Bellows Walpole Inn Show

I’m excited to be showing nearly 30 of my New a England photographs this May at the historic Bellows Walpole Inn in Walpole New Hampshire.  The Inn has been beautifully restored and combines modern amenities with the feel of a traditional old New England inn.  The restaurant offers varied fare and a relaxed atmosphere.  The inn has a long history.  As described on the Inn’s web site:

 

“Construction of the Bellows Walpole Inn was started in 1752 as the original homestead of Col Benjamin Bellows.  Colonel Bellows was one of the founders of Walpole and a colorful, persuasive character in the early development of this artistic and beautiful region.  Now renamed to recognize that history, this 14,000 square foot mansion has been extensively remodeled and updated with the exquisite decor and amenities suitable to a boutique, luxury hotel and event center.”

 

Bobby at the Bar

Susan and I have known the Inn’s manager, Bobby Hall, for years and I was excited when he welcomed my photographs in the restaurant and pub for the month of May.  It is a great opportunity to show many of my images and a happy excuse to print several new works.  

Key West Sunset

These include recent images ranging from fiery autumn color along the road to Roads End Farm in Chesterfield NH, all the way south to Key West and a glorious sunset seen through the rigging of the schooner Appledore.  It is always exciting to find visual treasures lurking in my image archives and for this show I discovered a forgotten image of the restless waters of Keene’s Miniwawa Brook cascading through winter ice.  

Miniwawa Brook

There are many more than I can show here of my favorite glimpses of New England light.  You can check them out in my show gallery, or far better, browse the work while enjoying a meal or just a drink at the Bellows Walpole Inn.

Let me know what you think.  Maybe I’ll see you there for diner.

 

• BellowsWalpole Inn Show
  
• Bellows Walpole Inn Web Site
  
  
   

   

   

   

   

  Jeff Newcomer
  Partridgebrookreflections.com

October Therapy : Autumn Glory, Part 2

Will winter EVER come!

Tall Yellow, Dummerston, Vt

It seems like it was about this time last year that I complained about our snow less December and wondered whether we would be forced to look at barren stick all winter. Of course we then we proceeded to have one of the snowiest winter on record. Accordingly I am a bit reluctant to start whining once again, but I am running low on autumn images to process and a little snow would be nice. New England weather has a definite mind of its own and in the meantime I will share some of my favorite images from the glorious second half of October. 

Wind Vane, Chesterfield NH

This week it is my turn to produce another article for the New England Photography Guild blog and happily there are plenty of fall foliage pictures to go around. In my Guild article I collected ten of my favorite images from the entire season. It was an impossible task, to be so limited, but I don't have the same restrictions within my personal Getting it Right in the Digital Camera blog" and gush forth with even more of the great color from this year's season.

Holding On, Guilford NH

It is wonderful that, in retirement, I don't have to restrict my shoots to a few weekends and the brief snatches of color in the fleeting evening hours, but there are still demands which competed with my shooting. These included the preparation around my Digital Photography course, the assembly of a show at Brewbakers in Keene NH, work on a number of different projects including for the Savings Bank of Walpole and a office display for Deep Roots Massage in Keene and a number of special order fine art prints for the holidays. Over several days toward the end of the month we had a lovely trip to Newport RI and a visit with our son in New York City. The distractions were may, but fortunately the color and the weather was great and I got a reasonable dose of autumn therapy. 

River Mist, Connecticut River, Chesterfield NH

Pauchaug Brook, Northfield Ma.

The pictures here come from the second half of October, but are only a sampling and primarily from two day-long shoots. For more you can check out my NEPG Blog or my more expansive Autumn 2016 Gallery on my web site. It is all a bit overwhelming, don't worry, by the time you become thoroughly sick of the oranges and golds, everything will be blanketed in the crystal pure monotones of our glorious winter.


 Roads End Farm
I always run by my favorite farm, Roads End Farm in Chesterfield, New Hampshire for varied foliage and majestic horses:


 

 


 


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Neighbors to the East
A tour through Marlborough, Dublin and Jaffrey New Hampshire started overcast and ended sunny.  Both conditions offered unique opportunities. 

Sheridan Remembered, Jaffrey NH

 



















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Ok.  It's time to put autumn to rest.

Town Meeting, Groton, Mass.

Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com

Burdicks Show : Great Art and Even Greater Food

Graze the Fence, Alstead, NH

Earlier this week I hung a show of New England photography at the Restaurant at Burdicks in Walpole New Hampshire. Burdicks has always been one of my favorite exhibition locations and with the holiday spirit all around it is a great time to be offering the work. Burdicks is an elegant restaurant with excellent french inspired cuisine in the heart of beautiful historic Walpole. In a previous article I explored the desirable qualities of the perfect exhibition site which includes, good lighting, a flexible hanging system and an attentive audience, and Burdicks fulfills many of theses attributes.

 


Audience

Ferrier's Touch

Restaurants that encourage relaxed dining provide an atmosphere which is conducive to looking up from the food and, at the risk of sounding pretentious, Burdicks seems to attract customers who are more likely notice and appreciate the art on the walls. I have nothing against a busy pizza parlor, but in those venues my concern is less about a beautiful display of my images and more about keeping the the pictures high enough to avoid being splattered by cheese and beer.

 






Hanging

Orchard Wall, Dublin, NH

I hate pounding nails into crumbling plaster. Burdicks has a nice hanging system that allows easy adjustment of the pictures for uniform spacing and height. From the restaurant's perspective, hanging systems such as this require an initial expense, but they are simple to install, allow neat professional displays and, perhaps most importantly, avoid the periodic need for costly repairs to the walls. I am still amazed by how many venues still allow artist to damage their walls with haphazard and insecure nails. 







Let There Be Light 
  The one problem with the Burdicks has always been the lighting. This is a common difficulty in restaurants, that try to maintain a dark romantic atmosphere illuminated by candles, and leaving the walls in murky shadow. Burdicks attracts some wonderful art to its wall. It is an important part of the decor and to hide it is a disservice to the artists as well as to the patrons (see below).  I have long argued that spots casting focused light on the walls could enhance the interest and beauty of the environment without intruding on the soft ambiance at the tables. 

Romantic Dining  Low Light of  Previous Show

Onward, Chesterfield, NH

For this show there has been an improvement in this issue. The restaurant has been recently remodeled and, at least for the holidays, sparking lights, attached to networks of branches have been suspended from the ceiling. The effect is festive and provides a modest general increase in illumination which I think may be continued after the holidays. It is improvement, but a few spots would make an amazing difference.

 








Choosing the Show

Multnomah Falls, Oregon

Selecting images for any show is always a struggle. I rely on lists from previous exhibitions to give me an idea of about how many pictures will be needed and then I bring about 50% more than seems necessary. I have displayed my work at Burdicks four or five times so I knew I needed between 12 and 14 pictures. I wanted to show only new images and it was a great opportunity to work on prints of some of my more recent work. I ended up printing 5 new pictures and framing another that had been previously matted.

Super Moon, Saybrook Lighthouse

I'm not sure that it was a clear intention, but the images are mostly of recent autumn color in our region. Two prominent exceptions are the image of the majestic full "super" moon rising behind the Saybrook Lighthouse in Old Saybrook Connecticut and the mystical Multnomah double waterfall along Oregon's Columbia River valley. I alway agonize about the pictures I have to leave out from a show, but in the end I was very pleased with selections and how they fit into the wall space. 

Giant Sugar Maple, Guilford, Vermont

Of Course It Comes Down To the Food AND the Chocolate

Burdicks Chocolates Cafe

Many of my exhibition venues turn out to be restaurants and in talking about the attributes of a great site I always come back to the food. After lauding L.A. Burdick's cuisine for lunch and dinner it would be tragic to neglect to mention the chocolate. Connected to the restaurant is L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolate. Burdick's chocolate is renowned. 

Add caption

The shop and cafe have also been remodeled and is a warm comfortable environment for a cup of coffee or a diet crunching dive into the many tempting deserts, pastries and, of course, chocolates in all sorts of configurations. It is fast becoming one of my favorite places to settle in to write. I just grab a coffee and try to find a corner to hide from the treats.

Ashuelot Floaters, Keene, NH

 

So if you are near Walpole during this month, drop by Burdicks for great food, amazing deserts, and of course, spectacular photography. The hours for the restaurant and chocolate are listed below. Both are well worth the trip 

For more pictures of Burdicks and the full show, check out the gallery on my New England Reflections web site:

Restaurant at Burdicks Show

  

 







And if you find yourself short of 2016 calendars for the holidays, the  

New England Reflections Calendar 

 is available at the Walpole Grocery, right next door.

 










Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com

October Therapy : Autumn Glory, Part 1

Forest Pillars Chesterfield, NH

November Excitement

  

It is mid November and without any snow in sight I am in the middle of my usual November malaise. I know that, photographically, November provides the opportunity to focus on the intricate bare patterns and textures of the season. It is a great challenge to find things to shoot in the grip of this unrelenting gray "stick" time of year, but It is nevertheless all too easy to sink into despair.  When I finally run out of creative ways to make dead leaves and other lawn liter appear artistic, there is a blessed source of relief from this malady, October Therapy.







October Therapy

Madame Sherri's Arches, Chesterfield, NH

There is no greater contrast in the moods of our seasonal journey than that from October to November. We reveal in the brief riotous colors of the peak October foliage and then, almost overnight, the trampled earth jealously reaches up to claim the leaves. November is upon us, but we can still call forth the glory of October's brilliance.

Autumn Shadows, Westmoreland, NH

October is always a frantic time, trying to get out to capture the autumn colors at there best. With luck, the result is a pile of RAW images begging to be processed to there full warmth and brilliance. In November I warm the cold damp weather with a fire in the stove and with the opportunity to immerse myself in the images of fall's spectacle.

Two in Pasture, Walpole, NH

A Very Good Season
 

Wind Vane, Chesterfield, NH

This year's foliage seemed more brilliant and long lasting than during many recent seasons. After the fact, It is seems easy to explain the character of each fall season.  Perhaps the richness of this year's color was related to the warm dry summer.  This autumn's longevity was likely related to the lack of major rain and wind driven storms.  For me each fall is a mysterious surprise and my goal is always the same, to get out to shoot as often as I can, in as many conditions of light and weather as possible. 








This year the range of my explorations were more limited than usual. I found myself tied to home by a list of projects and demands including my digital photography class at Keene Community Education, the Columbus weekend Fall Foliage Studio Art Tour and a couple of lovely trips to New England's southern coast. Happily there was plenty of color nearby in my local region and, as the last leaves gave up their struggle, I was left with my usual pile of images begging for attention.

Roadside Ferns, Chesterfield, NH

Dealing with the Pile

Holding On, Guilford, Vt

As I process this year's color, I have tried to be more organized than usual. It is always tempting to jump around my collection of images, latching on to whichever picture grabs my attention, but I am trying to work through the images in a more chronological order. Lightroom is a great help, allowing me to identify and label each set of images and then flag the most promising for closer attention.  

Feathery Retreat, Weathersfield, Vt

 In this weeks article/album I concentrate on images from the first half of October. In the Monadnock Region peak color tends to occur in the middle of October, around the Columbus Day weekend and a division of the month down the middle results in a fair distribution of the color.  There are limits to how many images I can show in one or two blog articles and I am dealing with that frustration by placing more pictures from the season in an Autumn 2016 Gallery on my web site.

 



 


Explorations

Downers Bridge, Weathersfield, Vt

 

 

 

Perkinsville Green

In early October I headed north to look for the best color, before it descended closer to home. One of my favorite route is up Route 106 from Springfield Vermont wandering through Perkinsville, Weathersfield and Reading. In a short distance is found the Perkinsville Community Church with it compact green, the Downer Covered Bridge over the Black River and of course the Jenne Farm.  Reading is famous for the classic and over popular Jenne Farm but the town

Jenne Farm, Reading Vt

has many other attractions which do not require a fight with fifty other photographers to find a place for your tripod. On the opposite side of 106 up Caper Hill Road is the Springbrook Farm. Along the road are lovely pastures, one of my favorite birch groves and a classic sugar shack. On the top is a view to Mount Ascutney.  If you find it absolutely necessary, some of the pastures open to a vista across the valley back to the over photographed Jenne Farm. Route 106 continues north through beautiful countryside to Woodstock, but on this day I had to head home and responsibilities.

Black River cascade, Weathersfield, Vt

Close to Home

Chesterfield, NH

The countryside around our home in the southwest New Hampshire is resplendent in classic rural New England charm. No towering mountains or large masses of water, but soft rolling hills, snuggly settled farms and calm restful lakes that perfectly accent the warm tones of our New England autumn. Even our isolated Mount Monadnock has a settled inviting feel that compliments the surrounding, rather than dominating the bucolic settings.

Fencing the Color, Dublin, NH

Leading up to the Columbus Day weekend the color was building and I was able to find plenty of early and mid-season foliage within easy range of home. I hit many of my favorite locations Chesterfield, Westmoreland and Keene, including the Roads End and Hubner Farms, the Madame Sherri Forest, Spofford Lake, and the Poocham Road.

Roads End Bend, Chesterfield, NH

Class Work

Flight Risk Keene, NH

By the middle of the month I was finishing up my Basics of Digital
Photography Class. One the best parts of the course was the chance to bring the students out for a couple of shoots. The first was at Ashuelot River Park in Keene NH and the second was around Keene's classic Central Square. The conditions were challenging in the center of Keene, but that provided some important teaching opportunities. My friend and great photographer, Steve Hooper was kind enough to help out on my field trips. At the same time, Steve was teaching his own advanced landscape photography course at Keene State College's Cheshire Academy for Lifelong Learning, and I had the chance to reciprocate by joining one of his shoots in a wetland area around the Ashuelot River.

Ashuelot Floaters, Keene, NH

More Color to Come

Eden Run Autumn, Dublin, N\H

By mid and late October we saw more beautiful color, especially around the Monadnock Region and southern Vermont. I'm still working my way through many of those images and will save them for the second part of my October Gallery posting. In the meantime I will be uploading many more images to the Autumn 2016 Gallery on my web site.   Now get back to work on your Autumn images and if you get tired you can always go outside and take some more pictures of dead leaves and twigs!

Barn at the Bend, Keene, NH