Photographs by Frank

2 April 2014

Keeping Busy in the Late Winter and… Signs of Spring

Filed under: Garden Flowers,Landscapes,wildflowers,Wildlife — Tags: , , , — Frank @ 2:00 PM

Arrrgh… blasted computers!

I went to write this post (the first in two months… how time flies!) and found that WordPress was asking me to update a number of things; which I dutifully did. This broke gallery plug-in that I have been using to display sets of photos. I have spent part of two days trying, without success, to get things working again! I have given up (at least for the moment). Thus, you will note a much less elegant presentation of the photos included in this post. Please click on each thumb nail for a larger version and then click on the larger image to close it.

Here is the post I was contemplating before update hell intervened…

February and March are always the slow time in my photographic year and this year has been no exception. Stretches of cold gray weather followed by a day or two of  cloudless bright sun… neither of which are very conducive to landscape or wildlife photography. Most years we see signs of spring by early April and the photographic opportunities reassert themselves… not this year, as yet!

There is still more than a foot of snow on the ground and “ice out” on the lake  is no where in sight. There are a few meager signs that spring is coming… the snow has a nice wet slushy consistency, a few robins have appeared, the temperatures are falling to barely below freezing at night and the road is a quagmire! Yesterday, it was even warm enough to spend some time making saw dust fly in the garage Spring can’t be too far away… right!?

Although the making of new photographs has been slow, I have been “photo-active” in other ways. For instance, I put together and submitted a portfolio of fifteen 8″x 10″ prints (matted to 11″ x 14″)  in support of my application to become an exhibiting member at the Vermont Center for Photography. I am glad to say that this portfolio was favorably received and I was accepted as an exhibiting member at the end of February.

The Vermont Center for Photography is a gallery and resource center located in Brattleboro, VT (about an hours drive from the house). For the moment, I plan to take part in their group exhibits. I also plan to use their darkroom facilities as I experiment with hand-made cameras (see this post, for example).

Here are the photographs I submitted:

 

31 December 2013

An ‘Adams Dozen’ for 2013

Filed under: Autumn,Landscapes,Odontates,Other Insects,wildflowers,Winter — Tags: , , , , , — Frank @ 11:45 PM

Back at the end of 2011, I added an entry titled  “Twelve Images” based on  Ansel Adams idea that twelve good photographs in a year is a decent crop. I had intended this to be an annual event but I seem to have missed last year.

I actually chose, printed and matted the twelve photos for 2012; they are stored carefully in their own print box. However, I do not seem to have written a blog entry about them… oh well! It doesn’t seem right to post them at this late date, so I’ll just forge ahead!

Thus, without further ado, here is my ‘Adams Dozen’ for 2013:

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23 November 2013

One Foggy Afternoon

Filed under: Landscapes,Monadnock Region,November — Tags: , — Frank @ 4:00 PM

Yesterday dawned cold and rainy; it was 38o and raining light when I arose.

By mid-morning the temperature had made it to about 40o  but  the rain had stopped and the fog began to thicken… perfect weather for some photography!

When I headed out to photograph after lunch, I could not see the couple of hundred yards across the lake by the boat launch… there was no hint of the far shore line just a wall of white!

I decided to make a loop of some of my favorite wetlands in Hancock and Stoddard. All of the photos shown are from Hancock; by the time I got to Stoddard there was not enough light remaining.

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28 October 2013

The Weekend’s Work

Filed under: Autumn,Birds,Monadnock Region — Tags: , , , — Frank @ 4:00 PM

I spent Saturday afternoon at the Pack Monadnock Raptor Observatory again. It was a slow day, only six birds total, but one of those six was a rough-legged hawk. I missed seeing by a few minutes. This was only the second time ever that a rough-legged had been observed at Pack Monadnock.

The other highlight for the day was a golden eagle (the fourth of the season) which I did get to see at a distance.

Lastly, another merlin alit in the same tree as the one I photographed one on Friday.  I was again able to get a decent (although highly cropped) photo.

On Sunday, Joan, Sally (Joan’s childhood friend who was visiting from Lewes, Delaware) and I took a “stroll” through our neighborhood. We hit all of the high points: the lake shore, Brimstone Corner, cellar holes, the beech tree with bear claw marks, and all of the nearby beaver-made wetlands. We covered about 4.5 miles in roughly 4.5 hours and a good time was had by all.

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21 October 2013

The Waning of Autumn

Filed under: Autumn,Landscapes,Monadnock Region,Uncategorized — Tags: , — Frank @ 5:00 PM

In my view, Autumn can be divided into three sub-seasons. Early, when the bright deep red of the swamp maples appears. Middle, when the reds, oranges and yellows of  the upland maples and birch dominate. And finally, late, when the yellow-browns of the oak and beech appear.

Late autumn is now in full swing around here!

I have, in my minds eye, a photograph of the rising moon just above the local horizon with an “interesting” foreground bathed in the warm light of the setting sun. I know that this is somewhat of a visual cliche, but I want to make my own version.

In order to do this successfully, one needs to understand that on the day of the full  moon, the sun sets at roughly the same time as the moon rises. On each succeeding day thereafter, progressing towards the next new moon, the moon rises a bit later relative to the sun setting. Conversely, on the days preceding the full moon the moon rises before the sun sets.

In September, I made it out to (unsuccessfully) photograph the moon rise the day after full moon.

Late Friday afternoon (i.e. on the day of the October full moon), I pointed the truck towards the Peterson WMA in Dublin to see if I could make a photo of the rising full moon. The road (NH 137) passes this large wetland on its west side so there are expansive views to the east. I was hoping that the ridge on the west side of the road was not too high so that the foreground would not be in shadow when the full moon made its appearance over the ridge to the east.

Alas, this was not to be… a day or two before the moon is full would work better… I know this. Next month!

On my way to Dublin, I made a side trip to one of my favorite spots (in Marlborough)  for viewing Mount Monadnock. The first two photos shown below were made there.

The third and fourth photos were made as I waited for the moon to make its appearance over the ridge at Peterson WMA.   The third photo (made at 5:15 PM) gives a hint of the disappointment to come… the sun light has already disappeared from most of the foreground and sunset was still forty five minutes away. Moonrise was about ten minutes before sunset.

The fourth photo was made at 5:56 PM (four minutes before sunset) and there was no moon in sight yet… uggh! The moon, when it finally appeared roughly twenty minutes later, rose just to the left of the trees at the far right of third photo. By then, it was too dark for an effective photo. Maybe next month in a different place and a day or two before the full moon!

The last four photos were made on Sunday. The skies were a perfect combination of bright blue and crisp clouds for making landscapes.  The clouds made for rapidly changing light on the landscape so one makes lots of exposures and spends considerable time waiting for “good light”.

The first two of these photos were made at the wetland were Craig Rd., Reed Carr Rd. and Old Pound Rd. meet; a couple of miles from the house. The last two were made at the “upper” beaver swamp a short walk behind the house.

All of these photos show the oak and beech dominated late autumn foliage. The drab gray of November is soon to be upon us.  Making interesting landscapes between now and the first snows will be a challenge!

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18 October 2013

Two More Stone Arch Bridges

Filed under: Autumn,Landscapes,Monadnock Region — Tags: , — Frank @ 9:00 AM

There are five stone arch bridges of historical import nearby our house. I photographed and wrote about the nearest, the now unused, one in Stoddard (near the Antrim line) a couple of days ago. The other bridges are all located in Hillsborough.

On Wednesday, I set out to explore two of the other bridges… the Jones Rd. bridge (sometimes called the Carr Bridge) and the Gleason Falls bridge. Both of these bridges are still in active use and span Beard Brook. They (and a third bridge, the Gleason Falls Road bridge) are all located within a mile of each other.

If you are keeping count, I have mentioned four of the five bridges. The fifth is the Sawyer bridge also located in Hillsborough. This bridge used to carry US202 across the Contoocook River near the junction with NH 9, but now sits unused next to its modern replacement.  This bridge had a brief moment in the spotlight during the last presidential campaign as Romney’s “Bridge to Nowhere”.

I’ll need to get back to photograph the Gleason Falls Road bridges at some point and maybe I should also do the Sawyer’s Bridge for the record, but it is not in a particularly photogenic spot.

Anyway, here are the photos from Wednesday:

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When I spend time around running water, I can’t help but be fascinated by the patterns present in the flow. Thus, I often spend time making photos of the water with long shutter speeds (4-8 seconds in the photos shown here).

The results can be quite abstract and I helped that along with my processing.

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15 October 2013

Lakeside Foliage

Filed under: Autumn,Monadnock Region,The "New" Yard & Environs — Tags: , — Frank @ 6:00 PM

Most folks consider Labor Day the end of the season for summer vacations… not us! We leave the boats out and readily available until Columbus Day.

Thus, yesterday after lunch, Joan and I headed down the lake in the kayaks to spend a bit of time at camp and with the ultimate goal of getting the Sunfish out of the water for the season.

The afternoon was mild. The temperature was in the low 60s, there was a gentle breeze on the lake and the skies were partly sunny.  Joan decided to take one more sail around the lake. I headed back out in the kayak to photograph the lakeside foliage.

After we got the boat and rigging stowed away, we meandered back down the lake in the kayaks. By then the skies had become overcast and the wind had died out. I made some more photos on the trip back down the lake.

We had a truck load of boats (two kayaks and a canoe) on the way back to the house. We won’t put them away for good until roughly Thanksgiving… there are probably a few more nice days between now and then!

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13 October 2013

The Stone Arch Bridge in Stoddard, et al.

Filed under: Autumn,Landscapes,Monadnock Region — Tags: , — Frank @ 5:00 PM

Yesterday was a cool, gray day… there were periods of fog and light rain. A perfect day for photography!

I headed out about noon with the goal of the old stone arch bridge by Route 9 on the Stoddard/Antrim line. I had no plans other than to photograph the bridge and river along with the fall colors.

After about ninety minutes there, I headed off on a backroads drive through Nelson, Harrisville, Stoddard and Hancock. I arrived back at the house just after five. I was a bit damp and chilly but happy none-the-less.

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3 October 2013

Autumn Color: Local Edition

Filed under: Autumn,Landscapes,Monadnock Region — Tags: , — Frank @ 11:00 PM

It is important to remember that good photos can be made anywhere and that one does not always need to travel to “exotic” locations for photo opportunities.

About three this afternoon, I was headed home after running some errands in town when I pulled the truck over at the boat launch on Gregg Lake (about a mile from the house) to photograph the fall colors. The conditions were ideal… high scattered clouds for good light and interesting skies* and foliage that is closing in on peak.

I had my little “take everywhere” Nikon 1 V1 with me and spent about thirty minutes exploring the possibilities.

On the way back to the truck, I chatted with a woman from Florida (whose name I have forgotten). She had a camera in hand… the conversation started “Great minds think alike!”.

Here are the results:

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*We have had a string of bright, cloudless days recently. Landscape photographers like nice weather as much as everyone else, but dramatic clouds make for much more interesting photographs!

Lyme Center (NH) & Environs

Filed under: Autumn,Landscapes — Tags: , — Frank @ 3:00 PM

Yesterday, Joan had another “botanizing”  trip. As is often the case, I went along to drive and to explore somewhere new. Thus, I spent the day roaming the area around Lyme Center.

This is not exactly new territory as Joan and I went to graduate school at Dartmouth about 10 miles south of Lyme. However, since we had not been in the area for more than thirty years it was almost like new territory.

Lyme Center has not changed much during those years… the same cannot be said for Hanover!

I drove a number of back roads and found many interesting things to photograph. The foliage was a bit past peak but still very nice. I ended the day with a hike along the Appalachian Trail up to the top of Holt’s Ledges. I walked this area many times back in the late 1970’s; it was nice to recall fond memories.

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