New England Blogs

Thursday, December 31, 2015

A Look Back At 2015

As we say goodbye to the year 2015 today, I am posting my annual "favorite images of the year" on this blog post.

The Winter of 2015 is one that went down in the record books here in Southern New England, breaking all sorts of snow total records. I managed to get out a few times with my camera and these are my favorite Winter images.



Spring was especially welcomed and appreciated after the Winter we endured.



We lost my dear Mother In Law in May. It was a very sad time for my family, but we were very blessed to have been able to spend some very special family time at her bed side during her last few weeks. We love her and miss her but know she is in a better place.


It's always a pleasure to visit and photograph the newborn wildlife each Spring.



Summer arrived with an Americana image of my son Nick and Ryleigh taken on the 4th of July. xxxooo


A Lotus Flower



Sunset over Boston


Early morning fog on an August morning at May Pond in Barton VT.


The colors of Fall were about two weeks behind this year, but my favorite Season for photography didn't disappoint. Here is the Strafford Meeting House in Straffod VT.


Jacks Brook in Newark VT


A stand of birch trees along Hazen's Notch in Montgomery VT


Morning reflections along Stiles Pond in Waterford VT


Somewhere in East Groton VT


The Milky Way over the Gothic Barn at Windswept Farm in Barton VT


And the final image.....I had to include my favorite subject!


Wishing you and your families a New Year filled with happiness, good health, and peace on Earth.


Tuesday, December 29, 2015

First Snowfall of the Season

We received the very first snowfall of this Winter Season overnight last night into early this morning. We got about an inch here in SE MA, and then it changed to freezing rain, and then just rain. I went out this afternoon during the dreary cold rain, hoping to find something to photograph to document the first snowfall.....but most if it had already washed away.

The wind was stiff and brisk down at the North River in Norwell


The first Winter storm caused only minor splash-over at the beaches in Scituate.


The closest I could find to a "snow scene"


It's always fun and exciting (for me anyway) to see the fist snow fall. Just hoping this Winter is much kinder to us here in Southern New England than last Winter was.



Thursday, December 24, 2015

Oh Holy Night

Oh Holy Night, the stars are brightly shining.......
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth.................................


May your Christmas be filled with wonder and joy.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Red Tail Hawk

Pleeeease.......remind me that I need to bring my camera with me whenever I leave the house. I ALWAYS used to bring my camera, but have been slacking lately. I really learned my lesson today. I was out without my camera and saw this beautiful Red Tail Hawk perched in a tree. I was able to make as many images as I wanted, because this hawk didn't mind me being right there alongside his perch. Nope. I didn't bother him in the least. If ONLY I had the Nikon with me........I would have gotten some pretty amazing images. But alas, (who says alas anyways???????).......I only had my cell phone with me. Sigh.




Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Christmas is coming

Ten days........I can't believe that Christmas is just ten days away. The most wonderful day of the year!!! I'm having fun with the pictures that I took at the Christmas Place in Abington. Here's another one....


Tonight is the annual Christmas Party at my camera club. It's always a fun night.

Monday, December 14, 2015

Let There Be Peace On Earth

Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me........
Let there be peace on earth, the peace that was meant to be

With God as our Father....brothers all are we
Let me walk with my brother....in perfect harmony
Let peace begin with me....let this be the moment now
With every step I take....let this be my solemn vow

To take each moment....and live each moment
With peace eternally.........

Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.



I shot this photo today at "The Christmas Place" on Rte 18 in Abington MA. It is a closeups shot of one of the many "themed" trees that are decorated and displayed throughout the store.

I went to Catholic grammar school, and this song is one of my favorite songs that we used to sing. It has more meaning to me now than it did back in those days.
Praying for Peace in this world.......

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Chistmas and Children

A little Christmas photo I did with Ryleigh. She makes everything better!


xxxooooooooo

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Working The Scene in Barton VT

I have had my eye on this barn located in Barton VT for quite some time. I have wanted to photograph it, but was waiting for the right conditions. When I saw it one morning this Fall, the hill behind the barn was lit up by the sun, and the early morning fog was settled in the low lying area in the forefront. I knew right away that this was the moment I was waiting for.


As a landscape photographer, it's always a good idea to revisit a scene that catches your eye and when you hit it during the right light or atmospheric conditions, it's such a great feeling!



Monday, December 7, 2015

Madame Sheri's Forest

There is a lovely forest with trails located in Chesterfield NH called "Madame Sheri's Forest". Madame Sheri was born in France in 1878 and moved to New York City in 1911. She designed costumes for many of the major Broadway shows. Through my research, I learned that she was a very eccentric woman.
In 1938, she had a Summer Retreat built in the forest of Chesterfield NH. It was called "Madame Sheri's Castle", although it really was not a castle, but rather a retreat home where she would entertain and host parties.It was most noted for the grand spiral staircase that led up to the second floor, and the beautiful stone arches and architecture of the home.
Before her death, the castle had been abandoned and fell into disrepair. On Oct 18, 1962 it was destroyed by fire, leaving only the foundation and the spiral staircase and arches in tact.

I visited this area with two friends in mid October of this year. It was a cloudy dreary day, and it began to shower during our visit. But I was happy to have the opportunity to visit and photograph this site.

The trails leading into the "castle site" are lined with old stone walls.


The staircase and arches are pretty much all this is left of the home.



I hope if you ever find yourself in the SW corner of NH, that you can make the time to visit this site.

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Peggotty Beach Scituate MA

What a gorgeous weekend we are having here in Southern New England. This is December at it's finest around here. We took a ride to Scituate and enjoyed the beautiful weather.


This was processed using Nik software HDR EffexPro 2

I hope you are enjoying your weekend as well. 

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Foggy Day

A very foggy day today here in SE MA

Island Grove in Abngton MA






Sunday, November 29, 2015

A Star Is Born!

A few weeks ago, I was asked to shoot some head shots and body shots for an aspiring actress. Her name is Danielle and she is one of the sweetest, most genuine people that I have ever met.
Danielle has been an "extra" in several movies that have been filmed here in Boston. The most recent move that she has done is "Black Mass"....the movie about Whitey Bulger in which she is shown 5 different times.
Her agent asked for her to get a few head shots and body shots done for a possible role in Ben Afleck's next movie titled "Live By Night." Soon after she sent the pictures, she got a call stating that her "look" is just what they are after. She has already had one very long day of filming where she got to wear an adorable flapper outfit (from the 20's) and she shot a few scenes with Ben Afleck.
Here she is:




Good luck Danielle. The world is yours!!!!!

Monday, November 23, 2015

Fall color this late in the season

Found some very late Fall color along the trail that leads to the ocean at Ellisville Harbor State Park in Plymouth this weekend. I just HAD to stop and photograph it. Love the reds!!!!


Sunday, November 22, 2015

Ellisville Harbor State Park, Plymouth MA

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is just 4 days away. Where has this year gone? Time is passing by way too fast these days. The older I get, the quicker the days are going by.
On another note, yesterday was a beautiful November day here in SE MA. The sky was deep blue, the temperature was chilly, but not too chilly....... That is until you got down to the beach. I went to photograph the seals at Ellisville Harbor SP in Plymouth with some members of my camera club. The wind was really brisk down by the water and it really sent a biting chill to your bones after a while. We arrived late afternoon to some wonderful sunshine that helped to warm us up. But once the sun got lower in the sky the cold feeling really set in.

The reason for this outing was to photograph the harbor seals. However, they were very elusive and we only saw a few of them bobbing up and down in the water. They were pretty difficult to spot. Unfortunately they were too far away for me to get a decent shot with my 300 mm lens. I did get some shots, but I feel they are too soft to share here on the blog.

I went to plan B and found some other things to photograph.

A landscape of the beach:


The early moonrise from up above:


Some friends walking the beach:


A panning shot of the waves:


And finally my very first panoramic image that I have ever done. This is a series of six images stitched together in Lightroom. I was really impressed with how the software was able to line the waves up, I was expecting it to be a mess, as there were a few seconds between each shot that I took, but Lightroom somehow managed to still get them lined up.



I hope you are enjoying your weekend. 

Monday, November 16, 2015

Waterfall

Just a "little" watefall that I  recently took. The lack of rain really shows. Since this photo was taken, we have had some rain, but we are still in need of more rain here in SE MA.


Saturday, November 14, 2015

Praying for Peace

So sad and worried for not only Paris France, but for the entire world. Praying for Peace.


Thursday, November 12, 2015

United Methodist Church, Chelsea VT

As you know, the Fall color this season was spotty and difficult to predict. While it was peak in some areas, it would be early in areas just a few miles away. The hillsides turned before the higher elevations. There was some awesome jaw dropping amazing color to be found.......but where you found it and when you found it really had no rhyme or reason.

Here is the United Methodist Church (The West Hill Church) in Chelsea VT. I wanted to photograph this church surrounded by some nice Fall color, but when we arrived, there was barely any color to be found. But.......a few miles up the road from here we saw some great color. Go figure. I'm still pretty happy with this image that I made of this church. I used what little color I could find to my advantage.


Perhaps another year I will return here to see some more Fall color. I always love the look of an old New England church in the Autumn season.



Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Southwest New Hampshire

This is a 4 second exposure taken with the new wide angle lens (Tamon 11-16 f2.8). You can see Mount Manadnock off in the distance.  This was the first picture I shot a few weeks ago during a trip to SW NH and SE VT.a few weeks ago with my good friends Diane and Wayne.


I have more images to share from this day trip that I will post this week.

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Autumn Flowers

Well hello there. I hope you have enjoyed your weekend. It was such a beautiful weekend here in SE MA, and the NE Patriots are officially 8 and 0. It sure is fun to be a Pats fan these days. Well, it's always fun to be a Pats fan, but this year in particular is especially sweet for so many reasons.

 Deflate what????????

As I was enjoying watching the game today on tv, I also took some time during commercial breaks and during half time to take some pictures of some pretty Autumn flowers that I bought myself at Trader Joe's the other day.




Thursday, November 5, 2015

Macaroni and Cheese

This is a public service announcement. You can thank me later for this tip. Your children will thank me. Your spouse will thank me. The people at your pot luck dinner will thank me.

As I was perusing the cheeses at Trader Joe's yesterday, trying to decide what cheese to buy to make macaroni and cheese, I noticed this:


Cheddar Cheese with caramelized onions? How brilliant! I always put onion in my mac and cheese, so I figured this might be a good choice.

All I can say is it turned my world upside down in the most delicious way. 


Yum!


Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Jacobs Farm, Norwell MA

There is still some color to be found here in SE MA. We also are experiencing some incredible Indian Summer weather and it could not be any better here weather wise.

Here is an image I shot at Jacobs Farm in Norwell this afternoon. I saw the rows of cabbage in the field, and knew I wanted to take a picture as soon as I saw it.


Monday, November 2, 2015

Hazen's Notch VT Colors

Yesterday's post featured some beautiful birch trees along Hazen's Notch (Route 58 from Lowell to Montgomery VT) Here is an image taken of the notch in peak foliage.


Sunday, November 1, 2015

Birch Tree Stand Hazen's Notch VT

Day 162/365

A beautiful stand of birch trees can be found along Hazen's Notch Road (Route 58) which travels from Lowell to Montgomery VT. This is a beautiful forest road, and a majority of it is closed in the Winter.



And a panning image....