Looking Glass Falls

As a couple of you know - I've been in Asheville NC for the past few days - so while I have hundreds of images from many State Forests, the Brevard area - including Pisgah, DuPont - and several others.  I'll share one taken this AM as the sun came up... As well - this is processed on my Surface Pro 3 Tablet - so I'm pretty sure I'll either reprocess it entirely or clean this version up before entering it into my next challenge...

Anyway -  I waited for a bit for the rays to strike the falls - and really didn't know it would take the effect it did. I had only a few minutes to watch it - and less time to capture it. It's a magical place...  How magical?

As an aside - up the stream about 50 yards, was a lunch basket sitting on a rock..? I wondered who had left it, as no one was around, and I was certain I was alone - as there were no cars in the parking lot? Going back to shooting and composing - down walked a young man and woman, smartly dressed - as if they were about to go out on a date (even though it was still very early AM?). Anyway - they walked the shoreline to the picnic basket sitting on a rock downstream...

A few minutes later - I heard the young girl shriek - and looking back towards them - she was staring at her left hand and suddenly jumped into his arms... Obviously - he had just asked her to marry him - and from the sound of it - she was thrilled... I raised my voice and bellowed "CONGRATULATIONS!" - and they both looked up, still embracing - and waved back with huge smiles on their faces...

Yes - it's a magical place... And I'm sad to leave it shortly...

The Jetty

It's been a bit since I've posted to my blog, so - I thought I share one from earlier today. The day was dark with heavy clouds - and surprisingly, not a breath of wind. The calmness was almost surrealistic serenity that allowed unhampered shooting while enjoying a "perfect" morning to just get out and "do it". As the cloud bank above rolled nearer to the shoreline - it started to gently sprinkle and drizzle - adding just another dynamic to the morning.

This was taken at Ordione Point, Rye NH USA. I use my Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II with an ND filter covering the 12-40mm f/2.8 lens. Postprocessed in both Lightroom and Photoshop - I hope you enjoy the final result.  

The Path at Bellamy

Recently, I challenged myself to take exactly one camera with one lens out for an extended landscape session. It's interesting to see what happens - rather than slog along with a camera bag with various lenses, filters, remotes, etc. In some ways, it frees your mind and requires you become more creative with composition.

That being the case, and that winter continues to unleash its wrath here - there was little color in this shot - so I envisioned originally as a B&W conversion - keying in on the textures of the grass, tree limbs and the subtle visual path that  carried through the composition. This was taken a few days ago in Dover, NH USA at the Bellamy Wildlife Reserve.

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II with the Olympus-Zuiko 12-40mm Pro lens.

Springtime Snow

Woke up this morning - and we were having a Spring Snowstorm! Yea!!  Grabbed my camera and headed out with my Sony A7RII, tripod, ND filter and remote. What - really - an ND Filter? You bet..!  You see - I wanted to not see individual snowflakes, and as well, as there was a slight breeze, actually blur the trees with new hints of foliage to just "see" the color and to smooth the water. It's something I've always wanted to try, anyway..

So, above is that image.  Thirty second exposure, Sony A7RII with the Sony/Zeiss 16-35mm, ND filter taken from a tripod in Portsmouth NH USA.

Now - I'm hoping for more snow..!

A Short Walk to Whaleback Lighthouse

This was taken mid-morning this morning at Ordione Point, Rye NH USA- low tide on the coast of New Hampshire. While I have a few I'm working on - this one allowed me to play with various things I've learned in only the past week or so in The Arcanum.

And yes - the weather really is this dark and grey today - and the fog is real, as there is a 10 degree temp difference only yards from the shoreline... I left the house with only a light shirt - and was in a coat while shooting for three hours this AM... You have to love New England when "Spring has almost Sprung"...

Sony A7R2 - Sony/Zeiss 16-35mm.