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.
Birds of Prey at Parker River
I was fortunate to have found a Snowy Owl as well as a Northern Harrier at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge while out photographing on Plum Island. You never know what you'll find when you head out to look for wildlife. There have been many hours spent in the field where I come up with no photographs. Sometimes you spend hours looking and hoping to find something but it doesn't always works in your favor. I know one thing, you'll never be able to capture images of wildlife if you never venture outside.
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.
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.
Sunset at the Salt Marsh
I had a great evening last night at the Parker River Wildlife Refuge. I got lucky and was able to spot a Snowy Egret in one of the salt marshes hunting for dinner with the setting sun as a backdrop. I spent about an hour photographing the egret from my car which I use as a blind.
Yellow Warblers
I spent a little time at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge and found a few Yellow Warblers happily flying around. The spring migration always attracts dozens of warblers from various species and it can be a lot of fun tracking them through the trees and brush along the waterfront.
About to Head South
A snowy egret is seen along the banks of one of the salt marshes at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge this past summer. I enjoy seeing these birds year after year along the north shore of Massachusetts. With the cooler temperatures arriving soon, these birds will be headed south until next spring.
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.
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.
Snowy Egret Takes Flight
A snowy egret takes flight from a salt marsh at the Parker River National Refuge. Once again patience plays a large roll in photographing wild animals. I didn't see much from this trip but sometimes when I find a subject worthy of an image I will wait until there is some action to photograph.
Snowy Egret Fishing
As I was leaving Parker River National Refuge I spotted a snowy egret in one of the salt pannes. I almost didn't stop because egrets are there all the time but I couldn't resits the opportunity. I spent a while photographing the egret as it fished. I had a few shots that worked out well, but this one is the best. It was incredible to see how easily the egret was able to hunt for its food.
Salt Marsh Egrets
A lot of the time when I photograph wildlife at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge I use my car as a blind. Large shorebirds like egrets are less skittish of people than smaller birds, but a good way to get as close as possible is to not get out of you car. I usually find a good spot, stop and turn off the car and photograph through an open window. Most of the time this technique works out well.
Piping Plovers
I didn't plan on photographing a newly hatched piping plover chick but one morning at Sandy Point State Reservation I was confronted with a very willing subject. Usually these tiny shorebirds are difficult to photography. One reason is because they are very small and also extremely quick, making framing a photograph a challenge. However this piping plover chick gave me plenty of opportunities to take its portrait.
Birds in Flight
Whenever possible I enjoy taking time to do a little wildlife photography. One of my favorite places is the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Newbury. Like most wildlife photography trips you never know what you'll see or if you'll see anything at all. The day started off slow. It was hot and sunny and I wasn't seeing a lot of birds but I decided to stick around anyways. After a couple of hours I was able to find a Snowy Egret feeding in one of the salt pannes and as I was photographing the egret a Glossy Ibis came to feed as well. Sometimes all you need is a lot of patience and a little luck.
Cygnet
Wildlife photography has been a passion of mine for a long time. I love nature and being outdoors, so bringing along a camera makes sense. Spring is the best time of year to capture young animals learning the ways of the world. I spotted a couple of swans and their cygnets in a pond in Topsfield a couple of days ago but was unable to stop to photograph them. Luckily I was able to make it back to the pond a few days later and spotted the swans again with their cygnets and spent some time photographing them on a beautiful spring morning.
Grazing Horse
I couldn't help but to turn my car around after driving by this white horse grazing in a field of flowers. I was heading to an assignment in Ipswich and have driven by this farm many times. I almost didn't stop because I didn't want to be late for my assignment, but I knew the moment and light would not be the same if I went back later. I photographed the horse for a few minutes, got back in my car and continued on my way to my assignment.
Red-tailed Hawk
I was lucky to have photographed this Red-tailed Hawk at Parker River Wildlife Refuge in Newbury recently. After a few hours on the refuge and not having seen a lot of wildlife I was headed towards the exit, but before I got there I had the privileged of spotting this Red-tailed Hawk as it was hunting.
Starry Night
On a recent backpacking trip in the White Mountains of New Hampshire I made time for some astrophotography. I used a small table tripod for my Fuji X-T1, which was placed on the ground near my campfire. The main problem I had when capturing nighttime images with the electronic viewfinder in the Fuji was I could not see anything on the screen. In order to overcome this obstacle I used a powerful flashlight to help light portions of the scene to help me frame my images. The orange glow on the trees is from the light of my campfire.
Sunflowers
Driving back from one of my assignments I noticed Colby Farm in Newbury had its large field of sunflowers in bloom. The framing possibilities are endless and I went back to the field a few more times for sunrise and sunset.
Supermoon Eclipse
I was thrilled to have photographed the rare supermoon eclipse last night. This photograph was taken around 10:45 pm, at the peak of the eclipse in the Boston area. After finding a dark parking lot with a clear view of the night sky I set up my tripod and started creating images. The next supermoon eclipse wont happen until 2033, so I was glad the Boston area had clear skies last night.