This was taken from a waterfront dock and restaurant, where one can enjoy a fresh lobster and beverage of your choice, with a beautiful view of the Maine coastline.   Not long after taking this photo, I recall watching the movie “Message in a Bottle”, starring Kevin Costner and Robin Wright,  and one scene seemed strangely familiar to me- I seemed to recall one of the buildings in the background of that scene, where the two characters sailed out of the harbour for a day on the ocean.  That harbour was apparently in  Virginia, but it seems they exercised some […]

This was a difficult hike on a Thanksgiving weekend, but well worth the effort.  The day started out cloudy, but as we climbed, it started getting brighter and brighter the higher we hiked. Then suddenly we found ourselves above the clouds, seeing the High Peaks of the Adirondacks poking up through the clouds, just like photos you see of the Himalayas.  It was an impressive day.  We stayed on the peak long enough that the majority of the 2 1/2 hour hike back was done by flashlight.   Bringing a flashlight turned out to be a very wise choice, for which […]

We were snowboarding at Whistler, and as the afternoon progressed, the low angle of the sun revealed the shape of the mountain ranges in a new and beautiful way.  A photo was imminent.  Since I was snowboarding,  I had no tripod with me, so I carefully laid my Hasselblad on my gloves, composed the photo, locked up the mirror to reduce camera vibration, and exposed the image using the self-timer, so as not shake the camera in any way.   Then I recall riding down the freshly-groomed corduroy to a cold one that was waiting for me at the bottom.  

I had been at this place once before in the wintertime and the subject seemed to lend itself to large format black and white.   Meaning film–  4×5″ sheet film.  I like to dust off the camera from time to time, shoot, process and print in a darkroom.  And everything.  There is something about using the equipment, the sound of a mechanical shutter- it’s real- and it makes you more conscious of what else is real, and what may not be so real.  And the images contain more detail than you can shake a stick at.   Yes, far more […]

I think it’s a good thing when people look at a photograph and ask, “what is it?”, “how big is this?”, or, “is that taken from a plane?”  I think one way an image can be successful is when it makes people question the environment that the image came out of.  Then our imagination kicks in, wondering, what is it, really??  What is anything, really?  And questions are often far more interesting than answers.  

I went to Banff to snowboard and photograph. 8″ of powder had fallen overnight, but I chose to hike rather than ride- I’m still not sure if that was the right choice.  But after a strenuous hike carrying way too much gear, I was in my element- sunshine, fresh snow, and these trees just seemed to be reaching for the sky.  

I recall driving south, past this flooded pond with cedar trunks in it, and this somewhat abstract image seemed to capture my attention.  I turned around, and recall being frustrated by the constantly changing cloud cover, and how that changed the mood and the look of the scene entirely.  But the best images just seem to find their moment, and I’m glad I turned around and gave it a try.  

I recall standing on a picnic table with camera and tripod waiting for the leaves to stop moving for the long-ish exposure. The wet leaves had a glow to them that is just beautiful.