Estuary in Bellamy Wildlife Preserve

What a silly day. With the winds blowing steady at 20MPH and gusts up to 50MPH, temps hoping to meet 40+ - it was perfect shooting conditions, if one is a masochist...  ;)

Anyway - when I headed out this AM - I wanted to accomplish simply two things...  Shoot/make an image which would show "something from nothing". Second, not drown or something if I stepped onto the reeds covering a mud-hole.

The first target for today - I might have hit.  The second goal? Not so much. Stepped into the muck in one area, one one leg sank up to my thigh. My wife is thrilled when she came home this evening to find my boots drying on the hot radiator - and my pants are so covered in mud, that I'll have to hose them off in the driveway before putting them in the washing machine... ;)

Anyway - I used quite a bit of post processing - as this image has been in Lightroom, Photoshop, On1, back into Lightroom - and I think I finally have a version I like enough to show here...

It was taken - uncharacteristically for me - handheld, as with the wind and all the branches dancing about required a fast shutter-speed (1/1000). BUT - when the branches turned up due to the wind - I liked the effect in the limbs. I hope you do as well...

Shoreline Path

Playing a bit with textures, colors - and moods created by colors in single images. This is one of those. I was drawn to the path, the leading lines - and with the ability to pull the post processing into what I saw at the time. This was taken today in Portsmouth NH USA - and the post processing went like this:

• Raw file into Lightroom whire I played with colors, hue, saturation, curves - and "painting" in various effects;
• Into On1 Photo 10 for dynamic contrast, hues and color balance;
• Into Photoshop for layer masks;
• Back into Lightroom for final edits and export

Sony A7RII, Sony/Zeiss 16-35mm.

Shoreline Shrub

I must say - my journey in The Arcanum (http://thearcanum.com) has been both inspiring and pushed several "hot buttons" creatively. In short - in many ways - it's been both a revelation and an artistic rejuvenation.

The image above  was taken today on the coastline. As the sky was tremendously boring being almost a pure blanket of white clouds - I lay in the sand to frame the tree against only the bare sky. Converted in Photoshop and tweaked in NIK Silver EFX Pro 2, the original image was taken with my Sony A7RII and the Sony-Zeiss 16-35mm.

Snow Capped

Taken yesterday morning during a snowstorm, this tiny plant was 14" (35.5 cm) away, and using a Sony NEX 7 with a Olympus/Zuiko 50mm f/1.2 - and shot at f1.2 - yields a total DOF of exactly 0.04" (0.02 cm) - which produces some wonderful results.

Spring & Winter

Just one of those days that "Old Man Winter" has a difficult time letting go. This morning, we awoke to several inches of newly fallen snow, and until late morning, decided to to show us one more blast. While I really like shooting in the snow, typically landscapes during the height of a snowstorm, today, I just wanted it to end and "be gone".  And apparently - I'm not the only one - as these daffodils are worse prepared than I was.

Sony NEX-7 with a vintage Olympus Zuiko 50mm f/1.2 lens. The bokeh that this combination delivers is almost surreal. Post processed in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Misty Morning

Taken yesterday while it was raining at the Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I wanted a long exposure to remove the raindrops and bring out the mist and reflection on the "smooth" water. The actual exposure was 25 seconds, which helped blend the clouds and mist - while leaving the water perfectly still.

Sony A7R II, Sony Zeiss 16-35mm f/4 with an ICE 10 stop ND filter. Post processed in both Lightroom and Photoshop 

The Tidal Stream

Taken this morning, this tidal stream is port of the networks of estuaries that comprise Great Bay on the seacoast of New Hampshire USA. With a light drizzle that turned into a slightly harder rain - and coupled with the higher than normal temperatures, it created a mystical and eerie feeling. 

Upon entering the reserve, there was a flock of about 50 turkeys who decided to take a "stroll" across a field and up the road I was walking at the time - and they seemed not to care that I was there.. Almost as if they were appointed my "Welcoming committee".

Later in the day, when shooting this image, a large flock of Mallard ducks passed overhead, landing in the mist and fog of the distant bay. As I was set up with a 16-35mm lens - all I could do was watch and enjoy one of the gifts of the estuary.

This was taken with my Sony A7RII and, as I mentioned - the 16-35mm Sony-Zeiss f/4 lens.

Shoreline Storm

Taken several days ago over the coast of Rye, this fast moving storm kicked up both the surf and the wind. The image above is a four image panoramic - each frame shot with my Olympus OMD E-M5 Mark II. The trick in doing a panoramic in weather with fast moving clouds and surf - is pay particular attention to shutter speed (1/500th of a second in this case) and pre-plan your panning motion with a level pan head.

While I'm still processing several other images from that session, I enjoyed the way this turned out, especially with the frenzied detail in both the clouds and surf.

This image was processed in both Lightroom and Photoshop.

The Harbor in Portmouth

Portsmouth Harbor, Portsmouth NH USA - Taken earlier today with a Sony A7RII and the Sony-Zeiss 16-35mm f/4 and an ND10 filter. Early morning in the harbor, as the light was a still soft and warm. I thought it complemented the bricks used in so many of the early building along the historic waterfront. As well, this morning, the harbor was a bedlam of activity, as one of the Irving Tankers was escorted out by two of the tug tenders. After passing, another freighter was pulled away from the wharf at Granite State Minerals by two other tugs and escorted to the open ocean.

Welcome to my blog and my hometown!

The Deafening Stillness

Frankly, I love the forest, nature and beauty of shooting in conditions that keep most people indoors - certainly true for most photographers. During this particular storm, one could hear the snow falling, the branches on nearby trees straining under the load of the wet heavy snow that kept falling at an incredible rate. As well, the snow muffles typical sounds such as faraway traffic, or call of birds - and the silence is quite deafening, in a very peculiar and wonderful way.

In this spot, which is a frozen over estuary, one has to be careful when walking upon the snow, as there are hidden soft spots of ice that one can fall through without warning. But, using a tripod as a walking stick to poke forward before the next step is taken - and turning back, simply walk back in the previous footsteps.

This was taken with my Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II and the Olympus-Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro lens at the NWR in Newington NH USA.

Sarah Mildred Long Bridge

I thought I'd capture this before this bridge is demolished and replaced, which construction is now underway. It spans the Piscataqua River between Portsmouth NH and Kittery Maine USA and as a truss bridge, carries both traffic and a railroad tie into the the Portsmouth Navel Shipyard.  It has been a part of the Portsmouth waterfront since 1940.

Taken with one of my Sony systems, this was primarily post-processed in Photoshop using luminosity layers with the final export into Lightroom for final adjustments

Outgoing

Very strange weather this morning - the temperatures rose overnight by 15 degrees Fahrenheit and rain was coming down "sideways" as a blustery wind whipped against everything in sight. I thought the surf might be interesting, so I grabbed my camera, wet weather gear and headed out to the coast of Rye NH USA.

As I slowly made my way out onto the rocks and through the seaweed,  the rain started to magically let up - and intent on shooting large waves in front of me, barely noticed what was coming up from behind from the seashore. It was a huge line of clouds that hung low and formed a nearly perfect line.

Above is just one of the many images I took, and I'll be post processing more as I get the chance over the next day or two.

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II with the Olympus 12-40mm F/2.8 Pro lens, taken this morning on the coast of Rye NH USA.