Newport, Rhode Island has been a New England summer resort destination for the rich for over 150 years. It is known for its mansions that were built during the gilded age of the 1890’s as summer “cottages”. This is an image of the back of Ochre Court that I took at dawn from Newport’s Cliff Walk. Ochre Court was built for Ogden Goelet, a wealthy New York banker and developer. Goelet was an avid yachtsman and Newport is famous for it’s sailing. In the 1940’s, the family donated the property to the Religious Sisters of Mercy. It now serves as the administrative offices for Salve Regina University.
Feeding the Falls
When visiting Niagara Falls, it is easy to come away mesmerized by the power and the beauty of the falls themselves. Whether you see them from the walkways around them on both the Canadian and American side, take a boat ride on the Maid of the Mist or take the elevator down and see them from the Cave of the Winds, it is hard to take your eyes away from them. Photographers look for the iconic shots of the falls and try to capture something different which is virtually impossible with the millions of photos taken there. I too get caught up in the beauty of the falls. One thing that I have tried to do is photograph the surrounding area to give it a more complete sense of place. This image is one of those shots and is a part of the Niagara River that flows past Goat Island before becoming part of the American Falls.
Reservoir Doors
In January, I posted this image of the Barkhamsted Reservoir located about 20 minutes from my home. I have always been intrigued with this location and visit it regularly for either shooting or just plain relaxing. The wall and structure on this part of the reservoir is actually Saville Dam which, when built, resulted in the flooding and destruction of many buildings and farms of Barkhamsted, including the village of Barkhamsted Hollow.
I always wonder about the round stone structure in the middle of the dam with its small conical roof and great doors. This image is standing in front of the walkway leading to the doors. I sort of want to know what is kept inside this structure, as I have never seen the doors open in all of my visits there. I would probably be disappointed to learn what was in there and maybe the mystery would keep me coming back.
Classic Venice
There is no doubt in my mind that my favorite place in Italy is Venice. There is something unique about it that I can’t exactly explain. Perhaps it is the feeling that I get when I walk around and see the ancient buildings, the gondolas and water. I can’t help thinking about the history of the place particularly when Venice ruled the region as a “City State” for almost 300 years.
While many other European cities claim to be like Venice (Amsterdam is known as the Amsterdam of the North), there is only one original. Walking around the city, you come across so many little alleyways that have a gem hidden in them. They all seem to have a uniqueness to them but fall into the classic Venice look and feel. This is just one of the alleyways that I fell in love with.
Valley of the Ten Peaks
One of my favorite places in the world to visit is Banff National Park in Alberta. Known for the ruggedness of its mountains and the abundance of glacier fed lakes, it is a favorite destination of many. I am often asked what locations within the massive park are a must see, my first two are Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. I am not sure which of these two locations are the most photographed, but I am sure that it is close. If I had to pick one, I’d go with Moraine Lake mostly due to it being in the Valley of the Ten Peaks.
The ten peaks range in height from 10,000 to 11,234 feet. While they are not the highest mountains in the Rockies, when you stand there looking up at them, you feel very insignificant. Most images on the area include the iconic Moraine Lake (and I have plenty of those images) but for this shot, I wanted to focus more on one of the peaks (not sure which one this is) and the valley. It is one of the reasons that Banff is always on my “let’s visit list” each year.
Cascading Walkway
One of my items on my bucket list is to visit and photograph all of the US National Parks. I don’t plan my trips around them (except for parks like Yosemite or the Grand Tetons) but when I travel anywhere close to one, I make an effort to get there. If I last long enough, I may realize this goal.
On our trip to Key West last month, I was able to visit a national park that is one of the most remote, namely Dry Tortugas National Park. Dry Tortugas is located about 70 miles west of Key West and is reachable by boat or seaplane. Fortunately, there is one large ship that visits there daily, every day of the year except Christmas. It is a full day adventure, leaving about 7:30am and returning about 5:30pm.
The park consists of seven islands but it is the massive Fort Jefferson that is the main attraction. Fort Jefferson is the largest masonry structure in the Western Hemisphere being built with over 16 million bricks. Visitors can spend their day visiting the fort on a guided tour or by themselves. They also can skip the fort and swim on the small beaches or snorkel or skin dive. The coral reef and abundant underwater life make it a great destination.
This image is of one of the many walkways throughout Fort Jefferson.
Vancouver Patterns
Earlier this week, I posted an early morning reflection that I took in Anchorage, Alaska on the first full day of our Alaska trip. I thought I would finish the week with an image I took in Vancouver, British Columbia on the last night of the same trip. After eating dinner my wife and our friends headed back to the hotel to rest up for our flight home the next day. The light was so spectacular that I just had to stay out and shoot until sunset. Again, the reflections were magnificent. I chose this image to post as I love the reflection in addition to the lines and patterns of the building.
The Castle on the Hill
High above the German town of St. Goarshausen in Rhineland-Palatinate is the privately owned Katz Castle. It is one of the 28 castles that we passed on a rainy day on our Rhine River cruise last September. The Katz Castle was built in the 1370's by Count Wilhelm II of Katzenelnbogen. It was bombarded by Napoleon in the early 1800's as it could not possibly be conquered from the valley due to its location on the mountain ridge. The castle was later rebuilt in the 1890's.
As we approached the town, the rain conveniently slowed down to a light drizzle and I was able to get a better view of how the castle dominated the town and mountain. I was able to quickly run out from under the shelter and capture this scene before the heavens opened up again.
Jetty Light
I have recently been going through some older images in an attempt to trim my photo processing backlog when I ran across this image that had already been edited but not yet posted. The image is from a couple of years ago when my son and I took a tour of New England lighthouses scouting for locations for his movie short. This light is located in Scituate, Massachusetts and is known as the Old Scituate Light (pretty original, huh?).
The light was built in 1811 and was "attacked" by the British in the War of 1812. The attack was repelled by two women who played their fife and drum very loudly. The British retreated since they thought the sound came from the Scituate Town Militia.
Anyway, after leaving Maine and fighting terrible Boston traffic (when is the traffic in Boston ever good?), we got to Scituate and headed out on the rock jetty. The wind was howling hard enough that the flag was fully on display. I had to hold my tripod to make sure camera didn't fall over.
Denali Drive-By
Trying to shoot images from a moving bus or car can be quite a challenge. This is especially true when you are on a tour and can't control when and where you stop. This was true when I shot this image from a bus tour of Denali National Park in Alaska. It was a dreary day when we ventured into the park. After spending a good part of the day there, we headed back to the hotel when the weather started to clear. I wanted to get at least a little blue sky and sunlight before we left.
The challenges of doing this from a moving vehicle are three-fold. First, the landscape is moving quickly by and I can't tell you how many shots I took that had either blurry trees or one big tree right in a particularly bad place. Second, shooting through a vehicle's window invariably adds reflections of the inside of the vehicle to the image. Lastly, when there is a good shot on the other side of the vehicle there always seems to be someone in the way.
There are some techniques that help minimize these challenges. Shoot in burst mode holding the shutter button down. Yes that will result in a ton of bad images, but there will be a small number (like this one) that come out good. Yes, you will be deleting a ton of bad images but at least you got one. Second, to reduce reflections, hold the lens so that it is flush with the window, which eliminates the reflection. This sometimes works but it may not result in a great composition. The alternative is to watch for the reflections in the viewfinder to minimize them enough that you can fix in post-production. A great solution is to use a product that I use, Lens Skirt (unfortunately I didn't have this when I shot this image) that is perfect for eliminating reflections. Finally, when the subject is on the other side of the vehicle and there is no way to shoot it, relax because getting frustrated is not going to get you the shot (easier said than done).
If you have any other advice for shooting from moving vehicles, post them in the comments.
Anchorage Reflections
Whenever I visit a new city, I make it a point to try to get out early to shoot before the city wakes up for business. This is a ritual that I try to do whenever I travel. On this morning, I was in Anchorage, Alaska for one night waiting for a bus to take us to McKinley Lodge. We had arrived the afternoon before from Connecticut and after a dinner at Humpys (featured on Man vs. Food, highly recommended and no, I didn't try the Kodiak Arrest challenge) hit the bed early. I woke up before dawn and headed out onto the streets of Anchorage.
The morning was glorious and the streets were deserted. The sun provided for some of the best reflections that I had seen in quite a while. This image is one of my favorites although I have a number that I really like.
Amsterdam Transportation
When we visit Europe, we are always careful to watch where we are walking as the traffic in European cities can be treacherous for pedestrians. This usually keeps us on the lookout for speeding cars but we were a little unprepared to watch out for Amsterdam's bike traffic. I have never been in a city so dominated by bicycles. Not only are there bike lanes on all of Amsterdam's streets, they also have their own traffic signals. For someone like me who worked in New York City and Philadelphia, when I see a light turn red, I think it is okay to cross. In Amsterdam, when the light changes red, it is for the cars only and the bikes still can proceed. I almost got run over several times (all my fault) until I got used to the ebb and flow of the bikes. This image is indicative of almost every street, lined with bikes everywhere. I wonder how they find their own bikes.
Key West Sunset
Last week we returned from our first visit to Key West. Talk about a relaxing time. We timed it perfectly as we missed the winter storm that dropped up to 3 feet of snow in Connecticut. We spent four nights there before heading back to Fort Lauderdale. The first day, we had driven to Key West from Fort Lauderdale and stopped at the Key Largo Conch House that was featured on the Food Network show, Man vs. Food. Everything was great and the featured conch fritters were awesome.
I wanted to get a few photos of the famed Key West sunset and the best place to take them is at the popular Mallory Square. When we got there, the square was packed (I can't imagine what it is like during busy season). I wasn't able to get a great spot to capture the sunset but thanks to my little Sony NEX7, I was able to shoot over the tops of people heads and the railing. This was my favorite image of the night as the sun went behind the clouds before it hit the horizon.
Sense of Scale
I love shooting landscapes and while I love the colors of the American Southwest, in my heart I am a mountain guy. My favorite mountains to visit is the Rocky Mountain range. The range is massive, stretching over 3,000 miles from British Columbia to New Mexico. The Rockies are home to 9 national parks and countless other state or provincial parks. They form the backbone of the Continental Divide in North America. The mountains are known for their ruggedness and attract tourists for outdoor activities such as hiking, skiing, fishing, snowboarding and mountain climbing (the highest peak tops 14,400 feet).
Wherever you go in the Rockies, you feel insignificant with the mountains towering all around you. I had this feeling when I captured this image. The location is the remote and gorgeous Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta. I really felt this sense of scale when composing the Prince of Wales Hotel. It looks like a small little place (it isn't) when compared to the mountain behind it.
Early Fall Drive By
Last week we returned from our too short of a stay in Key West to the Connecticut cold. In our absence, a huge winter storm dumped about 2-3 feet in New England. I guess you might say that we timed our trip perfectly. The only good thing about going back home is that winter only has a little more than a month to go. I thought I would post an image that I took this past fall of a farm that is about 15 minutes from my home. While the foliage was not at its peak, I really liked the color contrast and reflection of the barn.
Deserted Streets
I have posted numerous photos from one my favorite places in Europe -- Kotor, Montenegro. A major attraction of Montenegro is sailing the 15 miles from the Adriatic Sea through the Bay of Kotor and reaching the town of Kotor. The huge bay is surrounded on all sides by towering mountains that dwarf the towns and boats on the bay. We spent most of the day on a tour boat that took us onto the bay, visiting Our Lady of the Rocks (a church on a small island in the middle of the bay) and neighboring towns. When we returned to our cruise ship, we decided to head into Kotor. Kotor is surrounded by an impressive city wall built by the Republic of Venice. Venetian influence can be seen in the city's architecture. As there are only about 5,400 people living in Kotor, the streets were pretty deserted as we walked the town, giving me an opportunity to take photos without having to deal with crowds.
Golden
This image is another one that I decided to re-edit as part of my transition to my new site. Although I had been to San Francisco a number of times, I had never been to this side of the Golden Gate Bridge before. I took this image toward the end of our trip, which started in Yosemite followed by King's Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. After that, we headed down to Morro Bay and spent the rest of the trip driving and staying at different spots along the coast. We hit San Francisco and I had found out that the best perspective from the south side of the bridge was from Baker Beach. We headed there late in the day and arrived in the fading light. My wife, who is not a fan of sand, watched as I set up and took this shot. Her only comment to me was, "That is the most sand I ever had in my shoes."
Wall Peelings
Every winter, I try to escape the cold and head somewhere warm. We landed in Florida yesterday afternoon and plan to spend some time in Fort Lauderdale before we head to the Everglades and Key West. I will still be posting unless I have internet accessibility issues.
Today's image is from Philadelphia's Graffiti Underground located on an abandoned loading pier jutting out into the Delaware River. The underground is a favorite spot for paintballers and graffiti artists (as well as urbex photographers). While there are so many opportunities to shoot unusual compositions, I was really taken with this "wall covering" that had peeled away from the wall. The textures and lines in the covering led my eye toward the terrific vanishing point made by the column openings.
Golden Reflections
When my website was infected with malware earlier this month, I transitioned to a new website. One of the tasks that I needed to do was to export my previously published posts and import them to Squarespace. As part of going live, I had a chance to review my images and realized that there were a few that I really wanted to re-edit as my processing skills have improved since I initially edited them. This is the first image that I have re-edited.
This image was taken on a Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk a few years ago. Photo walks are a terrific way to meet new people and spend a morning walking around a location taking photos. The year I participated, about 30 photographers were set loose in downtown Hartford and took photos of everything they could find. This reflection on Hartford's Gold Building caught my eye and it turned out to be my favorite of the day.
Ten Centuries and Going Strong
Taos Pueblo is truly a testament to the culture and history of the Pueblo people. The Pueblo is approximately 1,000 years old and is located on a reservation of 95,000 acres. The Pueblo today appears much as it did when the first Spanish explorers arrived in New Mexico in 1540. There are approximately 150 people living at the Pueblo and do so with no running water and electricity. The residents are artisans who produce and sell traditionally handcrafted wares, such as pottery and silver jewelry. They are friendly and willing to tell you about their culture, art and way of life.
This image is of the Pueblo's most prominent architectural feature - a multi-storied residential complex built with reddish-brown adobe. The buildings are amazing for their age considering that they are 1,000 years old and are still occupied.