Vader died in the Return of the Jedi. I was walking around Victoria this past July and who do I find? That's right, Darth Vader. Obviously his death was greatly exaggerated and he really survived to live another day. I'm pretty sure that if Darth (can I call him by his first name?) knew that he would end up playing a violin on a Victoria street corner for a few coins, he might have decided to really die during the battle of Endor. By the way, he plays a mean violin.

Barn Light

The Inn at Mountain View Farms, East Burke, Vermont

One of the coolest places that I visited during my recent photo workshop was the Inn at Mountain View Farm in East Burke, VT. The inn is located on a 440-acre historic farm on top of a mountain with picturesque views of the surrounding Vermont countryside. One of our workshop leaders had arranged for the Inn and all of the surrounding farm buildings on the property to be available to be photographed. In one of the old stables, I found what I believe is a storage basket that probably holds hay. The way it was shaped led me to believe that, when full, the horses could reach up and eat the hay. The light coming through the window was wonderful and lit the weathered wood, giving it a golden glow.

All in all, we spent several hours at the Inn shooting images. We could have spent at least a week there. I hope to revisit with my wife sometime in the near future to get the full experience. Click here to find out more about the Inn.

Weathered

Burke Road, Sutton, Vermont

Today's image is from Sutton, Vermont. We had arrived in full force to a local farm that was nice enough to let us shoot the Sutton Church steeple in the distance. After shooting the church, we were walking back to the cars and I spotted this barn. I was taken with it's color and weathered look and was hoping to capture the scene in a way that conveyed what I was seeing. I am very pleased with the result but how I got there was a real learning experience. I had taken this photography workshop for many reasons and one of those was to get an assessment of my composition skills. My original image is below and gives a full look at the barn's wall. During the review of this photo, it was pointed out that while it was an excellent image, the real gem was the window with the weathered wall that is featured in this post.

I heard this type of comment numerous times during the week and I realized that I had a "wide angle" tendency when composing my images. I was encouraged to continue to shoot wide angle but also to analyze the scene to see if there were any stronger compositions that could be extracted from it. As the week progressed, I found myself finding strong subjects that might have been missed in the wide view.

Fall Foliage Graffiti

Albany Covered Bridge, Kancamagus Highway, Albany, New Hampshire

Today we visit New Hampshire's famed Kancamagus Highway. The Kancamagus Highway (also known as the "Kanc") is a 34 mile scenic drive that is known as one of the best fall foliage viewing areas in New England. The Kanc in October is the destination of choice for thousands of "leaf peepers" from all over the country. With the weather being unusually warm (high 70's and low 80's) as well as being Columbus Day week, the crowds were at all-time highs. The Kanc has many attractions but one of the most popular is the Albany Covered Bridge. Being part of a photography workshop, we arrived after our dawn shoot at Cathedral Ledge (see yesterday's post) in hopes that it was still early enough to beat the crowds. As the 20+ photographers in our group arrived in the parking lot, we found it totally deserted. Little did we know that a tour bus was on its way to the bridge.

This is the first time that I have shot with so many photographers, so it can be interesting to see where everyone goes to set up their shots. Trust me, we had this bridge covered from every angle. This shot was taken inside the bridge with a 16-35mm as I wanted to get a wide view of the river, the surrounding foliage and the bridge structure along with it's graffiti. I will say that despite the number of photographers, everyone was conscious of not walking into one another's shots and would remain motionless whenever someone was shooting so as to prevent the bridge from shaking.

Rolling Fog

Cathedral Ledge, North Conway, New Hampshire

Finally back to posting after a great two weeks off. The first week was spent on my first photography workshop hosted by famed photographer, Bill Fortney. I must say that it was time extremely well spent. I learned more about photography during the week than I had in the past year. Bill has a wonderful way of teaching and making you think differently about approaches to shooting and composing images. More importantly, the fellowship exhibited by Bill, his team, guest instructor Matt Kloskowski and the other participants was wonderful. I highly recommend Bill's workshops. Hopefully, you will be seeing some new looks in my photos. The second week was dedicated to a little R&R including an extended family party to celebrate my Aunt's 105th birthday. God bless her!

Anyway, this image is from Cathedral Ledge in North Conway, New Hampshire that was taken during my workshop. We had gotten to the ledge to photograph the sunrise but instead were faced with some great fog that quickly covered the valley after we got there. While we were hoping for a spectacular sunrise, the fog made for an even better subject against the backdrop of the White Mountains.

Enter at Your Own Risk

Brooklyn, New York

Off to Bill Fortney's New England Photo Workshop tomorrow. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to it. Hope to learn tons as well as shooting parts of New England where I've never been. That's always exciting. I may post a few next week but I am not sure of the schedule and internet accessibility. If I am unable, I will be back to normal the week of October 17th. And now for today's photo. Every time I walk around New York City, I come across something different and unusual. This is one of those times. I was walking around Brooklyn and came across this at the entrance to a restaurant. While it is unusual and funny, it didn't entice me to enter and try the food. When I was in business school, I never learned to warn potential customers of the risks of visiting my business.

Blue Hour at the Pier

Edgecomb, Maine

This is one of those very unexpected photos that we sometimes discover and become one of our favorites. When booking hotels for my lighthouse scouting trip with my son, I found this relatively cheap hotel within 25 minutes of Pemaquid Point. When Greg and I checked in, the hotel was the typical hotel room you would expect. We headed to Pemaquid Point to scout out the location for the next morning's shoot. After the scouting trip, we drove to Wiscasset to grab a quick dinner. Getting back to the hotel at about 8:30 pm, we walked around the hotel property and found this extremely long pier that was lit up. After seeing the pier and the great blue hour light, I ran back to the car and grabbed the tripod and camera. This was one of the images that I shot. It was a beautiful night and we spent a long time just hanging out on the pier. It was one of those totally unexpected moments and images.

Sunrise at Portland Head

Portland Head Light, Portland, Maine

Arguably the signature lighthouse of Maine, the Portland Head Light is actually located outside of Portland on Cape Elizabeth. The light was initially commissioned by George Washington in 1787. The light stands 80 feet above the land and 101 feet above the water. Edward Rowe Snow wrote about the light: “Portland Head and its light seem to symbolize the state of Maine—rocky coast, breaking waves, sparkling water and clear, pure salt air.” The lighthouse is surrounded by a huge park and when I visited it the day before to scout, it was swarming with people. I was sure that I would not be alone the next morning when I went to shoot the light at sunrise. Much to my surprise, the only other person there was a cameraman from the local television station who must have been telecasting a live shot of the light. As a result, I had the run of the park and shot the light from all angles. This is the first one that I have posted and it is the most familiar composition. The sunrise was beautiful and it was very serene except for the fog horn which blasts every 15 seconds 24 by 7. Look forward to posting other compositions of this wonderful light in the next few weeks.

On the Rocks

Camden Hills State Park, Camden, Maine

I relearned two Photography 101 lessons on this one. We went to Camden, Maine where I had been many years before. I remembered the rocky beach in nearby Camden Hills State Park and I wanted to get a sunrise shot there. Rather than visit the site the night before, I thought I knew exactly where I would go the next morning. Up before dawn, I drove down to the park and walked down toward the beach. Mistake number one: I forgot to pack any light. It wasn't pitch black so I wasn't too worried. At the end of the trail, I hit a T intersection. Mistake number two, I didn't remember which way to turn because I hadn't scouted the night before. I seemed to think it was to the left and went that way. Couldn't find the trail and hit the end of the park. I quickly turned and went to the other end hoping that I would find the access point before sunrise (good thing it wasn't too long of a trail).

I finally found what I thought was the access point and quickly scrambled down to the beach. Only problem was, there were no rocks. I was able to shoot some images, turned around and saw the rocky beach about where I had originally looked.

I ran up the slope, and hurried back to the other end. Since the sun had already risen, I spotted a very small access point which got me to where I wanted to originally get to. Out of breath, I was able to get this shot while the light was still good.

I have relearned my lesson and will not make these mistakes again!

Campanile View

Venice, Italy

I am really excited this week. On Friday, I saw that there were some last minute openings in Bill Fortney's and Matt Kloskowski's New England Photo Workshop. I've never taken a photo workshop before and have always admired Bill's and Matt's work. I decided to take the plunge and I am heading back to Maine on Saturday for the workshop. Looking forward to it so much. Now to today's image... Venice is one of the most unique cities in the world. It is a photographer's paradise with views on every street / canal. The center of our stay in Venice was St Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco). The square seems to be the designation of every traveler to Venice and is also a popular meeting place for the locals.

The piazza is home to the famous St Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace. To get a different view of St Mark's, you can enter it's campanile (bell tower) and go up 323 feet to see the basilica from above. The view shows the five domes of St Mark's against the backdrop of the surrounding city.

Cliff Living

Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

Southwestern Colorado near Durango is home to the wonderful Mesa Verde National Park. Like most national parks, Mesa Verde contains some beautiful scenery but it's ancient cave dwellings are what make it world famous. In fact, it's Cliff Palace, shown in this image, is thought to be the largest cliff in North America. The Cliff Palace was inhabited by ancient Pueblo people between 550 AD to 1300 AD and often referred to as the Anasazi (Navajo for "Ancient Ones" or "Ancient Enemy"). The Anasazi kept no written records and it is hard to learn about their life other that the men were hunters and farmers while the woman were skilled in basket weaving. They mysteriously disappeared from the Cliff Palace and it is speculated that they left the are after a 24 year drought.

Walking among the adobe structures is like walking on hallowed ground. The Cliff Palace is a remarkable structure that is even more amazing that it was built about 1,500 years ago and still is in great shape. I highly recommend a visit to Mesa Verde if you are ever in southwest Colorado.

Tribute in Bronze

London, England

Walking around the cities in Europe often serves as an informal history lesson. There are monuments that everyone recognizes and then there are others that commemorative some special time or event that may be less known. I came upon this monument on a street in London opposite the London Eye. It is an amazing tribute to the men and women who fought in the Battle of Britian which, in essence, saved England from being overrun by the Nazis. Not only was England ill-equipped for the battle (4,000 planes vs. 1,660 planes for the Allies), but their pilots were inexperienced and not well trained. It was through their sacrifices and efforts that England won the 3-month battle for air superiority over England. The victory led to Winston Churchill's famous quote, " Never was so much owed by so many to so few." Unveiled in 2005, the monument is a granite structure that has bronze panels that depict various aspects of the battle in the air and on the ground. While the sculpture contains a number of scenes, the most amazing one is this section that shows a group of pilots scrambling off to their planes. I was quite taken with the textures and details of this monument and think it pays great tribute to the airmen.

Low Clouds

Johnson Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Just back from Maine. While it wasn't a photography rich trip as the weather did not cooperate for most of the week, it is always good to travel with good friends. I was able to get a few decent shots that I hope to post shortly. For now, we revisit one of my favorite places: Johnson Lake in Banff National Park. The weather had been a bit overcast and was starting to clear. By the time I got to the lake, all that was left of the overcast skies were a few low clouds covering the mountain tops. The lake is a destination for families to have a nice, easy hike with a nice view of Cascade Mountain. Picnickers, hikers, sunbathers, fishermen, and swimmers congregate here during the summer months. The lake is also part of Banff's Minnewanka Loop.

Rushing By

Yukon Suspension Bridge, Fraser, British Columbia

Just a quick post today. I am headed to Maine for a few days and will not be posting the rest of the week. This is an image taken from the middle of the Yukon Suspension Bridge in Fraser, BC. I didn't have my ND filters with me and the light was pretty bright. Fortunately, the bridge was pretty sturdy so that I was able to slow the exposure a bit.

Hope to have some new images from Maine next week.

Inside Looking Out

Sturbridge, Massachusetts

I am often asked about my workflow and I thought I would start documenting it. It's an ever evolving process and what is good for me may not work for you. Today I will describe how I organize my photos and choose them for editing. First a little history. When I first started shooting as a full time hobby, I would identify my keepers and immediately process them and put them on the web. I quickly began to realize that I wasn't being selective enough and was spending way too much time processing images that, quite frankly, were not worth it. I also felt a bit overwhelmed when I got home as I felt the immediate pressure to process all of the images. As a result, I became more critical of my work and only kept the images that I really liked and thought had potential.

My digital darkroom skills back then were pretty rudimentary.  So, I began to edit a few photos from each shoot and saved the other ones for future editing once my processing skills improved. I quickly discovered that finding the unprocessed keepers was a challenge due to how I organized my photos. I organize my images in a "Master Photo" folder location that contains sub-folders for each year . Inside each year's sub-folders were additional sub-folders for each shoot (labeled with the shoot name and date). While this structure worked (and still works) for me, it made looking for these unprocessed keepers a bit tedious.

It wasn't until I started using Lightroom's collections feature that I stumbled upon a way of finding these older images a lot easier. The first step was to lose the mindset about folders. Yes, I still store my images in the same folder structure, but after they are imported into Lightroom, I no longer use them. Immediately after import, I review the photos, rejecting the obvious ones and giving 5 stars to the obvious keepers that I want to process some day. These are automatically sent to a collection named "To Be Processed". The remaining photos are reviewed a second time, usually to evaluate similar photos that I haven't made a decision about yet. On this second review, some images are deemed keepers and given 5 stars.  I have done that for all of my images.

Now when I want to process an image, I don't care which folder an image is in. Instead, I simply look through the "To Be Processed" collection and pick the ones that feel right to me that day. The image could be one I took last week or one that I took years ago.

How does my workflow differ from your yours? I welcome any comments, suggestions or questions.

This image was shot a few years ago from inside one of Old Sturbridge Village's cabins. The light from the outside gave a great glow on the old window frame.

Glass Canopy

Canada Place, Vancouver, British Columbia

When planning our recent vacation in Alaska, we decided to end our trip in one of my favorite cities, Vancouver. We elected to stay at the Pan Pacific Hotel that is part of Canada Place so we didn't have to go very far when our cruise ship docked. We were very lucky to have some great weather and spent a lot of time exploring the city. The last night of our stay, before we headed home, turned out to be the best night for shooting. There was a golden glow everywhere we walked and the reflections on the surrounding buildings were some of the best I have seen. This view is one of my favorites of the night and I took it as I was leaving the hotel. The hotel's glass canopy with it's geometric shapes nicely framed the buildings that surrounded the city block. As I processed the image, I noticed what I thought were halos but after careful inspection, they turned out to be reflections from the light on the glass.

Stormy Skies at Pemaquid Point

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, Bristol, Maine

Today's post is another in my series on New England lighthouses. Located at the tip of the Pemaquid Peninsula, the lighthouse sits above the Atlantic Ocean as a beacon to passing ships. This is the same lighthouse whose reflection I posted a few weeks ago. This image was taken the night before as part of my scouting out the location. I wasn't planning to shoot any photos as it rained pretty much the whole 5-hour trip from CT and the wind was blowing pretty hard. My main goal was to pick some vantage points for the next morning's shoot. As I looked around for a way to climb down the slippery rocks, the stormy skies began to lighten. I decided to grab my tripod from the car and finally found a relatively easy way to climb down. As I began to compose the scene, a break in the clouds on the horizon added some great contrasts to the sky. I am always surprised that some of my favorite images come when I least expect them.

Quiet Time at Dead Horse

Dead Horse State Park, Moab, Utah

Eastern Utah is home to two wonderful National Parks (Arches & Canyonlands). Tucked in between the two is Dead Horse State Park which is often overlooked. The signature image of the park is this one, where the Colorado River has carved the rock over thousand of years to leave us with this spectacular view which rivals any in the area. The park itself was named after the mustangs that used to run wild in the area. The overlook from which this image was taken from, acted as a natural corral where cowboys would drive the herds so they could be captured for personal use or for sale to others. According to legend, a group of mustangs remained on the overlook and were somehow trapped there. As there was no food or water available, they supposedly died of thirst within sight of the Colorado River.