Tag: snow

Wednesday Window – pt 18

The recent snowfall inspired reflections on nature’s resilience, highlighting a past photograph of a mill in Northbridge, Massachusetts, overtaken by vegetation.

My inspiration for this week is the snowfall that we had over the past weekend. Even though it was just a couple of inches, it made for a tricky driveway clean up, as it was wet and heavy snow. In my search for some more snow-inspired images, I went back to a number of New England mills that I photographed over the years.

In 2009, I came across this during a February day…

Frosted Mills

This detail from one the buildings in Northbridge, Massachusetts, just caught my eye with its takeover by Nature in multiple ways. Vegetation knows how to take over any area that is not tended by us, humans. It leads the unstoppable advance that will take place no matter what.

Let’s embrace Nature and nurture her, as she inevitably embraces us.

This is my mid-week contribution to the Monday Window thread, a creation of Ludwig Keck. To read more about Ludwig, check this page.

Sunday Serenity

The recent snowfall inspired a reflection on Doane’s Falls, a series of five waterfalls in Royalston, Massachusetts, along Lawrence Brook.

Getting snow over the past couple of days has reminded me of how wonderful it can look. I went through some of my photos that have snow in them and found an interesting one from 2016.

This was an interesting little waterfall that I found…

Doane’s Falls

Doane’s Falls is a series of five waterfalls along a 0.2 mile section of Lawrence Brook. They are located in Royalston, Massachusetts, and Lawrence Brook feeds into the Millers River.

The falls are named after Amos Doane, who operated a door, sash and blind mill on Lawrence Brook. Only the foundations of the mill remain nowadays.

It is a great place for hiking and exploring. Just be aware that swimming, wading and diving are prohibited, as a result of a series of injuries and deaths.

Snowy Saturday

A nostalgic reflection on a 2009 photo from Riverdale, Massachusetts featuring historic mill buildings and the waterfall next to it.

Yes, folks! It snowed here in springtime New England. Several inches of that heavy, sloppy snow that is so much fun to clear from one’s driveway! Spring is here, but April will surprise us from time to time.

Therefore, I’m going back to another snowy day…

Riverdale Falls

This shot from 2009 was taken in Riverdale, Massachusetts. There are some wonderful old mill buildings in this area and the little waterfall made for a nice scene. Water provided power to a lot of mill buildings, which is why there will be some found near just about every good size stream. In some cases, there are still existing power canals, through which rivers were rerouted to drive the engines in the building.

Hope you’re staying warm and cozy, wherever you may be!

Will Spring Appear Soon?

A visit to Bear’s Den Falls in New Salem, Massachusetts, seeking to capture its snowy beauty after recent snowfall.

As we’re getting to the tail end of Winter, I took a drive out to New Salem, Massachusetts. I had the goal to explore what Bear’s Den Falls looked like in the snow, as we had a good bit of snow over the past week, and the sun was out! I also took into account that we had some warmer days, and was hoping for a bit of volume.

This is what I found…

Bear’s Den in Winter

As you can see, the falls are still ice and snow covered, which reduces their effect in a photo. Also, there was still a lot of debris from the high winds that went through the treetops over the past week.

I will definitely want to return to find something closer to this…

Bear’s Den Summer

There will be more opportunities in the months ahead!

Regardless, it was a nice day to go for a drive and hike the ice and snow to see Bear’s Den. And in my explorations, I did find another photo opportunity.

I will post that one in a little while!

A Snowy Sunday Continuation

A bit of experimentation with aspect ratios at Tower Hill Botanic Garden. A lovely cherub in a snowy landscape with a 4:3 ratio.

I hope you’ll forgive me for a brief hiatus from the series of posts about infrared photography with this week’s bit of experimentation. This past Sunday I was looking for a location to try out some slightly different techniques. As it was a lovely day with temperatures peaking above freezing, I went to Tower Hill Botanic Garden. This is always a great location to stimulate the visual senses!

Here’s one of the images that I captured during this outing…

A Chilly Cherub

This little cherub and his hen look rather cold in the lovely, snowy landscape of the botanic garden. With the amazing light of this Sunday, he came across rather crisply.

Now, some of you may wonder what the experimental aspect was in all this. The answer is that I spent some time shooting with different aspect rations from the standard 3:2 for 35mm format. The cherub image was captured using a 4:3 aspect ration. Additionally, I took a number of shots with a 65:24 aspect ratio.

You may have noticed that the banner on my blog has received an update. That is one of the images that was shot at 65:24.

I really enjoyed experimenting in this fashion. You can expect to see more in the future, as I get ready for Egypt.

Another Snowy Sunday

A snowy day from January 2015, traversing the shores of northern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.

As I’m trying to decide whether to clean our driveway now or later, I can’t help but think back to another snowy time. This goes back just over 10 years ago in January of 2015. After several days of tremendous snowfall, a number of us went out to photograph along the northern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire beaches. As it was nice and quiet, it was a tremendous day for photography.

Here’s another one from that day…

Snowy Shoreline

There’s something rather soothing about a quiet day in the snow. Listening to the wind intone its notes. The soft crunch of stepping into pristine snow. It’s a kind of magic that I really enjoy.

Now, to make some noise with the snow thrower! Hope you’re having a great day.

Snowy Sunday

A snowy day is a perfect moment for Cashew, our Siberian Forest Cat. A short bit of play in the snow for this mighty hunter!

I think I mentioned on this past iPhone Friday about which one is the best camera… Another part of the photography equation is the opportunity presented by the moment, which today demonstrated beautifully. Overnight we had a lovely bit of snowfall. After clearing our driveway, I came inside and let the dogs out into the backyard, as they love playing in the snow.

Of course, that meant that one of our cats, Cashew, was rather dissatisfied. He let me know by making his snow noises, which are interesting vocalizations of excitement and displeasure at the same time.

So this happened…

The Mighty Hunter

Cashew loves the snow; he is a Siberian Forest Cat, after all, and he knows his preferred environment. He actually paws at the snow to see if there is any possible snack and is ready to pounce!

I let him have his fun for a little while, before picking him up and bringing him back inside. As we do have larger carnivores in our area, it is not safe for even a Siberian to be outside for too long.

iPhone Friday

Winter morning with the ‘Yoga Tree’. Enjoy the moments before the big snowstorm…

As I was looking through my smartphone shots, I thought it might be interesting to select an oldie! Then I remembered that it was 10 years ago that we had a week of phenomenal snowfall. It was epic and I got some rather cool (literally) photos out of that storm.

For this one, let’s visit an old friend…

Winter Morning

Yes, we welcome back the ‘Yoga Tree’ in one of her majestic poses! On this morning, about a day before the big storm rolled in, I managed to get one of those lovely winter mornings. As the sun highlights the tree, and tank, we get a moment of stillness before the storm.

Snowy Sunday Serenity

The tranquil beauty of snow-covered landscapes, with an image of the Oakdale Power Station on the Quinapoxet.

One of the aspect of Winter that I really enjoy is the quiet that exists in snow-covered landscapes. There is something magical about snow’s ability to muffle the noises that surround us. Today’s capture focuses on that and hopes to give a sense of that serenity.

Here’s a view from above…

Clean Power

This view is of the Oakdale Power Station by the Quinapoxet river in West Boylston. As part of the water transfer operations between the Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs, this station generates hydroelectric energy. The water transfer operations occur for 6-10 months of the year, as part of the water supply chain in this area.

This shot was captured with a DJI Mavic 3 on a chilly Saturday.

As Winter Moves In

New England’s winter approaches with the photographic opportunities that it provides. An example is this March 2019 shot of Portland Head at sunrise.

Here in New England it is beginning to feel more like winter, as temperatures have dropped by a good margin over the past week and the forecast looks chilly! There won’t be any complaint about it from me, as it is a season that I enjoy with the photographic opportunities that it provides.

You’ve seen some of those captures (Wednesday’s Wintry Wonder) and I think that part of what attracts me to photographing during winter is the sense of solitude that a cold frozen landscape provides. The landscape almost becomes otherworldly in its expression of the environment around us.

Portland Head Sunrise

This image was a late winter shot, as it is from March 7, 2019, but there is not a single hint of springtime weather yet; I still remember the bitter cold of this morning as there was a good breeze and temperatures were well below freezing. This shot was taken at 6 am as part of a series of exposures to try and capture the ever-changing light around dawn.

With the light still in the blue hour period, the snow and lighthouse show the cold while a bit of hope is on the horizon as the sun’s light is beginning to warm up the day.