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Lupine & Waterfall Workshop Wrapup

The second week of June is a great time to be in the north country. The weather is unpredictable so the clouds and mountains work in harmony to create incredible vistas. Then to add to all of this beauty add in the flowering of the lupines. The blues, whites, pinks and purples are an inspiring palette for the landscape photographer. The spring run-off waterfalls create wonderful flowing lines when taken with a slow shutter speed thus our workshop focused on all of these elements which made for some great images made by our participants.

lupines & Tree
Lupines surround an old tree in Sugar Hill NH.
Lupines and clouds
Young lupines wait for the next cloud burst.

We had participants from all over New England and what a great group it was! This year the lupines were slow in coming up but by the time we left they were really starting to come up. We stayed at the Inn at Sunset Hill and were overwhelmed by the location and the Inn itself. It is an Inn in the Old New England style and it was a pleasure to stay there. The vistas that greeted us every morning it was not raining were unmatched and we could not have found a better place to stay for our workshop.

Cannon Mt. sunset
The sunset billows over onto Cannon Mt. in Franconia Notch.

We had plenty of rain on day one which kept us away from the lupines until sunset. The image above was made from Sunset Hill in Sugar Hill, NH. as the blazing sunset behind us spilled over onto Cannon Mt. and the clouds above it. The first day gave us the opportunity to photograph some waterfalls down Rt. 93 at the Basin. The light was subdued and it really added to the wet experience.

Waterfall at the Basin
This waterfall is near the Basin in Franconia Notch.
Pemigewasset River
The Pemigewasset River running by the Basin in NH.

On our last day we experienced a huge field of mature lupines that took our breath away. Everyone was busy finding compositions among the huge selection by Pearl Lake in Sugar Hill.

Lupines Sugar Hill
Lupines across from Pearl Lake in Sugar Hill, NH

Overall we had a great time even though it was like photo boot camp at times. Below is a video with Dave and I talking about the weekend.

 

Porch Rocker

 

porch rocker
Wicker rocking chairs wait to be used at the Sandy Bay Yacht Club. (Leica M-P 240 w/Leica 35mm Summicron ISO 200 1/250s @ f8)

One of my favorite things to do in the spring and fall is to take early morning walks with just my Leica and the 35mm Summicron. The “35” is such a versatile lens and can do everything except take telephoto type shots. For me it has such a comfortable feel to it and when I want to just grab a camera and go, this is the setup I go for.

In the image above the light was just incredible early in the morning and the sky was a lovely blue color and with the yellow of the rocking chairs it just pulled me right in. I knew this was going to be a beautiful B&W right away. When I converted it I used the Adobe 7 B&W profile and changed some of the colors in the mixer to give it the 3D feeling I wanted. I darkened the blue channel and lightened the yellow channel which enhanced the image.

I encourage you all to go out and use one lens not a zoom lens. Move your feet to zoom, you will find you start to understand how your subject needs to be photographed. Something that the zoom can sometimes miss.

In story telling terms what does this image say. To me it says summer is beginning and the summer rockers are out and waiting to be used. But questions come to mind as well. Who uses these rockers? How many folks have used these rockers over the years and are no longer with us?  The best thing about this image is that it gives us pause to ask these questions.

Wet Feet

 

wave wash
Waves wash over rocks along the back shore of Gloucester, MA. Fujinon 10-24 (.3 s @ f14 ISO 100)

Running photo tours along the seacoast can be tricky at times. I am constantly warning participants about the dangers of getting to close to the water as waves can pull you in. The other day I was out shooting in one of my favorite spots which I know quite well but can be dangerous if one is not paying attention. It was well after high tide but the waves were still rolling in as the tide went out. I thought I was well out of the way of any incoming waves and had placed my camera and tripod in a spot down low to catch waves slowly coming in over a rock in front of me. I should have known the best shot would be the one where the wave comes in over the rock and soaks me up to my ankles. A rogue wave came in and blasted over the rock in front of me and got me real good but left the camera dry. Now if I had my “Wellies” on, as the Brits would say, this would not have been a problem. This brings up one of my maxims of shooting water, if you’re not in the water your images will not have any impact. So next time I will remember to bring my boots!