Martha’s Vineyard Escape

Oak Bluffs Channel

It has been a very busy summer.  We have enjoyed mini-vacations 

Abby and Grayson at Mayfair Farm, Harrisville NH

In New Port Rhode Island, Lake Morey Vermont as well as a lovely Independence Day family gathering with Jeremy and his significant other Gina and, of course, Abigail and her newly minted husband, Grayson.  In addition to working on the images and blogs from all these activities.

Future Studio

 I have been finishing the design of my 2019 New England Reflections Calendar and working with our builder Jason on the layout and facilities of my new studio/man cave.  Susan is so enthusiastic about getting me and my stuff out of the house that she actually agreed that I should convert a portion of our barn into my photographic escape.  I get a studio and she recovers an upstairs guest room.

Sounding Edgartown

Amid all this hustle, Susan and I just returned from a couple of days on Martha’s Vineyard where the focus was on some serious relaxation.  We spent two nights at our good friends Connie and John’s Vineyard retreat.  We relaxed at the beach, explored the quieter corners of the Island and ate exceptionally well. 

East Chop Light

On previous visits to the Vineyard, I have always felt pressure to run about seeking the classic shots especially around the magic golden hours.  My goal on one trip was to photograph all five of the islands lighthouses.  This time I relaxed and shot whatever came my way.  There were still plenty of wonderful images to be found.




To the Beach

Leaving our car behind, we took the Island Queen from Falmouth to Oak Bluffs and spent the first afternoon relaxing at the beach.  With temperatures in the mid 90s at home, we were quite comfortable sharing the ocean’s edge with the scavenging sea gulls.  

The Atlantic Edgartown Ma

Edgartown
Dinner was at the Atlantic in Edgartown – expensive, but great food and gigantic portions.  We all brought home provisions for lunch the next day.  The evening was warm and beautiful, great weather for a stroll along the waterfront.

The Atlantic Line

Evening Launch, Edgartown Ma

West Tisbury

The next day we explored some of the less congested back roads.  Even on one of the busiest weeks of the season, it was possible to find quiet roads, away from the craziness of the seaside towns. 






Menemsha

Menemsha Traps

Finally, we ended up in Menemsha.  This little fishing village is one of my favorite corners of the Vineyard, It is a great place to shoot active fishing and lobstering vessels among all the lines and lobster traps.  It is also one of the best places to buy fresh seafood - and we did.  Dinner was a quiet gathering of local friends at John and Connie’s house.

 

Sea Bass Fillet Menemsha

The next day, we had time for peaceful walks through the Scrub Oak forest before heading to Oak Bluffs and the cruise back to Falmouth.  

We had a lovely time on the Vineyard.  It was a chance to relax before the hectic excitement of the big family holiday.  

Falmouth Channel

I have added more images from our trip to my growing collection in my 

Martha’sVineyard Gallery.

Jeffrey Newcomer

www.partridgebrookreflections.com

Super Moon on the Coast

 Full Moons are Always "Super"
The rising full moon is always a spectacular sight and worth planning for to capture in dramatic locations. Full moons are

Washed up on the Waterford Beach

especially dramatic because they necessarily rise around the time of the setting sun and therefore are bathed in the orange of the sun while suspended against the last light of the blue hour. The residual light also makes it possible to capture the moon against interesting foreground elements. Unfortunately I live in southeastern New Hampshire among the hills of the Monadnock Region and, before the moon rises above our elevated horizon, the sky routinely has turned black ,imposing impossibly stark contrast between the brilliant orb and the surrounding landscape. A few years ago I managed to shoot the "Super Moon" rising above the silhouette of Mt. Monadnock, but could only capture detail in the mountain by compositing two images, one of the moon and an second, immediately following, exposed for the foreground.

Super Moon 20 miles from Mt Monadnock, March 2011

I whine frequently about this sad fact of astronomy and hold marginally veiled resentment for my colleagues who are fortunate enough to live near the coast.  I know that I could travel to coast for the moonrises, but hey, I'm old and lazy. I need a warm comfortable excuse to go to the coast and a couple of weeks ago the excuse fell languidly into my lap.

Super friends for a super Moon

Very good friends of ours were renting a house on the Connecticut coast and generously invited Susan and I to stay with them for a few days. Susan was busy volunteering at our local DeMar Marathon, but I decided to take Carrie and Jeff up on the kind offer. It was then that I realized that the weekend in question was the occasion of the fall super moon and a "super" lunar eclipse, AND I was going to situated comfortably on the Atlantic coast!

Super Moons
For any who don't know, Super Moons refer to full Moons that occur when the moon is closest to the earth in its elliptical orbit, otherwise know as "Perigee". At perigee the moon appears about 14% larger than when it is at its furthest location, "Apogee". The media make an inordinately big deal of this occurrence, but as Neil deGrasse Tyson said, "Resist the Hype: The size of today’s “Super” moon is to next month’s full moon as a 16.07 inch pizza is to a 16.00 inch pizza". Perhaps the only real significance is that a moon that is super provides a good excuse to get out and shoot, not to mention that I can probably charge at least 14% more for a "Super Moon" picture.

A View to the Saybrook Lighthouse

For me the excitement stemmed, not the "Superness" of the alignment, but from the opportunity to shoot a moonrise over the ocean. Before I headed south I dove into the Photographer''s Ephemeris searching for a nearby location that would allow me catch the moon rising above something of interest, preferably a lighthouse. I was staying in Waterford and following the lines of the moonrise I discovered the Saybrook Lighthouse in a near perfect position. The location was so good that I assumed I would be doomed to cloudy weather, but I headed down on Friday full of hope.

Sunrise on Long Island Sound

Scouting the Site

Harkness Estate

Jeff and Carrie were wonderfully understanding about my plan to disappear Saturday evening and they even joined me on a trip to scout the location Friday night before dinner in Old Saybrook.  Saturday morning I got out for dawn along the coast and then settled in to enjoy the unusually warm weather and await the rising. I walked the beach and in the afternoon we explored the nearby Harkness Estate State Park with its beautiful gardens and expansive lawns leading down to the water. Around 5:30pm I headed off to Old Saybrook.

Crackling Sunrise Light

 Among the Rocks
My location was out on a breakwater about 1.3 miles south of the lighthouse. The sky was clear but there was an ominous haze at the

Jonathan Steele by iPhone

horizon. I moved out on the rocks finding a stable spot to embed my tripod, low against the blustery wind. I was happy to have my choice of location confirmed by the arrival of another photographer. Jonathan Steele is a great local photographer who used the Photographer's Ephemeris to find the same spot at the end of the breakwater, and I was surprised that he recognized my name from the New England Photographers Guild. It was lovely to have pleasant company as we
waited to see if the moon would break through the haze. TPE made it certain that the moon would be there, but would we be able to see it. The moon appeared behind the breakwater precisely on time but it was barely visible through the mist and haze. Happily as it rose

In the Mist

and moved toward the lighthouse it surmounted the mist and became more prominent against the darkening blue sky. Jonathan and I clicked madly as the combination of moon, lighthouse and light became increasingly perfect. I probably could have captured it all with one shot, but this was one of those rare situations when everything seemed to come together and I didn't want to waste the opportunity. I was shooting with a long lens and a relatively long exposure, and, given the windy conditions, I grabbed a pile of shots in hopes of capturing at least one sharp image in precise focus.


Success

As Close as it Gets

I got what I came for! The moon and the lighthouse both reflected the color of the setting sun and as the moon approached the beacon it was warmed by a few wispy clouds. My distance from the lighthouse (1.3 miles) magnified the size of the moon against the foreground, which is a key part dramatic full moon images. It was a lovely warm evening and I was reluctantly to leave my perch among the rocks, but I had to get back to join my friends for dinner. As Jonathan and I packed up we discussed the New England a Photographer's Guild and I encouraged him to pursue membership in the group. I'm thrilled to report that he followed through and is now part of the Guild, extending our representation to the Connecticut region. 


Lunar Eclipse that was Super

Eclipse Composite

After a nice dinner, Carrie and Jeff joined me outside to monitor the progress of the lunar eclipse. I followed the moon as it approached totality with my 400mm lens and 2x Tele-Extender. At 800mm I was able to capture a nice succession of images for eventual compositing into an image of the moon-lite ocean that I had shot the evening before. I'm not a giant fan of lunar eclipses, but putting it all together in one imagine was undeniably neat. It was a long day but a unique evening of lunar excitement, and I was ready for bed.





 
The next morning, after exploring the dunes and avoiding the ticks, I headed home to get ready for this year's foliage blitz. The coastal trip was a great opportunity and a wonderful break from my land-locked status. Again, I thank Jeff and Carrie for their hospitality.  And the bonus was that I got to meet the newest member of the Guild.


Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com

Photographing Martha's Vineyard's Five Lighthouses (Sort Of)

Edgartown Light Before Dawn

After being home from our trip to Alaska for just a week and one-half, it was a bit disorienting for us and more disorienting for our dog Nellie, to head off for a week on Martha's Vineyard. It is

Abigail and Grayson, Menemsha Sunset

always hectic returning from a long trip and when friends offered to let us use their lovely house on the island, it was the perfect opportunity to decompress from our exciting, but intensely active exploration of the northwest. The weather could not have been more different. Martha's Vineyard can be spectacular in the autumn and, with the exception of one day of overcast and scattered showers, we enjoyed warm, bright days without the pesky bugs, and more importantly, the hordes of pesky tourists that infest the islands in the summer. It was especially nice that we were able to share our time on the Vineyard with our daughter Abigail and here boyfriend Grayson.

Of course, my focus could not be solely on relaxation. I had to plan how I would take advantage of the photographic opportunities of this special place. There were many visual themes that I could explore, the quaint harbors and often overly touristy villages, the beaches and interesting pine and oak forests.  I explored all of these,  decided to focus on the island's lighthouses.

The Five Lighthouses
Martha's Vineyard has five lighthouses guarding its shores and, in our short time on the island, I decided to try to explore all of them. I discovered that each location posed its own challenges and opportunities, but in different ways, I bagged them all, sort of. Taken together the lighthouses represent an enduring monument to the regions nautical heritage. Before the construction of the Cape Cod Canal, Vineyard Sound and Nantucket Sounds saw some of the heaviest shipping traffic in the world, second only to the English Channel. The Vineyard lighthouses were critically important for the safe navigation this difficult passage.

East Chop Lighthouse
I decided to start my exploration with a sunrise visit to the East Chop Lighthouse in Oak Bluffs. The lighthouse was built on a bluff above Vineyard Sound on the location of an early "telegraph" site. "Telegraph Hill" is the highest spot on the island and from there, beginning in 1828, signals about the comings and goings of ships were transmitted by flags to the mainland. The lighthouse is now the center of a small park with benches overlooking the ocean. On my visit the real attraction was the continuously changing sky as it was illuminated by the rising sun. The challenge was to expose sufficiently to the right to keep good detail in the silhouetted lighthouse while avoiding blowing out the dramatic sky. 

East Chop at Dawn

West Chop Lighthouse

 West Chop Lighthouse
West Chop Light was built in 1817. In 1838 the original wooden structure was replaced by he current iron tower and since it has been withdrawn twice from the eroding cliff. Currently the keepers house is used by the Coast Guard. We reached the light in the evening when only touch of warm light illuminated the lights upper reaches.  During our return trip to Woods Hole I was able to catch a distant view of the light from Vineyard Sound.

West Chop from Vineyard Sound

Edgartown Lighthouse We first visited the Edgartown Light at the time of the 12th Annual Ceremony of Remembrance. The lighthouse pedestal is studded with over 600 engraved cobblestones each commemorating a child who died too young. Each year the Martha's Vineyard Museum sponsors a remembrance for those who were lost and their families. It was a moving gathering, but not the best time to capture a clean view of the

Edgartown Light

lighthouse. I returned for sunrise on the last day of our trip and found wonderful light, starting with the predawn blue hour, proceeding through the brilliant sunrise and ending with the golden light dancing on the lighthouse and harbor. It was another glorious crisp and clear autumn morning.

Morning Light

Dawn Edgartown Light

Gay Head Lighthouse
Gay Head Light sits at the far Southwestern end of the island above the constantly eroding clay cliffs. In a couple of years the lighthouse is scheduled to be moved back from the advancing precipice.  The cliffs are known for their bright colors and are protected from disturbance by state law. A dramatic view of the lighthouse and cliffs is available from the visitors area, south of the path to the tower, but you must pass a gauntlet of honky-tonk to reach the promontory. My goal was to get to the lighthouse around sunset. We were late on our first try at least partially because of the distraction of spectacular light across Nashaquitsa Pond near Menemsha. I was still able to catch a little soft evening light. On a

Nashaquitsa Pond Sunset

second trip we caught the warm light before the sun dipped below the horizon, but decided to get a different angle on the sunset from the entrance to Menemsha Harbor. I knew that I could catch the sunset behind the breakwater and was joined by a crowd enjoying the golden light and cool crisp air. After the sun disappeared the spectators broke into applause, much like you would expect following the grand finale of a fireworks show. We lingered for the dramatic after sunset, "blue hour" sky and then ambled to Menemsha's Homeport Restaurant for a late dinner.

Mily Way, Menemsha

Leaving the restaurant, I was hoping to find a clear view of the

night sky with minimal light pollution. Sadly the next day's coastal storm was edging in from the south, but I did get a nice glimpse of the Milky Way above the advancing cloud bank. Since it seemed to point to the celestial ribbon, I decided to leave the wide angle key stoning in the pier and boats. Not bad but I was still looking for better conditions after the storm.  I found a wonderfully clear sky on the last evening and captured the Milky Way without any significant light pollution over Edgartown's Katama Bay.

Gay Head Lighthouse, Aquinnah

 

Sunset Menemsha Harbor

Gay Head Cliffs, 1957

Fading Glory
As a child, I remember the cliffs of Gay Head being much more brilliantly colored.  I found this image of the Cliffs from my parents boat, 57 years ago.  It's a scan of an old Kodachrome slide, but, with reasonable color correction, the difference seems clear.  Perhaps the effects of decades of acid rain?





Cape Poge Lighthouse
Ok, let's talk about Cape Poge  Lighthouse.  Cape Poge Light is located at the eastern extreme of Martha's Vineyard, actually on

Cape Poge Lighthouse (I'm Counting It!)

isolated island of Chapaquiddick. The current wooden tower was built in 1928 and is the is the most recent of five lighthouses located on this wind and sea battered site. Four previous lights, beginning in 1801, were all claimed by the sea. Cape Poge light is by far the most isolated on the island. To get there you must take the ferry from Edgartown to Chapaquiddick and then drive miles over deeply rutted sand roads. Only high slung four wheel drives are likely to avoid being stranded on the isolated road. Did I allow all of this to prevent me from completing my set of five lighthouses. Damn right! The sensible way to get to the lighthouse is on a tour run by the Trustees of Reservations, but sadly I couldn't fit that into our limited schedule. Happily I came up with a thoroughly lame work-around. As it turns out the Cape Poge Lighthouse is vaguely visible from the top of the Edgartown Light. It was about seven miles away, but by zooming in I was able to place a grainy check mark on my list of lighthouses. IT COUNTS!

Katama Bay

I'm a sucker for lighthouses and it was exciting to have the chance to explore five (sort of) new ones in such a concentrated period of time.  Of course we enjoyed all of the island's attractions and had a wonderfully relaxing time.  And I only have 800 images to get through instead of the nearly 5000 from Alaska!  Now back to work.

You can browse more of  my Vineyard Images on my
Martha's Vineyard Gallery

South Beach Surf