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Blogroll, topics, links and other organizational stuff is at the bottom. I like the wide space this allows for the photographs which are the whole point of this blog. Also, I've been slowly adding to the Best Work and Favorites page at the top. Check it out if you haven't been here in a while. Last update was October 25, 2012.

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Me and my new GH3

As I said in my Elusive Wildflowers Part 9 post, I have a new camera. It’s a Lumix (Panasonic) GH3. Yeah, I know they’re hemorrhaging money these days, but the Lumix was the only one that would do what I want the way I want it. It’s my first mirrorless camera and also my first non-Olympus. Here are some shots of it from reviews and articles -

That’s exactly my kit. The lens & body I had to pay for, but the grip was a bonus and I also got (but haven’t received yet) a $125 rebate on the body. Pricey, yeah. But as I said it was the only one that would do what I need how I need it. A lot of folks who had its predecessor the GH2 are mad because it’s bigger. Considerably so, but since my E-30 was bigger still, I don’t mind. It fits my hand nicely and has all the controls I’m used to working with in very convenient places. It has function buttons that are customizable and that’s new for me and something I have yet to really work with, but as time goes on, I think that I will. It also has customizable modes for different styles of shooting and that I have played with. Check out the top and how nicely arranged it is. Granted, I’d like that forward control dial in front of the shutter since that’s what I’m used to, but I can adapt.

I’ve had a camera with a tilt and swivel screen for 3 years now and can’t live without it. I don’t know what the stubborn insistence is with pretty much all camera manufacturers to relegate that feature to their most entry-level cameras, but it’s frustrating. Since I’d be upgrading, I wanted in addition to improved image quality, a weather-proof body and lens, but without the screen it would be unusable. Panasonic gave me that and tons more. The OLED viewfinder is taking the most getting used to, but since I work mostly from the live view screen, it’s not that much of a problem.

So that’s my new rig. Enough pictures of it. Time for some shots from it. Of course I put the Olympus 90mm macro on it right away. It’s a dream. Not only is the IQ improved, but because the OLED screen(s) brighten automatically I can focus with the lens stopped down, something I couldn’t do with the E-30. It makes for a smoother flow in the field. Check it out!

I didn’t touch the color sliders on either of those, btw. The richness is amazing just by setting white and black points. I don’t have to do much to the contrast either, but I still do. I think it’s the lens itself – the age and the type of coatings they used. Even the color purple, which I’ve talked about before, is accurate. For something different, I decided to use the on-board flash to kick up the dazzle in the raindrops a bit and it worked a treat. All I did was turn it on and leave the camera in Aperture-priority. It did amazingly well.

To test the camera a bit and see about its limits and strengths, I’m doing things differently than I did with the E-30. I still shoot in RAW, but I am putting it on auto white balance a lot and it’s pretty accurate. Not always, but mostly. I am also experimenting with the improved low-light performance and so I tried hand-holding this shot at 800 ISO. No WAY this would look this good with my old camera.

Sure, I reduced the noise in Lightroom a bit, but not more than I would have for 200 ISO in the Olympus. And the colors are accurate and I didn’t tweak them at all. If anything, I sometimes have to turn the vibrance down a bit so they don’t look so saturated. The trillium shot is with the Lumix 12-35mm f2.8 lens with the IS turned on. Yeah, the one black mark against the GH3 is the lack of in-body image stabilization which means I don’t get it when I use my OM 90mm or any of my other legacy glass. That was a nice thing to have on the E-30 and I do miss it. I can live without it though since most of the time I’ve got the macro on a support of some kind, but my perfect camera would have IBIS. The 12-35mm is a bit shorter in reach than my recent standard lens, and I don’t think it focuses quite as close, but it is a constant f2.8 aperture and so far I like working with it.

I haven’t done a lot of landscape work with this rig yet, but I did get out to do a sunset on Saturday and here’s one shot I have processed so far.

It’s from the top of the diminutive Mt. Foss in Eaton, NH. I used one of my Cokin ND grads (the holder is for my old lens, so I handheld the filter for these) to control the light better and I did tweak the red, orange, purple and magenta channels a bit in LR, but none over 25 on the slider scale. I also hit the luminance on the yellow and green channels to hightlight the strip of trees there. Just setting my white and black points and leaving the contrast low, and the thing still pops. I’m pretty amazed. In the field this camera is really nice to work with and it’s WAY quieter than my Olympus, which even comparing with other cameras with mirrors, was louder than anyone else’s I’d heard. It always embarrassed me and now I don’t have to worry about it anymore. I could even turn on the electronic shutter and have the GH3 run totally silent. Very cool.

So apart from a couple of fiddly bits (remote cable, ND filter, batteries) I’ve got a pretty good package. Oh and before I forget, the thing also has an intervalometer built-in and HD, broadcast-quality video. Two VERY new things for me, but both of which I’ll be playing with soon.

Posted by  |  May 20, 2013 | Categories: Gear, Macro, Photography | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Two by water

While out the other day I spent a little time on the shore of a beaver pond. It seems lately that there are more and more of them around, creating lakes and overflowing vernal pools. Sometimes they can be nuisances, but beavers evolved to be successful in their niche, and they are part of how meadows develop and forests change so I don’t mind what they do.

The seeming stillness of decay

Plus their houses are pretty cool.

Here there be beavers

These are some of the last shots I took with the E-30. Poor old thing. Maybe if I can get the lens repaired it can still be useful for someone. It’s a good rig. Great lens. Easy to work with. Both shots are with the Olympus 90mm at about f5.6. That one you’ll still get to see shots from. As if there was any doubt!

Posted by  |  May 14, 2013 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

Elusive Wildflowers – Part 9

So, two new things for you today.

First being this gorgeous wild bleeding heart I found in my yard today. Never before have I seen or photographed the wild variety and so when I saw it today, I got right out there.

My sad slowing heart

I didn’t use the E-30 though.

Nope.

New camera making its debut on the blog this Mother’s Day. The first non-Olympus camera I have ever owned.

A Panasonic Lumix GH3.

And the OM 90mm macro.

What? You were expecting total change?

Well, maybe in future posts. I did get the Lumix 12-35mm f2.8 as well, but didn’t keep it on the camera for these.

I’ve had the thing all of 28 hours now and I’m still messing with its millions of settings, menu selections and buttons. It’s a bit overwhelming, but if I concentrate on finding, using and becoming proficient with the things I used most often with the E-30, it helps keep my head from exploding. This is one serious camera. Woah.

Cross my heart

I say again. Woah.

This is almost too much camera for me. I mean, I shot with an OM-1 from 1988 to 2005 or so. Interspersed with an OM-3 in the later years. All manual. All mechanical. Could shoot without batteries as long as I could meter in my head, which I used to be able to do. I should try it again just to see if I still can.

Anyway. I decided on the m4/3 flagship from Panasonic for a lot of reasons and I don’t think I’m going to be disappointed at all. It’s weather-sealed. It has a level. It has a flip and swivel screen. It has 16 megapixels. It takes my old glass just fine. It has an incredible image processing engine. It’s slightly smaller than my old rig. It has some excellent weather-sealed lenses with fixed apertures all through the zoom range. It feels good in my hands. It has a million customizable buttons and settings.

Phew.

It’s going to be a while before I really get comfortable with it, but so far it’s been pretty terrific. And I have some snazzy HD video options, too, so look out!

For the love I bear

So watch this space for more Lumix GH3 images. It’s going to be a wild ride.

 

Posted by  |  May 12, 2013 | Categories: Macro, Photography | Tags: , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Springing Forward

Hi peeps.

It’s me. The phantom photographer.

Funny how working full-time makes it hard to get out and shoot. I can’t just stop and go out when the light is nice. I can’t cancel meetings because it’s suddenly overcast and I could go to a waterfall. Even if I do have intentions of going out before or after working hours, I’m sometimes too tired to actually go.

Ugh.

I did yesterday though. I was at Pawtuckaway investigating the hepatica and other flowers and I shot some, but my batteries were so unused that they just died on me one by one. So drained they wouldn’t even register or power on the camera. But I knew I’d have to go back. The flowers last year were wicked pale, but this year are full to bursting with color.

See?

Are we the first ones here?

Aren’t they gorgeous?

Hopefully I have a few more in the memory card. It was very trying because my camera, despite factory service, has begun to flake on me. EXIF data says this was shot at f7.1. Uh. I don’t think so. The camera isn’t stopping the lens where I set it and I know this was shot wide open. It also wasn’t metering or firing properly. I have no idea what’s going on. I need to get a hold of Olympus again, but I’m betting my old E-30 is toast. Which bums me out like crazy. I like the dumb thing.

Anyway..stay tuned.

Posted by  |  April 25, 2013 | Categories: Macro, Photography | Tags: , , , , | 6 Comments »

Fog is a photographer’s best friend

And we don’t hang out enough.

The other day I literally made myself go out in the morning before the fog burned off. I left it too late (of course…I’m so damn lazy) and didn’t get as much as I wanted to, but it was a productive 90 minutes. Next time I’ll move my ass earlier.

The rush to belong

This next one looks like I used a sepia or similar kind of treatment in post-processing, but I didn’t. I tweaked the white balance/color temperature a bit to bring up the golden-brown richness, but that was it. Both these shots are handheld, too, which not something I do a lot of anymore, but since it was pretty bright and I knew the images wouldn’t be wicked crisp or have lots of depth of field because of the fog, I left the tripod in the car. This little marsh (which even has some resident beavers) is just down the road from me and on the backside of the airport and next to an auto salvage yard. It’s a popular fishing spot, too. People just park and stand on the side of the road. Pretty amazing it’s not a poisoned mess by now.

Ode to Sorrow

As I said, I didn’t move my ass fast enough and so a lot of the fog in the forest had already burned off. In my drive around I noticed that some areas burn off much faster than others. Even shallow depressions in the overall landscape hold fog much longer. I should have checked out a couple cemeteries, but as I said, I was lazy. Not so lazy that I didn’t use the tripod for this one -

Corridors of Power

Confession time.

Sometimes even though I call myself a photographer, I don’t see all the time. I look, but I don’t see. There’s a difference.

In my town we have a lot of apple orchards. So many that you can hardly drive anywhere without passing lots and lots of trees. I see them all the time and I’ve even shot in an orchard or two, but I never realized what great foliage they have. As a nature photographer (with a cemetery fixation, sure) I often ignore man-made landscapes. Stupid. At least in this case. Just because it’s not a natural landscape doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful. Leaves on the trees, fog in the air, frost on the grass – what’s not to love?

Inheritance

Sorry I haven’t been more productive lately. The camera went in the shop for a while and the new job eats into my shooting time. I hope once spring has sprung that I’ll be out and about more. I do miss it even though I’m pretty busy most of the time now. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

 

Posted by  |  March 15, 2013 | Categories: Landscape, Photography | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Corvus Mortis

Finally a post that fits the blog name.

Without going all Disney on you about the cycle of life, death is most certainly part of it. While I don’t seek out dead things to photograph (even though there’s plenty of roadkill these days), I didn’t avoid it when presented with an opportunity. I thought there might be something beautiful to be found and I was right. At least I think so.

A couple of months ago I looked out onto my back lawn and saw a strange, black shape. ‘A dead crow’ flashed through my mind before I even walked over. Lo and behold it was a dead crow. In the middle of the lawn. Weird. I mean, yeah, I know crows die and probably even they don’t get to choose either the manner or the hour, but this one fell out of the sky into my yard. Unfortunately, it was already…well, um…someone had a meal already and it wasn’t in a particularly photogenic state. I could wait though.

A murder

I’ll start you off slowly, with a couple shots of the beak. The blue up there is real, not computer-generated. They say that all the colors of the rainbow can be found in aspects of black and it certainly did with this study. Having never been close to a crow before I had no idea they had a little hook there at the end of the beak. Useful I’m sure. As I said, this fallen flier had been disturbed with one wing completely severed and so I moved it into position for these shots and as much as I like that one of there look what nature brought me a few days later -

Nevermore

I’d been planning to go outside in the early morning because that low-angled sun would bring up all kinds of texture and detail. Who knew I’d get a frosting of ice crystals? I was out the door like a shot when I saw it from the window and the race was on. How many images could I get before it melted? Could I manage the dynamic range of pure black and pure white? Would it be as subtle and yet dramatic as it was to my eye? Oy.

Corvus Noir

Funeral Jewels

While the seconds ticked by and the sun started to erase the finery, I noticed so many color changes that I could hardly believe it. While they may not work as a cohesive set, they are pretty true to life. I didn’t add color that wasn’t there and I didn’t process too hard what color was there. It’s purely light and white balance.

Shadegrown

Corvus Mortis

While I shot these last couple of images, a few of this crow’s still-living brethren flew overhead, calling a raucous good morning. Crows, as a rule, aren’t very sentimental. I’ve heard it said that they mourn their dead, but as smart as I know crows to be, I think they’re more interested in eating their dead than anything else. That’s probably what got to this bird in the first place. That or a hawk of some kind. I’ve often seen them arguing high overhead (we have tons of crows and hawks in my neighborhood). Crows have always reminded me of stern deacons of some intensely puritanical sect, stalking around with stiff-legged purpose; disapproving. And I have an unfulfilled fantasy of having a raven as a pet. Of course I also want an octopus. Intelligent animals fascinate me.

I’m not the only one. Check out this terrific little TED Talk with Joshua Klein. The CrowBox was a great idea, but seems to have, alas, dropped out of sight.

Posted by  |  January 19, 2013 | Categories: Macro, Photography | Tags: , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Best of 2012

Hello and welcome to my…what is this…the second or is it third? Well, whatever, welcome to my Best Images of the Year post. It was hell.

Either I’m getting worse as a photographer or I’m just more picky about my images, but damn if it wasn’t hard to compile my best shots this year. The fact that I didn’t get anything decent until May is a pretty good indication of my mediocrity. Whenever I edit a batch of photos in Lightroom, I make a point to rate them with the 5-star system. Sometimes my ratings change over time, but mostly they stay the same. I think I had one 5-star image, but downgraded it later leaving none. Overall I think I did a better job with light this year, but my narrowness of subject began to bore me. Still, I did manage to generate images that I like and without further whining, here’s what I’ve got. As always they are in the order taken during the year.

This waterfall is in Pulpit Rock Conservation Area in Bedford, NH. I shot it from this angle for the first time this year and was amazed at my stupidity at not finding this view before. While steep and off the main trail, it isn’t hard to get to. The composition is very strong and came together naturally. The light was kind and the balance and heft the trees contribute adds a lovely symmetry, vigor and depth. Even the rocks cleaned up for me.

My eternal gratitude (May)

 

Next is a shot of High Bridge over the Piscataquog river in New Boston, NH. It is now repaired, but when I shot this the deck still had some holes and the I-beams were pretty rusty. I did not set foot on it. I love this shot because it’s powerful. I chose and set up carefully to emphasize the amount of water while also showing the gorge itself and of course the bridge. A fair amount of planning went into this shot and I picked my moment pretty well for maximum white water. I also managed the post-processing to bring up the new leaves on the trees and I like the effect.

 

High Bridge over the Piscataquog (May)

I love this shot for a lot of reasons. First is that it is a relatively rare Luna Moth and only the second I’ve ever seen. Second because I did see it, which was an amazing piece of luck. I was on the last leg of an afternoon hike, coming pretty fast down the trail at the Harris Center for Conservation Education in Hancock, NH. Somehow I noticed a difference in the green or the shape in the undergrowth and stopped to check it out. I was flabbergasted to see this gorgeous creature just emerged from its chrysalis and pumping up those glorious wings. The light was perfect and I shot and shot and shot. What a fantastic experience it was and I’m so glad to have been a witness to this insect’s very short, but intriguing life.

Luna Waxing (May)

The next one just happens to be an insect shot, too, although it didn’t start out that way. I went to shoot the sundew which are tiny, carnivorous plants. They secrete minute droplets of basically sugar to attract bugs which are then trapped and are gradually subsumed and digested by the plant. This one is one of millions in the Ponemah Bog Conservation Area in Amherst, NH and at first I didn’t notice the tiny whitefly, but I’m glad it’s there, even if it was probably doomed. The clarity (thanks to the OM 90mm macro), the complexity and the strangeness of the shot just make it for me (not to mention the light which is pretty fab). Next year I hope to work more with these little wonders and photograph them in bloom.

Sweet Temptation (July)

This is kind of a strange one for me even though I fly a few times a year. I just happened to look out the window as we arced over the American west. The color just knocked me out and when I saw the big bend coming up in that ribbon of river, I hauled out the camera (and lost my eyecup in the bargain, doh!). Luckily the window wasn’t too filthy and I managed a relatively clean image. A square crop gives it some tension and balance to my eye and I like how bold it is.

Desert abstract (September)

If you’ve been following along this year, you’re no doubt aware I caught a mega-dose of Mushroom Madness and even though there were a lot of good shots, I think you’ll agree this one takes the prize. While out to do some waterfall work, I found a huge swath of these coppery beauties. After a few failed attempts at shooting little groups of them, I spied this loner. With the soft light and the contrasting color of the moss it really pops. I love it and the OM 90mm shines as usual.

Take another little piece of my heart (October)

Funny how many of my abstract shots involve water. On a meetup to do a waterfall shoot at Garwin Falls in Wilton, NH, I ended up at this pool below a small cascade. The ripples and the reflection of the sky and leaves overhead was mesmerizing and I followed this little leaf around until I had it where I wanted it. Who am I kidding…I was totally at its mercy! I used the OM 90mm which is also a pretty terrific medium-telephoto and it sure was challenging to manage the focus and track the leaf. It’s on the list because it is a bit different for me and I was glad that I saw the image even before I shot it. Plus it’s just fascinating to look at…soft and ripply and the colors are so vivid.

I feel like Andy Warhol (October)

Ok. You caught me. Another mushroom shot, but damn, just look at it! That light just knocks me out! Plus it’s a microscape which is something I’ve been working on for a while now. These little slices of the forest floor are so magical to me and mostly I shoot them as I find them. This one though got a little clean up on top of the log. The leaves though were artfully arranged by nature in the Henderson Swasey Town Forest, Exeter, NH. I like it because it’s playful and has good composition, focus and light.

Scouting Party (October)

 

Another waterfall shot, but very different from Pulpit Rock falls. This one was an unexpected treat and I raced the sun clearing up debris that really ruined the shot. With tripod precariously placed I managed not only to have great light in the trees, but also in the stream itself. No direct sun on the falls meant no blown highlights, but it just skims the rocks and I really like the added zip. I think this represents my ability to see and compose quickly enough to take advantage of excellent light that doesn’t last, something I have improved over the last couple years.

Minge Brook (October)

 

And now for something completely different…well kinda. Yeah it’s another waterfall, but the whole feeling is altered. The drama is more stark and austere and I love the deep contrast between the dark gorge walls and the water itself. I have shot these falls before, but the mood is so different that it might be another place altogether. The camera was so low and close to the flow that the lens kept getting splashed and I had a lot of do-overs. The results are strong for composition, interest and exposure, so it goes on the list. I dig how that closest rock seems to float. Oh this is Upper Purgatory Falls in Mont Vernon, NH.

Echoes in my head (November)

This next one is from a group of images that I haven’t shared on this blog before, but will soon. Earlier this year I found a dead crow on my lawn. Being the person I am, I left it there because I had a feeling it would yield excellent photographic possibilities and I wasn’t wrong. The morning of our first hard frost I went out to see and wow, it was pretty awesome. Check out the detail in the feathers – such fantastic texture (thanks again to my old OM 90mm). The sun went to work melting the tiny crystals, but I got there first. Yes, it’s a dead creature, but I did not kill it and I think if you look hard enough you can find beauty in almost anything nature brings, even death.

Nevermore (November)

Last is another shot I haven’t shared here yet and another one involving death. Frequent readers will not be surprised at my inclusion of a cemetery image in my top picks. Even without the fog, this would be a pretty intense shot, but the fog just wraps everything close and confines your view, if not your imagination. While I was driving to this location, which is Old Hill Cemetery in Londonderry, NH, I knew I’d include the wall in the shot because of the scrim of snow and because stone walls are so typical of old cemeteries around here. I like how the big branch balances the wall and frames the scene. I think I had to stand in the road for this one, but it was worth the risk.

Find that soul (December)

So that’s the lot, the best images I made in 2012.

2013 is going to be a VERY different year, that much I can tell you. See, I got a job. Full time. I haven’t worked for a few years now and have been able to devote a lot of time to photography. It’s been an incredible opportunity to rekindle my old love affair with it and to develop my skills so that I’m a pretty passable art-teest these days. But it’s time for me to go back to work and the absolute perfect situation landed in my lap over the Thanksgiving holiday. Earlier this month I completed all my meetings with the decision makers (one of which I had to fly to Atlanta for), got an offer, finished negotiations and should begin work on January 7 (pending a bg check). I’m really excited about it and I know it’s the right next step for the career I’ve ignored for too long.

So where does this leave me, my photography and this blog? Hopefully with new possibilities. No, I won’t have my days to myself anymore and will no doubt turn into a weekend warrior. I will be traveling a bit more though, and while I probably won’t be toting my big rig around much, I will have an iPhone and boy won’t that be something different? Yeah, old hat to most of you, but not to me and I’m pretty psyched to be able to have a camera in other situations besides hiking. I’m looking forward to exercising my photographer’s eye outside of the woods and nature. To take more slices of life I guess. I promise not to take pictures of my lunch.

Anyway…that wraps up 2012. Thanks to all my readers and followers who enjoy the blog give me feedback. If you haven’t, don’t by shy. I don’t bite.

Much.

Happy New Year!

 

 

Posted by  |  December 31, 2012 | Categories: Photography | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

After the storm

After Hurricane Sandy blew into the area and filled up our smaller streams and rivers again, it was a perfect time to get out and see them. Some of them I’d just been to (Purgatory) and WOW, what a difference a storm makes. At the time it didn’t seem like we got that much rain, but I guess we did. Because showers could catch me at any time, I went to a couple places that were easy and quick to get in and out of. As a result, it didn’t rain. My first stop was Tucker brook/falls, a popular spot but oh so rich in photographic possibilities. This time I got some views I’ve never tried before including going down into a sort of wide gorge. It was magical.

In good voice

You’re my witness

The language of forever

Room for You and Me

A few other photographers I know had been to Tucker falls the week before and the flow looked like a garden hose was on tap compared to after the storm. Wow.

Monkey wash, Donkey rinse

Phew. Feel like a couple monochromes now? I swear I couldn’t stop shooting. I was telling myself that it was repetitive, derivative and had been done a million times, but it’s so hard to stop.

Immovable

Full-throated roar

Phew. Enough already, right? The trouble is, I went to Purgatory Falls just after this. You can practically throw a rock from one location to the other so it’s kind of compulsory that if you have a good day for it, you hit both back to back.

Variation

Check out those rocks in the foreground. Just weeks ago I’d stood on them with the tripod to take a shot of the same little cascade. Amazing what some rain will do. While I didn’t spend as much time at Purgatory brook as I did at Tucker, I did finally manage to shoot a small, but intense cascade I’d never done successfully before. It’s rocky and kind of a PITA to set up for, but those bubbly-swirls…well, you know what a sucker for those I am.

Soft-serve

And of course the falls themselves. Probably the most over-exposed waterfall in southern NH. Could be that’s Tucker falls, but it would be close. I’ve shot them before, but have never gotten up onto the little cliff next to them. I actually didn’t climb up, but down. There’s a little ledge hemmed in by trees about 18″ wide and so that’s where I perched. It’s only about 12 feet higher than the normal position for this shot, but it made me feel adventurous, so it was all good.

And they’re back

Crazy huh? I just can’t resist an overcast day, especially one threatening rain. It’s the perfect time to do this kind of photography. Bright, but even light and no direct sun. I hope you’re not sick of it, cause there might be more.

Posted by  |  December 16, 2012 | Categories: Landscape, Photography | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

A Major Sunrise

Not long ago, Jeff Sinon tweeted that he was going to hike up Mt. Major to photograph the sunrise over Lake Winnipesaukee and would anyone want to join him. It had been too long since we shot together and my husband and I are always up for adventure, so I tweeted back that we’d be there. Crazy.

Well kinda. We are, after all, modern humans with access to gadgetry of all kinds and Mt. Major isn’t exactly tall, although it is wicked steep in parts. So with headlamps firmly strapped we set out for the summit. A lot of the trail is an old logging road, wide and deeply set with large rocks separated from each other by years of runoff. Toward the top it got much steeper and after slogging through boulders running with water, we ended up at some bare granite ledge to monkey over. But less fit souls than I have done it (and probably in flip-flops) so up I went. I think it helped knowing that there was an alternate way down. Breaking my neck is never on my agenda.

Sometimes Mother Nature just laughs at me. At us, really, I suppose, but sometimes I think she’s after me. After our headlighted trek, the clouds we kept hoping would pile up on the horizon stayed out of range, thumbing their noses. The wind that sometimes calms just at sunrise decided that day to party hearty. Even with a backpack dangling from the tripod, it was so windy that my shots are soft and I’m not altogether happy with them. The light is lovely though and the just-off peak foliage is still pretty nice, but dammit if that tripod would not stop moving. Next time I drag the big Bogen up just for the added weight, which sucks to carry, but is evidently necessary at any altitude. Whatta dope.

Cloud wishes

By the time we got the light we wanted down in the valley, I was so cold that I think I was shivering more than my strained camera support. Dammit that wind just wouldn’t quit. No wonder the rock-walled shelter of old had two roofs blown off before people just gave up.

Sunrise over Lake Winnipesaukee

I didn’t know it then, but things were about to change. Through luck and a quick consult with my husband’s iPad, we ended up on the Brook trail for the hike down. It is longer, so we didn’t take it to go up, but it sure made down easier, with limited opportunities for neck-breaking. Plus it went by a brook. Always a sucker for a good brook, as soon as I heard the water, I headed in for a look. First crack out of the box I found what ended up being the best cascade I could find. I guess Nature thought I’d had enough and she gave me a break.

When you stop to listen

As I explored (with my husband standing patiently by) I was enchanted, but there was so much debris in the flow and on the rocks that make up the brook’s borders that it was really hard to find a composition that wasn’t distracting in the extreme. Once again, things were about to change, but I had to wait for it. Jeff had vamoosed to join his family for breakfast and so it was just me, looking in vain for another picturesque cascade. By the time I found one, I was racing the sun. Well, the Earth, really, but you get it. Pretty soon the sun was going to be too high to work with…shining directly on the water and blowing my highlights something fierce. But I found a cascade and began a laborious process of clearing tons of branches out of the way. Believe it or not they were hanging from other branches (blown off by storms) and dangling directly in front of the lens. Not in the water, but in the space between. Standing in the water, tripod on rock, and holding some branches that wouldn’t budge out of the way, I finally shot Minge Brook in all its golden glory.

Minge Brook

OMG I can’t believe what I got. The light so soft and perfect that it almost doesn’t look real. It is though and that little kiss of the light on the upper rocks is pure magic for me. For once my timing was good. I’d like to revisit this spot in the spring with the fresh, green leaves in place of the glowing golden ones. And if this is Minge in the dry season, I can only imagine it in full song, with the snow-melt and spring runoff. That would be a sight to behold.

Posted by  |  December 10, 2012 | Categories: Landscape, Photography | Tags: , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Parker River NWR, Plum Island

Every once in a while I do go somewhere besides the woods. Because I’m in New England that doesn’t leave a lot of somewhere else. No desert. No badlands. No canyons. No sweeping steppes. We do have coastline though and so I’ll make the trek. This time to Plum Island which is the home of the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, a much-needed sanctuary for an over-developed coastline. Strangely I have only visited in the fall. It’s a popular place and maybe I just shy away from what must be hordes of people in the summer season. As it is I feel quite surrounded when I’m there, seeing more people in one day than I do in a month of forest hikes.

Because it’s a wildlife refuge, human intrusion is limited. Many areas are only accessible by wooden walkways, both to protect the fragile ecosystem and because some is deep marsh. Walking these paths you can hear birds you cannot see.

I saw it anew

It does limit compositional choices quite a bit, but there are some areas where you can go off path, although I don’t do it often and only where there are no signs prohibiting me. This part of the marsh is tidal and a few hours before there was only mud where the water is. I love that ever-changing aspect of tidal estuaries and marshes.

Your share of the inheritance

And sometimes, the walkways themselves can provide a subject.

Down in the narrow space

The light wasn’t really favorable for most of the day, but since I decided to stay until sunset, I did a bit of scouting for good locations and playing with what the light did give me. One of the hardest lessons I’ve learned in photography is not to fight the light, that is to have certain optimal photos in my head all the while working in opposite conditions. Now either I wait for those optimal conditions or make the light I have work for me. At one point I simply walked on the beach. No camera. I left it in the car, knowing I’d get nothing useful if I brought it. On my way out though I met a guy coming in who had a big Nikon rig with him. I laughed to myself. Maybe he sees something I don’t, but to each her own.

Spun without moving

An Unchipped Heart

Whose coming was foretold

Eventually though, if you wait long enough, the light you want arrives.

A Second’s Silence

Such fantastification

So, unfortunately, did 4 people. Yeah, it’s a public place and the viewing towers are a great spot to watch the sun go down, but I didn’t appreciate their presences up there with me. I guess all this solitary time has made me a bit of a hermit.

Posted by  |  December 2, 2012 | Categories: Landscape, Photography | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

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