Touring Corsica

Lake Tolla, Corsica

One of the places that we visited when we were in the Mediterranean was the French Island of Corsica. The only thing we knew about the island was that Napoleon was born on the island in the city of Ajaccio. Being primarily a landscape photographer, we took a tour to the lakes region of the island. When we boarded our bus, the tour guide asked if there were any French on the bus. When she found out that there were not any French, she exclaimed "good" and we found out that Corsicans do not like France at all. I thought that odd until she proceeded to tell us the history of Corsica. Corsica has been occupied by numerous other countries throughout it's history. It was first occupied by the Carthaginians followed by colonization by the ancient Greeks and then by the Etruscans and ultimately by the Roman Empire. When the Roman Empire collapsed, the island was invaded by the Vandals, the Visigoths, the Saracens, and the Lombards. The Genovese took possession of the island in 1347, and governed it until 1729. In 1729 to 1755, the inhabitants fought for independence but while they took control of parts of the island, never had total control. In 1764, France purchased the island from the Genovese. The island changed hands a number of times since between France and England through the many wars until World War II, when France ultimately took control for good.

The history of the island was fascinating to me and I understood why the Corsicans might not like the French. Anyway, the highlight of the tour was this stop at Lake Tolla. As can be seen in this image, the lake is nestled between the mountains and has an extremely interesting shoreline.

Sky

Double Arch, Arches National Park, Utah

This image is from my recently found archives. One of the most visited national parks in the southwest is Arches National Park. Located in eastern Utah, the park is home to over 2,000 sandstone arches, many of which are not easily accessible. This was the first stop on a 2-week trip that Greg and I took in May, 2005. May is perhaps the best time to visit as the weather is not too hot and the park is not crowded at all. We had gotten into Moab the previous afternoon after a five hour drive from Salt Lake City. The bad news was that my luggage, including my tripod, was not on our flight. It finally showed up at 5:30 am (of course after dawn). Once we unpacked and hit the road, we headed for Arches. Our first stop in the park was Double Arch where I captured this image. Even though I had missed the sunrise, the light was amazing as the blue sky really enhanced the contrast with the orange sandstone.

The Other Side

Portland Head Light, Portland, Maine

Today we revisit the Portland Head Light located outside of Portland, Maine on Cape Elizabeth. Arguably the signature lighthouse of Maine, it is often seen from the vantage point of this earlier post. The lighthouse is surrounded by a huge park and the parking lots are located on this side. What many people don't realize is that there is a trail that leads away from the lighthouse along the cliff. It is from the "other side" that I went to after taking the first series of shots. As you can see, the view of the lighthouse is very different but no less beautiful. Just goes to prove to look at a subject from all angles.

Sailing Into the Fire

Bay of Kotor, Montenegro

Great finish to the Super Bowl game last night after a relatively boring first three quarters. Congratulations to all of the Giant fans out there although being a Eagles fan and living in New England, their win was a little painful for me. Anyway, a quick post and run today. This shot was taken from a cruise ship after leaving the port of Kotor in the country of Montenegro. As we sailed though the winding entrance from the Bay of Kotor to the Mediterranean Sea, the sky was a brilliant color reminiscent of a blazing fire. An awesome sunset.

Spiritual

Spirit Island, Jaspar National Park, Alberta, Canada

Every visit to Jaspar National Park in the Canadian Rockies should include a trip to Spirit Island. In this earlier post, I described the rainy conditions as we approached the boat house on Maligne Lake. The boat trip to Spirit Island takes about 45 minutes and circles the small island from the right. The boat leaves its riders off at a dock on the lake's shore allowing passengers to disembark and walk a short trail to get this iconic view of Spirit Island. The lake is famed for the color of it's water with it's surrounding mountains and the view of Spirit Island is one of the most photographed in the world. It is truly a spiritual experience for those who have visited and the island is aptly named.

Autumn Mirror

Lake Waramaug State Park, Kent, Connecticut

Living in Connecticut, it is easy to take advantage of the fall foliage. I don't have to worry about the peak time to go as I just look out the window to see if it is time. One of my favorite places to shoot is Lake Waramaug State Park which is not far from my house. The park is usually pretty deserted on fall weekdays, which allows me to set up the tripod without any distractions. Only a portion of the lake front is accessible to the public but a road goes around the full length of the lake. While there is no easy place to park outside of the park, if you are willing to walk, there are great vantage points from the road. This image was shot from one of those vantage points and shows the far side of the lake which is also private land. The colors of the hills contrasted nicely with the blue skies and the water was relatively still. Just another great fall day in New England.

Monumental

Artist Point, Monument Valley, Utah/Arizona Border

A quick post and run today. This is another image from the archives that takes us back to Monument Valley and the famous view from Artist Point. It is a spectacular setting and is aptly named. The butte seen in this image is the East Mitten Butte and it is tremendously large, dwarfing the houses that can be seen along the road. You can truly understand why so many westerns and commercials were shot in the valley. It is one of my most favorite places to visit and I am looking forward to retrace my footsteps there in May. Have a great weekend, everyone.

Ice Cave

Lamplugh Glacier, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska is a World Heritage Site with 3.3 million acres of spectacular sights and wildlife, including 11 glaciers of which 8 can be seen from the bay. It is a very remote and rugged park as there are no roads that lead to it. The only way to get to Glacier Bay is by either boat or plane. There is only one lodge within the park (Glacier Bay Lodge) and there are no campsites. Campers can stay in the park in almost any area that they want. This past July, we spent almost a full day cruising the bay, taking in it's glaciers. One of the coolest things we saw was this ice cave in the Lamplugh Glacier. The cave was huge, towering about 30 feet at it's highest point, and we had just missed some kayakers that left the cave moments before. The most interesting thing about the cave was that it was temporary. The National Park Forest Ranger told us that it didn't exist several weeks prior to our arrival and that it would likely collapse in the near future.

Cliff Walk Golden Hour

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport, Rhode Island is a great place to visit and has something for everyone. Whether you want to tour the famous mansions, shop, sail, or visit the International Tennis Hall of Fame, it is a must visit destination. For photographers, it is a great place to shoot, especially on it's famous Cliff Walk. Cliff Walk is a 3.5 mile public access walkway that lies on Newport's eastern shore, in between the Newport mansions and the bay. In 1975, the walk was designated as a National Recreation Trail, making it the first in New England. About two-thirds of the walk is in easy walking condition. The balance is a little more challenging but not too strenuous.

This particular October morning was crisp and clear and the colors were spectacular. This composition is from the more rugged end of the walk.

Nature's Courthouse

Park Avenue Trail, Arches National Park, Utah

This the second image that I have reprocessed on my recently found archives or as Jimi Jones named them, “Lost Treasure of Len” (my wife is still chuckling about that). This image is from a trip I took with my son where we hiked for two weeks in Utah. This particular trail is the Park Avenue Trail in Arches National Park. It is a one-mile relatively flat trail that traverses the bottom of a canyon where some of the park’s well-known monoliths can be seen such as the Three Gossips, Courthouse Towers, the Organ and the Tower of Babel. This particular structure is the Courthouse Towers. Most visitors to the park stop at the Park Avenue Viewpoint, take a few snapshots, and return to their cars without really exploring this trail. They really miss a spectacular walk that is quite memorable. Once on the trail, it opens up to a wide dry wash, filled with a number of shallow sandstone basins and potholes carved out by erosion.

Crowfoot Glow

Crowfoot Glacier, Icefields Parkway, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

The Icefields Parkway is one of the longest and most beautiful scenic drives that I have ever been on. The parkway traverses the Continental Divide in the Canadian Rockies and connects Banff National Park and Jasper National Park. The Icefields Parkway is 140 miles long and named for ice field and glaciers that are visible from the parkway. One of the glaciers that can be seen from the parkway is the Crowfoot Glacier pictured in this image. The Crowfoot Glacier's runoff is the main source of water for Bow Lake that can be seen between the parkway and the glacier. The glacier has retreated and has lost an entire "foot" so it no longer resembles the shape for which it was originally named. Even with its missing part, it is still magnificent and provides a breathtaking view especially when seen in the glow of sunrise.

Contemplation

Tear Drop Arch, Monument Valley, Utah / Arizona Border

Okay, it seems that I received an unexpected late Christmas gift this weekend. I was looking for something and came across some backup DVDs that contained some of my images from 2003 - 2006. You may ask why I am looking at this as a gift. The easy answer is that I took some memorable trips during that period and, at that time, really didn't know anything about RAW files and processing (other than that, everything was fine). I processed the JPG files in Photoshop Elements with my very poor skills and DELETED the original files. That's right, all gone. I have rued the day I deleted them ever since. Now for the good news, the DVDs that I found contained the original JPGs. I now have a lot of my favorite images that I can now reprocess. This is the first image that I have reprocessed and it is significant in that it is the photo that started my photography hobby in earnest. I always had an interest in photography and in the early 1980′s even took a high school course in developing black and white film (boy, did they lose money on me). Career, family and finances got in the way of photography and I didn’t pursue it again until the early 2000′s. Then in 2005, I decided to see if I was serious about it.

My son Greg and I headed to Utah for two weeks for the sole purpose of hiking and photography. One of the places that I had longed to visit was Monument Valley. Located on a Navajo Indian Reservation on the Utah/Arizona border, it was the location of many famous westerns (Stagecoach and The Searchers to name a couple). I had seen a photo of Tear Drop Arch on the cover of a tour guide and always wanted to shoot it. The park has a 17-mile dirt road, but in order to photograph the more iconic places such as Tear Drop Arch, you must hire a Navajo guide. Our guide took us all over the park for four hours and saved Tear Drop Arch for our last stop at sunset. The biggest surprise was that Tear Drop Arch is actually about 3 miles outside the park. While Greg and the Navajo guide talked about his culture, I shot the arch until well past sunset.

This was one of the most magical experiences I’ve ever had and it lit the passion that I still have for photography.

Dreary Day at Beckley Furnace

East Canaan, Connecticut

This is an image of Blackberry Falls in East Canaan, Connecticut. It is located at the Beckley Furnace Industrial Monument and is Connecticut's only official Industrial Monument. Built in 1847, the Beckley blast furnace produced iron primarily for the manufacture of railroad car wheels that were known for their excellence and durability. The furnace closed in 1919 and stands today as the best preserved example of a technology that has long since vanished. This particular day, the weather was quite dreary with harsh overhead light. This exposure was made with a neutral density 10-stop filter for 32 seconds. While the result was pretty good for the falls, the surrounding sky and trees were a challenge. As a result, I created a HDR from the image and was able to bring back details into the surrounding areas.

White Mountain Crossing

Albany Covered Bridge, Kancamagus Highway, New Hampshire

Today we re-visit the the Albany Covered Bridge located off of New Hampshire's famed Kancamagus Highway. Some of you may remember a past post of the of the bridge with a view from the inside (which can be seen here). The Kancamagus Highway (also known as the "Kanc") is a 34 mile scenic drive that is known as one of the best fall foliage viewing areas in New England. The Kanc in October is the destination of choice for thousands of "leaf peepers" from all over the country. There were quite a number of photographers and visitors there and I had to be careful to keep them out of the scene. It helped that we visited the bridge right after Columbus Day otherwise I would have been editing this forever.

The Lone Cypress

17 Mile Drive, California

I hope everyone had a great holiday season and a wonderful New Year. I know it is a sacrilege, but I spent the time off to spend with family and decided that I wouldn't even pick up a camera during the holidays. I took more photos in 2011 that I have ever had in one year and just decided too take a short break. Now that we are entering a new year, I feel recharged and ready to go. Today's photo is the famed Lone Cypress on the Monterey Peninsula's Seventeen Mile Dive. The Lone Cypress, also known as the Monterey Cypress, has sat on its rocky perch for over 250 years with supporting cable around it to keep it from falling. It is one of the most famous trees in the world and has become the official symbol of Pebble Beach.

Seventeen Mile Drive is one of my favorite drives and I always look forward to it. I remember how excited I was the first time I was to visit the Monterey Peninsula in 1982. Little did I realize that the week I was supposed to visit, the U.S Open was held there and the drive would be closed. I was crushed but have more than made up for it since then as I visit whenever I travel to San Francisco.

Majesty

Yakutat Bay, Alaska

When cruising the inside passage of Alaska, Hubbard Glacier is normally on the route as a "stop". To reach Hubbard Glacier, ships must sail through the Gulf of Alaska and enter the Yakutat Bay. Yakutat Bay was formed over centuries by the eroding forces of glacier advance and retreat. This image was taken as our ship began to leave the gulf and enter the bay. It wasn't the best time of day to shoot images, but when on a cruise, there is little control over the timing of visiting a destination. This is one of the challenges of shooting on a cruise vacation. Another challenge includes shooting from a moving boat that may be rocking. This can especially true when shooting a HDR bracket (thank God for the sophisticated alignment functions of Photoshop).

Despite the light and movement, I was lucky to have a layer of clouds against the mountains and some dissipating fog at ground level.

Otter Beach Glow

Otter Beach, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine

Acadia National Park in Maine is the only national park located in the northeastern US. It is a beautiful park where mountains, islands and ocean all come together to form a unique experience. Located on Mount Desert Island, Acadia's origins were actually started by a group of summer residents that formed a public land trust to protect the island from development. The trust slowly acquired parts of the island and John D Rockefeller donated over 10,000 acres of land to the trust. Rockefeller also built 45 miles of stone carriage roads that traverse the park. Acadia now covers 47,000 acres of property. This image was taken on one of Acadia's famous beaches namely, Otter Beach. The beach can be somewhat treacherous as I found out by stepping on a rock and taking a fall. Lesson learned - even though there are other people on a rock, make sure that you step on a dry part of the rock like they did.

There were about 50 photographers lined up to catch the sunrise. The sunrise turned out to be a very short one as the clouds were quickly moving east. I was able to catch the little light there was giving a warm glow to the cliffs as a wave began to crest toward the beach.

Fall Countryside

Cathedral Ledge, North Conway, New Hampshire

Today we revisit Cathedral Ledge in North Conway, New Hampshire. The setting for this image is the White Mountains. This particular group of mountains are known as the Presidential Range whose peaks are named after American Presidents and other historic figures. Cathedral Ledge is easily accessable with a short walk from the parking area. On this particular night, the setting sun gave a beautiful glow to the New England countryside with all of it's fall colors and splendor. This image contrasted significantly from the same composition that I took the next morning which can be seen in this post. As you can see, weather can dramitically change a subject's appearance.

Flying the Misty Fjords

Misty Fiords National Monument, Ketchikan, Alaska

Misty Fjords National Monument is located 40 miles east of Ketchikan, Alaska, along the Inside Passage coast in extreme southeastern Alaska. The area is nicknamed "The Yosemite of the North" for its similar geology. Formed by glaciers, the glacial valleys are filled with sea water. The walls of these valleys are near-vertical and range from 2,000 to 3,000 feet above sea level and drop 1,000 feet below it. The scenery ranges from tidewater estuaries to mountains often shrouded in mists, sky-blue lakes, waterfalls and the seemingly endless evergreen forest. Misty Fjords' road-less location is only accessible by floatplane or boat from Ketchikan. We took a tour boat out of Ketchikan for a 6-hour boat tour. The weather was pretty raw with periodic rain. Along the way, we saw it all, rugged mountains, eagles, the very cool New Eddystone Rock and waterfalls. Perhaps the most unexpected sight was the large number of floatplanes that were taking off and landing. Misty Fjords might be considered nature's busiest airport. I can only imagine what the number of planes would have been if the weather was nice. This is one of the floatplanes taking off with the mists and mountains in the background.

Golden Morning

Pudding Hill Road, Lyndonville Vermont

One of the of the goals we had on our photo workshop was to try to shoot the sunrise of the New England countryside with fog on the ground. As we gathered in the dark parking lot, we were praying that the crispness in the air would deliver the fog. The plan was to drive about 20 minutes from the hotel to Pudding Hill Road in Lyndonville Vermont. Usually when planning for a specific weather condition, it rarely works out as planned. On this morning, we were blessed. As we set up for the shoot, the fog was there and it was looking good. As the sun began to peak over the mountain, it became apparent the photography gods were delivering a great morning. I usually shoot a 7 bracketed series of images when shooting directly into the sun to capture a decent exposure without blowing out too many highlights. I am pretty happy with the results.