NEK of Vermont Foliage 9/25/2020

 Fall colors came early to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont this year. The reports were coming in of early colors, so I made a fairly last minute decision to head up just for the day on Friday September 25th. Here's a sample of the beautiful colors we found.

My home in Barton was not available to use at the moment, so this was just a day trip. The state of  VT also has some strict covid restrictions regarding people traveling from out of state. My friend and I spent 16 hours on this one day road trip. We wore our masks the entire time in the car (I wore an N95 mask) and we didn't go near any other people. 

Where there's a will, there's a way!

Our first stop of the morning was to Jobs Pond in Westmore......one of my favorite places. I have shot here every year for probably 20+ years in a row, and have gotten some beautiful photos, but I've never gotten the "perfect" shot that I am after. I wanted morning fog with the sun breaking through, and although I didn't get it again this year, it was still beautiful and my friend said it was worth the 16 hour day just to see this beautiful spot. Will try again next year for the shot I am envisioning.

Our next stop was to photograph nearby Newark Pond.

We then went just a bit down the road to Bald Hill Pond.

A two image panorama:

Bald Hill Pond Reflctions:

I switched lenses to the zoom lens for this one and photographed the hillside across the pond. The red colors were exceptional.

From here we headed to West Burke and stopped to photograph the Sugar house on Sugarhouse Road.

Lovely colors in the sugar bush.

From here we drove Victory Road from East Burke to Guildhall. It's a lovely forest road that I've driven several times before. I just forgot how LONG the drive is! The colors were spectacular along this road.

We stopped to photograph the Old Mill in Guildhall VT

From here, we went to scout a road that a fellow photographer told me about in Lunenburg VT that has views to the East of the White Mountains of NH. The road is called Bobbin Mill Road. This area has great potential on a clear late afternoon with the late day sun illuminating the White Mountains. It was an overcast, off and on drizzly afternoon on this particular day.

This was a great start to the 2020 foliage season. I made three other trips up North within a two week time period. Those photos will be featured in future blog posts.

Stay safe and well my friends. xxoo

Words For Wednesday Kent Pond VT

 "The secret to a good morning is to watch the sunrise with an open heart."

                               ------Anthony T Hinks

I hope you're enjoying this season of Fall. I've been busy traveling back and forth to Vermont and New Hampshire and taking lots of pictures. This image was taken on October 8th as the morning sun was breaking through the clouds at Kent Pond in Killington VT. Many more blog posts will be coming featuring photos from this Fall.

Stay safe and healthy!!!! xxoo

Fort Revere Park, Hull MA

 A few nights ago, I went on a little local socially distanced and mask wearing photography trip with some friends from my camera club. We first went to the Forts in Hull, which is a very historical site. The remains of the forts date back to the American Revolution.

Exterior of one of the forts:

Through the years, the interior walls and ceilings of the forts have been filled with graffiti. One of my best friends, Diane:

My good friend David:

The forts are a great place for light painting photography. (Notice my ride home in the lower left corner of this next image) :-)

Nature will find a way to show her beauty, even along an old and abandoned building.

From here, we went down the road to Hull Gut to photograph the sunset.

It was really great to be out shooting with friends again. 

Stay safe and healthy my friends. ooxx

Being Together

 Words For Wednesday 9/16/2020

Kindness is realizing that we are all in this together. 

Stay safe and healthy my friends. xxoo

My Pretty Little Ballerina

It's amazing how quickly time is passing. My oldest grandchild Ryleigh is turning 7 years old. How did that time go by so quickly? She amazes me all the time with her kind heart, her humor, her compassion for others, her innocence, and her love of life. She started first grade yesterday and my heart beams with pride but also my heart hurts with worry for her health and safety, and for the health and safety of all of the students and teachers.

Ryleigh's ballet recital was postponed this Spring due to covid. She recently was given her costume, so we went to the beach one evening for a photography shoot. This girl rocked it, and I believe she had more fun doing the photo shoot than she would have had at her recital. 

Look at these leaps!

How can you resist not running into the water when you're at the beach? So much fun.

Our final image of the night as we were losing daylight.

Praying she stays safe and also want all of you to stay safe and healthy as well. xxoo

Evening Boston Photos

 The other night I went to the roof of the Boston Museum of Science Parking Garage (who would have thought? ) to take some evening photos of the city.

There was a gorgeous sunset to the West which illuminated the skyline and the clouds above the skyline in a gorgeous shade of pink.

At one point, I took out my 150-600 mm lens to isolate the Prudential Building and the surrounding buildings, as well as the T train going over the bridge.

There was an almost full moon that evening which rose over the Northeast sky. Due to the limitation I had in shooting from this direction, this was the best composition I could make including the moon in an image.

But........I walked across to the other side of the parking lot, and could also get this vantage point of the moon. 

From another angle, the Zakim Bridge could be seen. 

It was a fun evening shooting the city.

Stay safe and well my friends.

Blow A Kiss

 

I love this flower. I saw it and knew she was blowing me a kiss! During these covid 19 days, that's what I do with my grandbabies. I'd much rather give them a kiss, but when I blow them a kiss and they catch it, my heart melts.

Stay safe and healthy my friends. xxoo