Today was the last day of my Acadia Photography Workshop for this year. It was a great group who were a pleasure to work with and we made some wonderful pictures. It was cloudy so we didn’t have to wake up early for sunrise. We headed over to one of my favorite Acadia locations, Sieur de Monts, which is an area away from the coast but is extremely diverse. There is a beautiful grove of birch trees, long flowing bright […]
Our streak of great weather ended and the rain has taken over at my Acadia Photography Workshop. We spent yesterday afternoon and this morning in the classroom, talking about light and looking at some of the photos we have made so far. It is always fun to look at photos made by everyone in the workshop, we are all at the same places but invariably come away with different images. Again, people had their own vision and saw things I […]
Today is my favorite day of the year to shoot sunrise, the sun rises at its latest time of the year since tomorrow we switch back off Daylight Savings Time. So today’s 7:30 sunrise becomes 6:30 tomorrow. I can handle getting out before 7:30, but 6:30 is always more of a challenge. Even though I spent a lot of time in Vermont chasing fall foliage, I thought I would catch the end of the New Jersey version since the forecast […]
As I was out early this morning getting some shots from the last blast of fall foliage, I was trying to shoot the sunlight coming through a leaf hanging on a tree. There was a very slight breeze but it was just enough to make getting a sharp photo near impossible. When I got home I noticed lots of colorful leaves in my yard, so I decided to backlight them. I picked up some nice leaves and placed them […]
I was out in my favorite location in Pomfret, VT, looking for foliage photos and looking at a small set of birch trees. A single fallen yellow maple leaf had landed on the trees and provided a nice splash of color against the white bark. But the light was pretty bad. I was deep in the woods and there wasn’t any light getting down to the leaf. So I pulled out my flashlight and since I use my tripod for […]
Several years ago I found this great little overlook in Bridgewater, VT, that has an easterly view of layers of hills all the way into New Hampshire. Each time I go there it looks different and I’ve made some beautiful shots from that spot. Today’s sunrise was pretty nice and shooting sunrise and hills can be tricky so I didn’t break out the camera, I just helped my workshoppers get the best pictures they could. And they did great, you […]
I decided to host a photography workshop in Florida based around photographing birds, not because I get excited seeing birds but because I love the challenge of getting a special shot. A mug shot of a bird bores me. Seeing another photo of a bird sitting on a branch or looking around doesn’t do a thing for me. So I always strive to get something different, something that shows personality, something with composition, something that has more elements than just […]
I have spent a lot of time scouring the backroads of Vermont looking for great photo locations but I haven’t crossed the Conneticut River much to see what is in New Hampshire. After a recent workshop I got an invitation from Mary to show me around the New London area and I took her up on it today. There are several lakes and large ponds in her area and very few near me in Vermont. We started the day a […]
A friend told me about a field of sunflowers that are in perfect bloom. I like sunflower fields and since I am going to be in Vermont for over a week, I figured the sunflowers might not look too good when I get back. Even though the sun wasn’t out, I went to the field late in the day and shot away. The sky was pretty cloudy with a few blue spots, so I initially tried keeping the sky out […]
I decided to spend the day in Cape May, which is my favorite place in New Jersey. Hurricane Sandy destroyed most the of the New Jersey shore last fall but spared Cape May. It looks like some of the main beach is missing but none of the structures, including the boardwalk, were seriously damaged. Cape May has been a tourist destination for decades. The small town is at the southern tip of N.J. where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Delaware […]
As I was walking out of the South Woodstock (VT) Country Store after chit-chatting with the woman behind the counter, she said “At least it is warmer today.” That’s what I love about the spirit of people in Vermont, it was 14 degrees at noon, and she saw the good side of it. Yes, 14 does feel pretty good compared to the 20-below the night before, but I love being around people who are thinking about the positive side. Earlier […]
I was photographing this morning along the D&R Canal in Griggstown, NJ, with my Meetup group. It is fun going out with other people and taking photos. During my days as a news photographer, I always noticed that the photographer who got away from the pack and wasn’t standing around chatting with the other photographers was usually the one with the best photos at the end of the day. I’m noticing that with our meetups too. Now some people are […]
I spent the afternoon with my good friend and photographer Nat Clymer wandering along the D&R Canal in East Millstone and Somerset, N.J. Nat lives nears the canal and knows the history and most of the people along it. There are several old buildings in various places along the canal that served as houses or vantage points while the canal was in operation many years ago. In fact, Nat used to have his office in an old canal house in […]
In Quechee, Vt., there is a fun little balloon festival each year. This morning I met a new group of friends from the Quechee Camera Club Meetup group for the sunrise launch. It is a nice group of people interested in photography. There are a few pros but mostly people learning and experimenting with photography. It is good to see people get out and just have fun shooting and learning and not be worried about getting the shot that sells. […]
Each Friday night during the summer classic cars show up on Somerville, NJ’s, Main St. and take over the town. There isn’t just a few, the town is packed with old cars as hundreds show up. With the cars come the spectators and the photographers. Lots of pictures are taken and many look the same. I grew up in northern Indiana, a few miles from Auburn where they built Duesenbergs, Auburns and Cords until the great depression wiped them out. […]