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..!

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 

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 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.

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.  

Mist, Snow and Fog

We awoke early this morning to new snow, with a quick changeover to sleet and freezing rain - all of which created a wonderful fog over the coast. As the tide was coming in, and expected to peak in the next few hours, I packed up my gear and headed to the coast. While the wind was brisk on the beaches and inlets (to say the least,  I was thankful that I brought my cold weather gear.

There are a few challenges in shooting in weather like this with the first - staying warm while it is blowing cold rain and mist into your face. The second is trying to keep the fron element of the lens dry enough during a long exposure (such as above) to not blur the image. As a lens hood won't fit (and probably isn't long enough) - I sacrificed my warmth to use the visor of my cap to shield the ND filter long enough to finish the long exposure.

I'll try to post more from this mornings shoot in the next few days, but for now, this was taken with my Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II, the Olympus 12-40mm f/2,.8 Pro lens and a 10-stop ND filter. Post processed in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Morning Mist Over the Swamp

Sometimes, it just pays to be lucky rather than good - and given that I'm not very good, I depend a lot on "luck'.  So yesterday, on the way out of the National Wildlife Refuge in Newmarket, NH USA, the rain started to let up and it fell into a easy drizzle. Looking over a sharp bank, I noticed this swamp that appeared to be sitting still in time - as if waiting for the "decisive moment" to compose an image and shoot this frame.

Taken with a Sony A7R and the Sony/Zeiss 16-25mm f/4 lens - again, this final print was pulled from the -2EV exposure in Lightroom. From there, it took a quick trip into Photoshop for color balancing, dynamic tonal contrast and High-Pass filter sharpening.

While muted, as the heavy rain clouds were still overhead, I liked the composition and eerie feeling of the final image. I hope you do as well..

Thanks for looking!

Storm Over Odiorne Point

Odiorne Point is a State Park in New Hampshire that is well known for it's abandoned Fort as well as the place the first settlers of New Hampshire landed on the rocky shore in 1623.

The image above was taken today - a cold, dark and dank day - with exceptionally high surf in the morning. In my world - a perfect day for taking moody, long-exposure images.