Fall in the White Mountains

Fall in New England is wonderful and I recently spent a few day in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I was greeted with a variety of weather conditions making for some great photography and leaf peeping.

People view the Presidential Range at one of the scenic overlooks along the Kancamagus Highway.

Sabbaday Brook in Waterville Valley, NH

Sawyer Pond in the White Mountains, NH

Sabbaday Falls in Waterville Valley, NH

Sawyer Pond Trail in the White Mountains, NH

Sawyer Pond in the White Mountains, NH

Sawyer Pond in the White Mountains, NH

White Mountains, NH

Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands might arguably be one of the most beautiful islands in the world. Here are a few images from my recent trip to the British owned island. 

An arial view of the island upon landing.

Walking through the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park felt like you were in a whole new world. I was amazed by all the different types of plant species the island had to offer.

A close up of a sea turtle shell.

Sea turtle

Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park

Cayman Shoe Tree

Cruise ship port in George Town

Lighthouses and Sea Smoke

It's not often I have an opportunity to photograph sea smoke. I was lucky yesterday as mist rose from the 45 degree ocean into the 3 degree air. The only way to capture striking images is go out into the cold and check and scout for locations. Landscape photography benefits greatly from severe weather conditions, so pay attention to the forecast and plan wisely. It took me two days of early mornings, planning, and the right conditions to capture these images.

Nikon D500, 1/125 @ f/10, ISO 100, 70-200mm with 1.4x teleconverter

Straitsmouth Island Light

Nikon D500, 1/125 @ f/10, ISO 160, 70-200mm

Thacher Island Lighthouse

Nikon D500, 1/125 @ f/10, ISO 100, 70-200mm

Thacher Island Lighthouses

Arizona from Up Above

I don't see the earth from 30,000 feet everyday, so when I take a plane ride I like to look for different patterns in the landscape. On a recent trip to Arizona I photographed these mountains while on my plane ride back home. As soon as I saw the landscape I knew I had a short opportunity to try and capture the interesting lines and details on the ground below me before my opportunity had past. I like to photograph in color but with a hazy view out a dirty airplane window muted the colors so I was already pre-visualizing in black and white.

Fuji X-T2, 1/250 @ f/7.1, ISO 250, 18-55mm 

Fuji X-T2, 1/250 @ f/6.4, ISO 500, 18-55mm

Sawyer Pond Backpacking Trip

I recently went on my annual backpacking trip to Sawyer Pond in the White Mountains in New Hampshire. The images displayed below were all taken at sunrise on very cold autumn mornings. The frigid mornings created a thin mist of fog that rolled off the water making for dramatic images as the sun peered over the summit of Owls Head Mountain. 

Fuji X-T2, 1/60 @ f/8, ISO 200, 18-55mm

Fuji X-T2, 1/250 @ f/8, ISO 320, 18-55mm

Fuji X-T2, 1/60 @ f/6.4, ISO 6400, 18-55mm

Fuji X-T2, 1/100 @ f/8, ISO 500, 18-55mm

Jordan Pond at Blue Hour

Sometimes the color in the sky is most vibrant slightly before or slightly after the sun has already set. I arrived at Jordan Pond, in Acadia National Park, Maine, a little later than I had wanted to but I was still determined to create an image. Instead of walking away after a disappointing sunset I decided to wait around for "blue hour." This term refers to the time of day before sunrise or after sunset when the ambient light casts a blue hue across the landscape. Landscape photography all comes down to lighting and mood, which will then set the tone for the image.

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Nikon D810, 25 sec. @ f/18, ISO 320, 24-70mm

Acadia National Park

Every time I go to Acadia National Park I'm amazed. I spent a few days camping in the park this fall and was hoping for some nice weather for photography. The park was almost at peak foliage and the crowds were fairly large. I went there expecting to capture vibrant fall colors, but soon realized the photos I really wanted to create were along the evergreen lined Atlantic coast. I was surprised by the lack of color but the green coastal ridge line and brilliant blue ocean made for such a beautiful scene. I only had a few days to explore the park and plan on making another trip back there again.

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Nikon D810, 0.6 sec @ f/20, ISO 64, 24-70mm

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Nikon D810, 1/8 @ f/16, ISO 64, 24-70mm

November Supermoon

By the time I arrived at Long Beach in Gloucester to photograph the November Supermoon rising over the Twin Lights, the beach was crowded with dozens of people many with cameras doing exactly what I was planning to do. I was hoping for a little time to scout around for a spot to photograph, but the moon was already clearly visible and I was running out of time. I didn't want to capture the same image as everyone else, so I moved to a spot where no one else was. This location offered a small cluster of rocks which I included in the foreground of my image. Another great night to photograph along the shores of Massachusetts.

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Nikon D810, 1/60 @ f/11, ISO 640, 70-200mm

Seeing Stars

It's 12:30 in the morning, the camp fire has gone out and I'm all alone to experience the beauty that nature had to provide for me that night in the White Mountains. I didn't have a tripod and I couldn't see anything through the digital viewfinder in my camera. I wanted to capture this scene but without a tripod it would have to take some trial and error. After looking around for something to steady my camera with, I decided on a camping chair. I laid my camera facing straight up, focused on the trees above with the help of a flashlight, set the self timer and captures this scene. 

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Fuji XT-1, 30 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 6400, 18-55mm

Waterless Waterfall

It became strikingly clear how little precipitation has fallen this year when I saw Silver Cascade Fall in Crawford Notch this year. I have never seen this waterfall not have a steady steam of water flowing down its rocky ledge. If you look really close you can see a little bit of water, however I was still shocked at how low the water level was. Other than the water level it is interesting to see how the foliage has changed throughout the years.

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10/8/16: Fuji XT-1, 1/250 @ F/4, ISO 200, 18-55mm

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10/5/13: Nikon D4, 1 sec. @ f/22, ISO 100, 70-200mm

Autumn Brook

I recently hiked along a trail on the Crawford Notch side of the White Mountains in New Hampshire. Like many trails in the mountains, streams and brooks often run along side them. I couldn't resist stopping at this one location along the trail. I love finding beautiful spots created by nature and being able to capture its beauty.

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Fuji XT-1, 1/4 @ f/10, ISO 200, 18-55mm

Sawyer Pond

I always enjoy my annual backpacking trip to Sawyer Pond in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. I don't bring a lot of photography equipment with me and only bring my small Fuji. I go rain or shine and this year I was rewarded with two days of clear blue skies and warm soft light from the setting sun. On the last evening of my trip I couldn't pass up a great opportunity to photograph the fall foliage reflecting in Sawyer Pond, which has a maximum depth of 100 feet and was once an active volcano.

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Fuji XT-1, 1/125 @ f/7.1, ISO 320, 18-55mm

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 Fuji XT-1, 1/125 @ f/6.4, ISO 320, 18-55mm 

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Fuji XT-1, 1/125 @ f/4.5, ISO 320, 18-55mm

Moon Rise Over North Light

I did my research and was able to create another image of the North Light at Thatcher's Island in Gloucester, this time with July's Full Buck Moon instead of the June's Full Strawberry Moon. I knew where the moon was going to be because of the research I did but the flying egrets were a welcomed surprised.

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Nikon D810, 1/320 @ f/11, ISO 900, 500mm with a 1.4x teleconverter

Marshall Point Lighthouse

Marshall Point Lighthouse is located in a quiet neighborhood near Port Clyde, Maine, and is surrounded by some of Maine's many islands. This lighthouse is probably most famous for being in the movie Forrest Gump.

I made sure to arrive at least an hour before sunset. This gave me time to explore the area and scout out shooting locations. I was expecting a lot of tourists and people hanging around but to my surprise it was fairly quiet and I was able to photograph various angles of the lighthouse without having to worry about people being in my photographs. I made the most out of my long drive and stayed for about 6 hours to capture the lighthouse during sunset and with the stars.

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Nikon D810, 20 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 1600, 24-70mm

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Nikon D810, 25 sec. @ f/14, ISO 200, 24-70mm

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Nikon D810, 1/4 @ f/14, ISO 200, 24-70mm

Strawberry Moon with Thacher Island Twin Lights

I'm very fortunate to live in an area with multiple lighthouses. I've photographed the north light of the Twin Lights many times before but never with a full Strawberry Moon. These are NOT photoshopped images and only took a little planning and a some luck from Mother Nature. Using the app The Photographer's Ephemeris I was able to put myself in roughly the right area to catch the moon as it rose above the Twin Lights in Gloucester last night. Luckily the clouds held off long enough for me to capture this image. Digital technology has made creating images like this easier to plan and possible to execute without the need for Photoshop.

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Nikon D810, 1/25 @ f/6.3, ISO 400, 70-200mm

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Nikon D810, 1/20 @ f/6.3, ISO 400, 300mm with 1.4x

Moon Over White Mountians

The White Mountains region of New Hampshire is a beautiful place with lots to explore. There are many towns in the area which offer unique views of the surrounding mountains. I decided to head to Bethlehem, New Hampshire, which is a town I've never been to before. After finding a great scenic location I noticed the moon start to rise above the Presidential Range of the White Mountains. I grabbed a tripod and set up my shot. This panoramic image is made up of 5 photographs stitched together.

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Nikon D810, 1/80 @ f/10, ISO 250, 70-200mm

Silver Cascade in the Spring

I spend the weekend in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and was able to come back with this image of Silver Cascade in the spring. I have photographed this waterfall a few times, but always in the fall. Most of the time the water level was very low and I knew spring would be a better time to capture the falls being more active. I was lucky the sky was mostly overcast which helped to keep the highlights and shadows in check.

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Nikon D810, 1/4 @ f/16, ISO 64, 70-200mm

Thacher Island Lighthouse with Sea Smoke

This is another image I took of one of the twin lighthouses on Thacher Island back in February.

Mother Nature and time of day play a major roll in landscape photography. In order to capture dramatic and moody landscapes you need to pay attention to the weather. Even a rather dull scene can look more exciting when there is fog, snow, or dramatic lighting to add interest. After all photography is about capturing light and moments. When I photograph landscapes I usually don't take any pictures in the middle of the day, instead I scout for locations to photograph at sunrise or sunset.

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Nikon D810, 1/125 @ f/13, ISO 200, 500mm

Rebecca Nurse Homestead

On the second day of spring, it seemed like winter wasn't ready to release its grip. As much I'd enjoy some bright green foliage and flowers, I'm was just as happy to photograph the Rebecca Nurse Homestead with a light coating of snow.

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Nikon D3s, 1/160 @ f/14, ISO 200, 70-200mm

Thacher Island Sea Smoke

Having the experience to capture sea smoke at the South Lighthouse at Thacher Island in Rockport is an amazing experience. I arrived at my location around 7:00 am, with a temperature of -9 degrees!! Needless to say it was very cold, but well worth it. I spend with morning with fellow photographer Kirk Williamson, check out his sea smoke photos from that morning. I've photographed sea smoke before and I'm sure the next time will be just as exciting.

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Nikon D810, 1/400 @ f/11, ISO 100, 500mm