





Yesterday morning I picked up my last load of compost for the season. This final load was destined for Joan’s cousin Suzy who lives near our abode. Since I had no fixed schedule, I meandered vaguely in the direction of home. Of course, I had my camera with me.
As I drove, I noticed the nice texture (at least in some directions) in the clouds and went in search of a foreground for the interesting clouds. I ended up at Halfmoon Pond in Hancock, near the Harrisville border (see the first photo, below). The textured clouds did not last long. The overcast built steadily and it began to drizzle.
Knowing that Joan had to make a trip to Harrisville Designs, and with the lunchtime approaching, I called Joan and arranged to meet her at the General Store for lunch. After lunch Joan headed to the yarn pushers for what she needed and I wandered about the village to make photographs.
Harrisville, NH is a quaint, well preserved old mill town. It is among my favorite places to make photos. Since the weather was not suitable for grand landscapes (think low, thick overcast and intermittent drizzle), I concentrated on the details.
It was almost 5PM before I got the compost delivered.
Joan and I returned from a month long road trip yesterday (Friday) afternoon. We left two days after Labor Day and made more-or-less a beeline for Salmon, Idaho.
We made overnight stops in western New York, Ohio, Iowa, Minnesota, Wyoming and central Montana. The last day of the outbound leg, we made a brief stop at Joan’s brothers house in western Montana to drop off our camper before proceeding to meet the folks we would be rafting with in Salmon.
The river we ran is the main stem of the Salmon River. This stretch of the river is also sometimes called the River of No Return* and runs through the Frank Church Wilderness which is the largest wilderness area in the lower forty eight states. We were on the river for six days/five nights. The boats were oared rubber rafts and inflatable kayaks.
Our truck was shuttled to the takeout and after we got off the river, we headed back to Hamilton, MT where we had left the camper. We spent a few days visiting Joan’s brother and sister-in-law before beginning our meander back east. (More on rest of of the trip in subsequent posts.)
Of course, I made a few photographs along the way!
The first batch shown below are photos I made while we were in camp… usually before breakfast or in the late afternoon/early evening before dinner. They were made with my main (dSLR) camera.
The second batch of photos are those made during the day (either at lunch stops or while on the river) using a small fixed (wide angle) lens camera.
As the regulars know, my landscape work in mostly black and white and thus the large majority of these photos are of that ilk.
However, I have snuck a few (three, to be exact) color photos in at the end of the first batch. Not even I would try to photograph a rainbow in black and white!!! As for the last photo (made early on our last morning on the river), the sky was just to luscious in color to convert.
So without further ado…
Batch 1 —
Batch 2 —
* This name is not as bad as it sounds. Early settlers (ranchers and miners, in the main) would build boats in Salmon (and up river) and then float the river to their camps. Upon arrival the boats would be dismantled and the (valuable) lumber used for other projects. Thus, is was boats that did not return not people.
This morning, I headed to Brattleboro to see what was up at the Vermont Center for Photography’s “tag sale’. Not that I need much in the way of ‘photo junk’, but I like to support the VCP and can always find something that will be useful. I came away with a few books, some mats and developing trays.
On the way home, I meandered and made some photographs. I made a few with the camera obscura but mostly, I made infrared (IR) photographs. It was a bright sunny middle of the day… good for IR landscapes and not much else.
This morning, while running errands, I stopped at a few of my favorite ‘photo spots’ and made some infrared (IR) photos.
IR is a good way to keep photographers entertained. One can make interesting IR landscapes at mid-day on bright sunny days. That is, at times and under conditions where ‘normal’ photos are generally uninteresting.
These photographs were made in the hour surrounding noon under partly sunny skies. I was thoroughly entertained. I hope you are too!
Made on my wanderings over the past ten days.
Back in February I submitted five photographs to be considered for inclusion in a book titled “Our Magnificent Planet 2020” to be published by the folks at LensWork. The deadline for submission was the end of May.
In early July I was notified that one of my photos had been selected for inclusion in this book. About 3,700 photos were submitted and 300 were printed in the book.
This morning the book arrived on my doorstep and I finally found out which of my five submissions had been selected!
Of course, I could have asked which photo had been selected earlier in the process, as did my friend Joe Sack who also had a photo included in the book. However, I like surprises so I simply waited!
The five photos I submitted are shown below; “Ashuelot River in Autumn” was selected for publication.
I have been experimenting! Is that a big surprise!?
Specifically, I have been hand coloring black and white inkjet prints.
After making a regular black and white inkjet print, I use Prismacolor Premier colored pencils to add color to the paper. The wax-based pigment is then smoothed out and blended using cotton swabs dipped in a 1:1 mixture of turpentine and vegetable oil.
I learned about this method from a book titled “Hand Coloring Black & White Photography: An Introduction and Step-By-Step Guide” by Laurie Klein (see: https://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Black-White-Photography-Step/dp/1564965864)
These are small prints; 4.5 inches square or 4×5 inches on 5×7 inch paper.
The first six prints are printed on hot press (i.e. smooth) watercolor paper. The last print (made today) is on Hahnemuhle Biblio, a relatively light paper with a bit of texture.
Each print is unique. Even if I try to make a duplicate it never comes out exactly the same as the first copy.
My next goal is to try larger prints… say 8 inches square or 8×10 inches.
Every autumn Mother Nature provides the woods with a new carpet. It is always the same composition but never the same pattern.
On my walk a few days ago, I was attracted to patches of dappled sunlight on the roadside.
This afternoon I had to run an errand in Keene. The light and skies were perfect as I got to Hancock (around 5 PM) on the way home.
I had my camera with me and made a few photographs.
On the first Saturday of each month (COVID not withstanding*) I get together with a group of friends and fellow photographers in Brattleboro to share work.
Yesterday morning, I headed out for our meeting early hoping to find some foliage to photograph in the early light. I was not disappointed. In addition to nice light, many of the local ponds and lakes were shrouded in morning mist as sometimes happens this time of year.
After our get together, I meandered home from Brattleboro stopping to make photographs in Fitzwilliam, Troy, Jaffrey Center and Hancock.
Although most of the photograph were made using my ‘regular’ camera. I did breakout the camera obscura on a few occasions.
*After a several months of meeting via Zoom we have been getting together outside on the Common in Brattleboro. Now that the weather is becoming less conducive to outdoor meetings, we have to figure out what is next.
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