Isolation Photography 2 (Outside)

Out on a Hike :Ashuelot River, Keene NH

County Champion Red Oak
Friedsam Town Forest, Chesterfield

I hope everyone is still managing to stay healthy and sane as we practice crucial measures for social distancing and personal protection from the Corvid 19 virus.  On the “keeping sane” front, last week I discussed how we can explore within our homes for interesting photographic subjects.  Possibilities included pets and floral photography as well as macro photography to study the details of everyday things. I also mentioned that I have taken advantage of all my free time to catch up on editing the volumes of untouched images that I have collected from previous travels and from the wonderful progression of our New England seasons.  There is much within our homes to keep our photography interesting and creative, but with proper precautions, there should be no reason to restrict our shooting within our walls.  With simple precautions, we can step outside, take a drive, a hike in the woods or just a stroll around the neighborhood.  

Early spring “stick season” can be drab, but life is returning to the landscape.  With eyes open, you will be surprised by the beauty that is all around.  Here are just a few suggestions of what photographic wonders you may find as you venture out into our early New England spring.

Look for Patterns

Maple Swallowing

During the stick seasons of both November and the early spring, much of my photography is focused on patterns in nature.  Bare branches, twigs, dead leaves, fences, and stonewalls can all be captured in interesting arrangements forming strong compositions.  Once you start looking, the patterns are everywhere.  Most days I walk along the same loop through my Spofford Village neighborhood.  It is all very familiar, but I always seem to find new things to shoot.  The weather or light may be different, or I may find fresh compositions or angles on scenes that I pass every day. Don’t be afraid to experiment.  After all those pixels are free.

Ice Out on the Edge

Try Black and White

In the spring, the subtle shades of color can be striking, but this is also a time when black and white images can be used to highlight the patterns.  When shooting for black and white, I always capture the original images in color, and later convert to B&W.  The underlying color information can be used to lighten or darken corresponding areas of the monochrome image.

I converted a simple picture of a twig on the ground to black and white, and I was able to darken the greens and yellows to highlight the curving form of the pine branch.  These sorts of adjustments are available in Lightroom, Photoshop and most other image editing programs.

New Life

In the early spring there are signs of new life.  A couple of weeks ago shoots of green had pushed through the snow and now the brave Crocuses are reaching up towards the light.  

The buds on the trees are beginning to swell and in just a few weeks they will be exploding into bizarre arrays of early growth.

Crocus Blooms

Lichen

I have always been a fan of the beautiful patterns and colors of New England’s ubiquitousLichens.  Lichen is actually a symbiotic composite organism combining a fugus superstructure in which lives a photosynthetic algae or cyanobacteria.  When you start looking you will see that Lichen covers much of the substance of New England. Stone walls, boulders and even trees are hosts.  Spring, when the forests aren’t choked with leaves, is a great time to view and photograph the underappreciated Lichens.

Animals Emerge

On a much grander scale than the lowly Lichen, spring is a time when animals become more active.  If you are persistent, patient and lucky, you may capture squirrels, chipmunks, deer and many wild birds.  Visiting a nearby farm, you can find sheep, cows and horses all feeding on the new grass.  

On a recent walk, a passerby directed my attention to a juvenile eagle perched high above Spofford Lake.  The bird stayed in the tree long enough for me to run home and return with my long lens. 

I steadied my 800mm Lens (actually 400mm with a 2x extender) on my car roof and, with a rapid shutter speed, I was able to get some steady,  views of this magnificent raptor. 

Past Life

Spring is also decorated by the remains of the previous season’s growth.  Fallen leaves can be seen in various patterns of decay on the ground or floating on ponds and streams.  Recently I found a nice collection of Cat-o’-nine tails bunched in a patch of wetland next to Spofford lake.  Spring is also a great time to get a clear view of the weathering of old trees and stumps.

Beech trees are remarkably persistent members of our New England forests. During winter and spring their bright yellow leaves tenaciously cling to the branches and add color to an otherwise dull landscape.  I always look for ways to include these splashes of color in my compositions.

Beech Forest Spofford NH

The Usual

West River Sunset Brattleboro Vt

The Golden Hours

Of course, in additional to the special spring stuff, there are many of the usual New England attractions to be seen as you venture away from home.  Sunsets and sunrises should be as glorious as during any other time of year. Although I wonder if the reduction in vehicular air pollution might mute the rosy glory of the golden hours. 

It is easy to capture brilliant color in a sunset, but try to make the image about more than just a splash of garish color. Find something interesting in the foreground that tells a story and places the viewer within the scene. 

Moon Rising

"Super" Moon over Monadnock

The fullmoon will be rising on Tuesday evening (4/7)  and will be the biggest this year. Moonrise in Keene will be in the east (92.8 deg) at 6:58 pm, although as we look over the hills, we will see it later.  Try to catch the moon close to the horizon when there is still some light in the sky, the “blue hour”, and find a spot where you can place something interesting in the foreground.

Flowing Water

Partridge Brook Chesterfield NH

Finally, early spring is the best time to explore the many spectacular local waterfalls.  The Run-off and spring rains swells our streams and that is why I schedule my annual Waterfall Weekend Workshop for this time off year.  The weekend is always an exciting adventure.  

• Waterfalls of Cheshire County

This year the workshop is set for May 15^th – 17^th, but, unless we all travel in separate cars,  it seems unlikely that we will be able gather for the event.  This stupid virus has already squashed two of my classes, but I can always hope.  Meanwhile there is nothing preventing us from photographing waterfalls on our own.  Just stay distant from the crowds.  Remember to bring a tripod and polarizer to cut through the reflections and soften the rushing water.  And try not to slip on the wet leaves into the freezing water - not all of the dangers out there are related to a nasty virus. 

• Photographing the Magic of Velvet Water

Chesterfield Gorge Bridge

Gnarled Stump Spofford NH

I hope you are doing well, healthy and safe, and that this discussion will get you going on your own exploration beyond the confines of your home and into the growing beauty of our New England spring.  Let me know what interesting subjects you find.

Maybe I will see you out there – just stay safely distant!

Spofford Village NH

Jeff Newcomer, NEPG
www.partridgebrookreflections.com
jeffn49@myfairpoint.net

An April Day of Winter

Often after a season ends I will do a retrospective blog article celebrating some of the best images of the season. As I think back on this last winter, I realized that, for me at least, it was a one day season, and that one day was in April.




A Christmas Stroll

My recollections of winter 2015-16 include walking about the village in shirt-sleeves on Christmas Day, and then various dustings of snow and variable periods of cold. I admit I was gloriously absent from New England in late January, for a two week tour throughout Costa Rica, but I don't believe the region suffered any major blizzards in my absence. Sadly, for this year, my usual collection of crystal brilliant winter scenes is largely empty.





Window on the Storm

 It isn't that we totally lacked frozen precipitation. This winter, weather records show that we had about two feet less snow than average, but that was only about 30% less than usual. The problem was that the snow came in scattered dustings that seldom accumulated to a depth which could be characterized as a photographic "Winter Wonderland". 
 




Roads End Wall

By early April I had abandoned hope and switched to Spring anticipation mode, but then on April 4th a storm blew through and gave me my one brief taste of winter. It was just for a few hours and by the end only about 3-4 inches had accumulated, but I was able to get out and grab a few precious images of my only real winter storm of the season.

　














Tree in the Storm

Knowing that the blowing precipitation would only last a short time I headed out to my favorite nearby locations. I cruised the high pastures along Route 63 as it passes through Chesterfield Village, and struggled through the brush to capture the lone border tree nearly lost in the blowing snow. I moved along the pasture's edge to include the leading line of the wire fence. Falling snow always offers opportunities to highlight depth such as in the image looking down the tree-lined path to the distant barn. And of course I had to swing by my favorite local farm, Roads End.

 





　





Pointillism Barn

I love the way differences in shutter speed can affect the feel of images of falling snow and have discussed the topic in a previous article. During this surprise April storm I had plenty of opportunities to sample the various moods of the falling snow. Images with a longer shutter highlighted the angry blowing streaks of snow, while shorter shutter speeds froze the flakes creating a softer feel suggesting the pointillism of Georges Seurat.



Spring Storm

　




Main Street Storm

I was only out for a couple of hours before the snow faded away, but it was amazing how many different impressions were possible with just a spin of the camera dial. And then it was over. The warm April sun dissolved the scant cover in a couple of days and, although I never captured my "Winter Wonderland" shot, I'm still happy that I salvaged this one day before the "winter that wasn't" melted to a merciful end.

　



Now the buds are beginning to pop and I'm ready for spring.



Woodpile Spring, Hubner Farm, Chesterfield, NH

Jeffrey Newcomer
partridgebrookreflections.com

Autumn Album , September

Last Light, Ashuelot River Falls

 


November is here and although there is still some rusty gold color in the Oaks and Beeches, I'm settling into my usual late fall torpor. Through October I have been splashing selective examples of this year's color, but as always I have a pile of images to work through before I become distracted by the first snows. A quick review of my September and October archives shows that I have collected nearly 5000 images. Even at my usual ratio of 3-5 images per scene that leaves a lot of editing to do. 

 Matured Pasture

Many of the foliage images that I have published so far were those attached to specific blog articles and my traditional autumn postings have been reduced by two productive trips to the southern New England coast in the middle of the peak color. I'll eventually get back to the surf and lighthouses, but it is time that I got down to the serious and time consuming business of editing my "pile of leaves". There is a lot of work to be done, but, as a start, I will focus this week's blog on a collection of some of my favorite autumn images, beginning with the earliest signs of the season from September.









September's Promise  


As usual middle to late September provided signs of the coming autumn color. The images usually all about transitions with patches of color seen in range of light from brilliant sunshine a cool mists. September is also a time of living change with the arrival of the years produce and the livestock greedily gobbling up the last of the pasture greens.

 

 



Apple Picking

Abigail & Grayson, NOT Picking

We made our usual trips to the Green Mountain Orchards in Dummerston Vermont. The apple harvest was abundant this year, but our first two attempts were blocked by the arrival of impressive rain and thunderstorms. Our persistence was finally rewarded on our third trip with a beautiful warm sunny day, and the delay allowed us to convince our daughter Abigail and her boyfriend Grayson to join us in the picking. As usual we loaded up with more apples than we could possibly consume, but the nice folks at the orchard agree to sell my calendar in their farm store. Much of the harvest will be destined for the apple sauce that will get us through the winter.  

Perfect Macouns

Walker Farm Produce

Green Mountain Orchard Dummerston Vermont




My  Ugly but Delicious Macouns

We also had a good crop from my small collection of apple trees.  Since I don't spray, the apples weren't pretty, but underneath the skin they were excellent.  We had an especially abundant yield from my Macoun.  These apples seem to hold their taste and texture longer than many of my other varieties.








On the Farm 

The Roads End Farm is part of my photographic routine in every season. Early in September I circled by to capture some of their 60+ horses in the morning mist. This is quite possibly my favorite weather and two images from this shoot were recognized as Photo of the Day on the popular Photofocus Web Site.















 

Peek-A-Boo, Roads End Farm

In the Classroom

Field trip to Ashuelot River Park

A significant part of this September was devoted to preparing for my first full Digital Photography Course at Keene Community Education. Over the years I have presented many lectures on photography, but assembling a coherent and comprehensive program to fill eight hours of classroom time was a real challenge. Thank goodness I was able supplement my droning presentations with two shoots and the subsequent delicate critiques. It was great fun with a wonderful group of dedicated students. I plan to do more teaching in the coming year, especially since the slides for my Basic Digital Photography Course are safely "in the can".  I'm thinking of doing my next class of a Introduction to Lightroom for Photographers, just because I know so little about the subject.

River Park Falls

Ashuelot River Color

2015 Art in the Park

Among the various pleasant distractions of September was another lost weekend for the Art in the Park Show at the Ashuelot River Park in Keene New Hampshire.  This is the only time each year that I pull out my tent.  It is a lot of work but worth while to see all the local artists and art lovers.


 




Wandering About September
 



The course consumed an inordinate amount of time in September, but I did get out for occasional glimpses of the growing color. By the end of the month the autumn show was looking promising. The October color blitz was well on its way, and I'll be working on getting those images ready for their "close-up" in a couple of weeks.

Hubner Farmhouse

When it comes to displaying the imagery, autumn's abundance of visual  treasures can be frustrating.  More of this year's autumn images can be found in a Gallery on my Web site.



Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com