Photogaboutit

...Did I mention waterfalls? As I continue on my race to visit, photograph, map and write about one hundred waterfalls across New England, I'm continually challenged to think of creative ways to capture these simple wonders of nature in unique ways...and to do so quickly, because there are always more waterfalls to visit. Emerson falls, just below a dam in Saint Johnsbury, VT shows you don't need to be out in the wilderness to capture the beautiful movement of water. The shutter speed of 1/5 of a second blurs the water enough to create smooth lines, yet is of short enough duration to maintain the feeling of movement with little lines of spray clearly distinguishable. As I'm visiting most of these waterfalls alone, I look for any opportunity to capture people in my waterfall photos. Usually that involves a quick shutter speed. Luckily here I was able to do a long exposure on the tripod, and the fisherman remained still enough to remain sharp. Wadsworth Big Falls, Mi...

Although there is a long fence precluding nice views to what appears to be a dramatic gorge deep within a forest, the views you can get make it worth the trip if you're nearby. We were in a bit of rush, but you can get to the stream at the bottom of the fence and walk back up the stream bed in low water. That is where the second photo was shot...just before I slipped on my already sprained ankle, dunked my body (and phone, luckily no damage) and saved the camera from going in. All in a day's work. Although getting down to the gorge is difficult due to a safety fence, you can still get some nice shots through the foliage from a safe vantage point. Above the gorge, there is no fence and you can climb on the rocks if the water is low. Below the gorge the path beyond the fence meets the stream. I was able to climb up the stream a bit to get this shot. The main part of the gorge is much steeper, and I wasn't feeling very confident after having just dunked after re-...

So I'm busily spending every last minute working on a book for Falcon Guides about waterfalls in New England. I need to visit, map, write about and photograph 100 waterfalls throughout New England. Today I visited four more, one of which is Beaver Brook Falls in Keene, NH. It's just three quarters of a mile up an old closed road, paved but experiencing the effects of nature's quick work. Anyways, the falls, although nice, are really nothing to write home about. However, I noticed these incredible spots of light on the water shining through the canopy, leaving a cool top and lighting up the red-brown tannin-rich water. On top of that, the large white bubbles emanated from the base of the falls. Ten to twenty second exposures revealed a bubble outline with streaks as they slowly migrated downstream. It actually seems as if these are creatures swimming upstream. I used a three stop neutral density filter to enable especially long exposures. Anyways, I went there...

Landscape Photography in the Between Seasons Shooting between the seasons in New England can be a challenging thing. With brown and ... brown, the colors don't call out and say "shoot me!" November is probably my least favorite month, unless of course we get a big unexpected snow storm. Photography in the early spring and late fall can be challenging. By not including the sky on an overcast day such as this, I am able to accentuate the tones of orange and brown, as well as the dimming light deeper in the forest. The stream serves as a guide to carry the viewer to the end of the image. Anyways, it's helpful to look for subtlety in your image. Shades of a color can be as interesting as multiple colors. It's a good time to work on image fundamentals. As a color photographer, we can get overwhelmed by the role of color in the image. Challenge yourself to create images that rely solely on composition to achieve impact. Without leaves on the trees, it's o...