Good Morning, Spring!

This is the first morning we three watched the sunrise on the deck. The air is rich with the babble of songbirds, once a monotone of chickadees but now a full symphony to spring.

I had intended to photograph the Arnold Arboretum this morning. Last night's visions of bare branches rising ghostly from the spring fog gave way to visions of sugarplums during a night with many wakings. So when Maya the cat marched around on my pillow at 5:00, I barely stopped snoring long enough to tell her, "More night-night".

By 6:00, it was too late for ghostly fog, so we (I) brought two heated kitty beds outside with my coffee and enjoyed the music. The sun rose orange in a peach-and-aqua sky.

It's such a luxury just watching the dawn without shooting it. Almost immediately, someone turned off the symphony. Sun's up. Time to get to work. 

But first, here's a photo from yesterday's sunrise rainbow. A breathtaking sight that had me running for a good position. Enjoy!

The End of Winter

Winter is over. It paid us a farewell visit yesterday, on April Fool's day, but this morning my backyard park is full of kids playing soccer and the trees are busy pushing out buds again. Soon I'll be searching for hepatica and arbutus at the wildflower garden. But right now, I'm wondering where winter went and why I don't feel like I got enough photos.

Christmas in Boston

I spent most of December in Boston, doing winter and Christmas shots. There were a few more shots I wanted to get, but I saved them for days when I couldn't get out of town.  December always seems to get eaten up by the holidays, but it's not really winter anyway, right? Oh well, next year.

In January, I took some short trips. I spent a few hours on the Cape, but the fresh snow melted so I went home before noon. I spent a day on the North Shore (of MA) and did a quick day-trip to Vermont, but mostly I went to Maine and vegged out.

Pemaquid Sunset

Then I spent three weeks mostly in Maine. I did get some shots I've wanted for ages - Acadia National Park, Pemaquid and Nubble Lighthouses at sunset, Camden at sunrise, and a trip to the Rangeley area. So I guess I can check off Maine.

In late February, I took another quickie trip to Vermont. Are you kidding? A quick trip from Boston to Vermont? Sure, I CAN do it, but why? Woodstock by sunrise, drive around frenetically looking for tripod holes, home in time to feed the starving feline crowd and crash. Really need to stop doing impossible day-trips (no, I didn't stop - read March)

St Paddys Day parade in CT

Then came March. Catch-up time. I spent several days in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and got some lovely mountain pix.  Suddenly it was mid-March and I realized that winter was ending! So of course, I went crazy and tried to cover all of New England in a week.

Literally.

Spring lambs in RI

• 3/12: Hartford CT Saint Paddy's Day parade. Essex, CT River eagle fest (no eagles left, of course)
• 3/13: Lincoln, MA - Drumlin Farm for maple sap and baby farm animals, and Great Meadows NWR for ???? - Well, just because I was there.
• 3/14: Bristol, RI - Blithewold for crocuses, Colt SP for spring lambs. Winter ducks at Sachuest Pt. Planned to go to the Roger Williams zoo, but rained out.
• 3/15: Vermont - Woodstock, Killington, Rt 7 along the Green Mtns, Williston, Waterbury. I bagged all 5 mountains over 5000 ft. See it here
• 3/16: Boston: the Flower Show. See it here



Supermoon at Scituate LH

• 3/17: Mason, NH: Parker's Maple Barn. Did a photo essay on maple sugaring. See it here
• 3/18: York, Maine - shot the sunset/moonrise at Nubble Light.
• 3/19: Scituate, MA - shot the full SUPERMOON at Scituate Light.
• 3/20: Crashed, burned, and hardly moved for a week. Sure, there were a couple of beach sunrises and some birds, but nothing big.
• 3/27: Maine Maple Sunday! See it here.

So here it is, April already. I ride a stationary bike most mornings, and today I spent my ride studying the normal bloom times of wildflowers. Believe it or not, the wildflowers are scheduled to start within a week. I wonder if they know? Certainly the Vermont wildflowers have no idea, but maybe you'll find me somewhere in Massachusetts, crawling around in the woods, trying to get that quintessential shot of a Spring Beauty soon.

Spring beauty

Blue Ice

I've spent the afternoon playing with blue ice. Not the real stuff, way too cold, but a picture of frozen salt water in Downeast Maine.  I liked the patterns in the ice, and I liked the blueness in the photo I took, but wanted to see what else could be done with it.

I was thinking about the work of a facebook friend, Stoney Stone, while I shot the ice. "How would Stoney frame it?"  One of the great benefits of being part of a group of photographers is that you get to learn from everyone, experts and newbies too. The influence of other people challenges me, surprises me, and broadens my imagination.

Stoney messaged me with some advice, which gave me a starting point. So I'll show you the road he took me down, and you can decide if you like the results. To some, it will be like looking at all the "white" paint chips in the big hardware store. I thought it was interesting enough to share.

Here's the original picture in Adobe Lightroom, with my white balance set on Auto.  I really like the patches of color created by the light and shadow, and the warm reflections at the top where the ice was shiny. But it's too blue!

On Stoney's suggestion, I processed it in Photoshop :
   Image -
   Adjustments -
   Hue/Saturation -

Decreased the Blue until it looked slightly blue but not neon. The ice has a much more delicate look.

Then I tried playing with the original in Lightroom. Decreased the blue, increased the red and orange. Not bad.

Next I took the original picture and changed the white balance to shade, which corrects for the blue hue. It looks more blue here than it does in Lightroom, but you can still see the difference.

Finally, I took the picture with the corrected white balance and processed it with Photomatix Pro, which is HDR software. I couldn't do real HDR processing because I hadn't shot bracketed photos. But part of the HDR processing is a thing called Tone Mapping which brings out the details in both shadows and highlights.  These colors are much closer to what I saw this morning, and that warm reflection really shows up. 

I'm not sure I'm done playing with this image yet, but I really like what I've done so far and I really like what I've learned. And I really like the fact that there's always someone to ask for advice when I need it.  Thanks, Stoney!

By the way, you can visit Stoney at

• http://www.stoneystonephoto.com

Light at Nubble Light

After last week's blizzard, I went to Maine to capture the Nubble. The prospect of getting beautiful snow pictures was really exciting - I love winter!  So I arrived before sunrise and shot the changing light. It was a totally cloudless day, not the best for photography, but I like the pictures I got. There was snow on the ground and the light was really clear.

Then I wandered up the coast a way, eventually making it to Kennebunk, and wandered back. It was a challenging day for photos. The clear, crisp air and full sun created very contrasty conditions. Since cameras can't capture both sunlit snow and deep shadow, I ended up post-processing most of my images in Adobe Lightroom to control the contrast. Most of the shots I kept were taken with the sun behind me - what photographers call "flat, frontal lighting". 

Most photos look better when the sun is on the right or left of the subject. These angles create attractive shadows which show the shape of the subject and give a feeling of depth. I like shooting into the sun for special atmospheric effects like fog and God rays. And I love shooting in rain, snow, and even cloudy days. But direct sunshine? Not so much!

Despite the stark light, I did manage to get some calendar shots out of the trip.

Antique shop in Wells

Perkins Cove in Ogunquit

Laudholm Farm in Wells

Capt Lord Mansion in Kennebunkport

I arrived back at Cape Neddick about 30 minutes before sunset and looked around for a variety of views. This is the lobster trap Christmas tree at Fox's Lobster. Yes, I did Photoshop out some phone wires here.

 

My goal for the day was to capture the Christmas decorations at Nubble Light. So I walked around the tiny park that overlooks it. There's not much chance of getting any really new views without a boat, but I did find a spot where the power lines didn't show, and a few variations with rocks in the foreground, and I managed to not fall into the ocean.

 

The sun was close to the horizon and the light was a warm peach tone as I waited for the Christmas lights to come on.

... And waited,

... And waited.

... And finally realized that there would not be Christmas lights tonight, not even the lighthouse beacon. The blizzard had caused power outages on the coast, and I had found one.  No lights at all!

The day was not a complete loss. While I was waiting, I had taken some lovely images of the Nubble at dusk. And, after it got dark, another photographer introduced himself and we chatted for a while. Lighthouse images and a new friend - not a bad day!

Don't feel too bad for me - here's last year's image!




See more of my new work in my gallery on Photoshelter.

Happy New Year

The holiday season is fast approaching its end, highlighted on New Years Eve by First Night Boston. I know there are other First Night celebrations, but this is mine and I love it. I used to work for First Night Boston, until I was replaced by a platoon of volunteers with digital cameras. Now that's progress!

Anyway, I brought out a couple of old pictures to share with you. Back in the day, I actually did do portraits and concerts and happy people celebrating. There are so many opportunities to try different things at a day-long event like this, it's really fun. First nights are alcohol-free, with family events during the day and cultural events at night.

Boston's New Years Eve celebration has two fireworks launches - one around 7:00 and the second at midnight. For early-birding party-poopers like me, that's terrific. The early "Family fireworks" happen at the Boston Common. You can shoot them with ice sculptures, outdoor entertainment, and the ice skating rink. It's an unusual opportunity to shoot fireworks with a foreground.  The midnight fireworks are launched from Boston Harbor, so you need to be in East Boston to get a good view of fireworks over the city skyline.

This picture shows last night's fireworks over the Frog Pond skating rink and some of the million spectators who cheered them on.

Of course, many New Years Eve events offer opportunities other than fireworks. Like ice sculptures. I am in awe of the artists who carve these short-lived creations.  To take a block of ice, carve it with chainsaws, blow-torches, ice picks, and whatever, and then simply let it melt away would drive me crazy. I would want more permanence. But the ice sculptors work their medium to its best advantage, and the finished product is lovely to photograph. My camera's automatic exposure works quite well on ice sculptures. The ice picks up the colors in the lights around it and shows the textures beautifully. The worst problem is getting close enough to the displays to photograph them!

A couple of years ago, there was snow in the air on New Years Eve. The snow picked up the light and made Boston Common look magical. The lights twinkled, the air was filled with gold, and the fireworks were almost anti-climactic. I don't like crowds, but I love First night.

Wreaths

Here it is, the 24th already. The shopping is done, the cookies are baked, and I'm enjoying treasured time with family. Trouble is, we're spread out all over the United States and not able to be together for Christmas. Every time I open a Holiday greeting, I try to spend a moment thinking of the person who sent it. A college friend. A little sister. A new facebook friend. It's not about the shopping, the baking, the gifts. It's about the human connections. It's about warmth in the coldest of seasons. It's about the light of a new year.

Thank you for warming and lighting my life this year. I wish you the closeness of family and friends, the excitement of new beginnings, and maybe a moment of peace. Merry Christmas, happy Holidays, and a bright New Year.

Capturing Christmas Lights

Holiday photos take various forms. Since I live in a city, I have many opportunities to catch some great sparkle. Store windows, downtown streets, and glowing trees are all signs of the coming holiday. 

Doors and windows are all glitzed up, and offer opportunities to capture wreaths, swags, and lights.  When photographing them, I try to avoid shooting into other people's windows, because I know I wouldn't like to find a photographer on my doorstep! In this photo, I intentionally included a delivery tag - it says the gifts are on the way.  Sometimes you can capture reflections in the windows or even a door-knocker which shows some of the neighborhood.

There are many ways to capture holiday lights. The image on the left was shot on a dry night. The picture is almost monotone, with white lights silhouetted against a black sky.  The photo on the right was taken at dusk - my favorite time to shoot.The lighter sky gives a less-contrasty image, and I prefer the additional color and detail in this shot. Trouble is, dusk doesn't last for long.  I try to plan to shoot in the afternoon through dusk and into the night to get a variety of looks. Many cities leave their lights on all night, so I shoot them at sunrise, too.

Here's another dusk shot - Quincy Market all lit up. There was snow in the air, which picked up the light and made everything look beautiful. Light snow or mist creates magical effects in a picture. You have to be careful to keep the camera dry, and sometimes I feel like a circus act juggling tripod, camera, umbrella, and wiping cloth. A lens hood helps keep the glass dry. I carry extra plastic bags and absorbent cloths to deal with the moisture.

I find that my camera does a very good job of metering holiday lights. Sometimes I add +1ev of light to the recommended exposure, but the camera gets it close enough that I can do any touch-up easily in Adobe Lightroom.

Where do I look for Christmas lights? Public parks like Boston Common; commercial areas like Quincy Market and the Prudential Center; tourist attractions like Strawberry Banke. The picture above is from Salve Regina University in Newport, RI. Of course, the Newport mansions also shine in December. Look below for a list of holiday events in New England.

Lights are the Christmas bling. But Christmas is not all bling, and there are many opportunities for pictures of  Christmas unplugged. Country stores are decorated, as are lighthouses, covered bridges, museums, houses, and inns. Restaurants also have unusual displays.

Even the tiniest of towns use lights to decorate. This is a town bandstand in Maine. They put up icicle lights and a few wreaths and create magic. I like this image because the traditional homes behind the bandstand look like a village and are warmed with light, too. Yet there's nothing outrageous here, just a few lights and a holiday tradition.

A sampling of Christmas events:

Nantucket Noel

Marblehead, MA Christmas Walk

Festival of Lights – Wickford, RI
Holiday Light Parade - Presque Isle, ME
Christmas in Salem, MA House Tours
Christmas By The Sea - Camden, ME
Village Holidays - Bar Harbor, ME
Bowen's Wharf Christmas Tree Lighting - Newport, RI
Sparkle Weekend - Freeport, ME
Main Street Stockbridge at Christmas, MA 
Holiday Tree Lighting and Illuminated Parade – Portsmouth, NH
Harbor Lights Festival - Boothbay, ME
Festival of Lights - York, ME
New London, CT Celebration of Lights and Song Around the World
Woodstock, VT Wassail Weekend
Newburyport, MA Holiday House tour 

If you've missed the actual tree-lighting celebration, don't worry. Decorations will be up, lights will be lit, and the throngs will have gone home long after the day of the actual event. It's much easier to get good pictures without a crowd.

Holiday Events websites:

Visit New England - there are tabs for the states and a searchable list of upcoming events.

Internet searches:

A simple internet search like "NH Christmas Events" will yield a long list of holiday activities. Most of them happen during the first two weekends of December, so you'll need to prioritize.

Look for events in the major cities near you. There's plenty in Boston to keep me busy, and also great events in Springfield, Portland, and Newport.

Within the cities, search for large malls and tourist attractions. In Boston, that would be Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Prudential Center, Boston Common, and even some of the neighborhoods like Beacon Hill. 

Outside the city, many towns have holiday celebrations like the Marblehead Christmas Walk, Chatham Christmas Stroll, or the Scituate North Pole Express.

And don't overlook your own town. Many towns decorate their village greens, and individual businesses and homes may dress up for the holidays. A simple bandstand in fresh snow creates a warm holiday feeling.

Christmas tree farms, craft fairs, and railroad stations may offer interesting holiday activies and great setups for holiday photos.

You can see my photos and buy prints at my online gallery. Check out the Holiday cards!

Susan Cole Kelly Galleries