Ridiculously Beautiful II

More pictures from yesterday in Central Massachusetts. Ridiculously beautiful II.

1. Nashua River floodplain
2. Ashby Common church
   
3. New Salem Common
4. Leominster State Forest
5. Fitchburg Common with flags
   

Ridiculously Beautiful

Finally, a great snow day. The plan was to go out MA Route 2, shoot around the Green Mountains in VT, and return through southern NH. Whoever makes these plans (me) must think I have wings! I started heading west at sunrise in North-central MA, hit several state forests and picturesque towns, and went through some of southern NH. Still heading west. By 3:30 it was time to make a decision - cross the border to Vermont, shoot until sunset and drive for hours in the dark, or head toward home and catch sunset on the way.

So I wandered south and east, shot some snowmobilers and a covered bridge in golden light, caught sunset in New Salem and dusk in Templeton, and arrived home before the kitties starved to death. Such a satisfying, ridiculously beautiful, day.

Willard Brook State Forest in Townsend, MA
Shot: 587. Kept: 125

It's still winter, right?

In New England, we expect January and February to be deep winter. Soft fluffy snow covering the countryside and jamming up the city. Here's a shot from earlier this week, when I headed out to Concord, MA. When I got there, I decided to picture the flooding on the Concord River, and soon a noise interrupted my concentration. It was the brash song of a Red-winged blackbird. Red-wings are one of the first harbingers of spring, a sure sign that we've survived another winter. Since the river wasn't interesting, I decided to go to the nearby Great Meadows NWR and see if I could get some Red-wing pix. Here he is!

Shot: 104. Kept: 16.

Let it SNOW!!!

This year's snow-drought is driving me crazy. I'm shooting on snow days, trying to get beautiful white, but coming home with very little I can use. Why the pressure to get snow everywhere in New England?

A number of my customers are calendar publishers. Calendar pictures aren't realistic, they're idealistic. Calendars never have mud season. It almost never rains in calendars. It goes from fluffy snow to full-bloom spring to summer sunshine to glorious foliage. Easy in summer. Not too bad in autumn. But difficult in winter.

Tour guides and travel publications are similar. They don't want to see November's bare trees or April's still-brown grass or January's dirty snow banks. So getting out in prime weather is important. For a New England photographer, the best winter situation would be 3-4 inches of fluffy snow twice a week, with no wind or melting.

Obviously it doesn't happen like this. This week's forecast was so exciting: SNOW in the North country! But while Vermont got dumped with feet of snow, the roads between me and Vermont were rainy, icy, snowy, slushy, too dangerous to travel without an emergency. Then it rained. So I'm still waiting for my beautiful North-country snow-fall. Maybe Sunday. Maybe Monday.

Welcome!

The instructions say, "Start blogging". Good grief! Start blogging? I'm feeling ancient, and blogging is something kids do! You know, those thirty-somethings. Seems so very self-involved, and who would want to read this stuff anyway?

But my life is fun, and I like what I do, and people seem to like my photography, so here goes.

Welcome to my blog! The plan is to record my photography sessions, where I go and why. What I shoot and how. And maybe some Lightroom and Photoshop tips. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope to hear from you. Send me a comment!