Entries from October 2010

October 24, 2010

Autumn Visitors | Cynthia Pioneer

Along with the fall comes cooler weather, falling leaves and a need for sand and salt.  Recently the Cynthia Pioneer returned to the Granite State Minerals terminal in downtown Portsmouth to unload some materials for the imminent inclement weather. While I’m not quite ready for snowstorms and ice, I’m enjoying the cool mornings and the increase in river traffic.  I’m sure I’m not the only one – time to get the skis ready for the season (or book the plane tickets to Florida if you’re not a winter person…).

October 23, 2010

Chronicles of the Martingale Wharf

In today’s post we’ll feature two recent shots of the Martingale Wharf, the long awaited construction project currently underway on Bow Street on Portsmouth’s waterfront.  The building is finally getting its skin, with bricks being installed on the Bow Street facade…along with new windows and more inside that I can’t really see.  The good news is that we might actually have a streetscape on Bow St. like we used to in days gone by….a win for both locals and tourists.  I really dig the shot above – it feels very natural and realistic all at the same time.  Taken with the Zeiss Hasselblad 100mm….it seems to call out textures and lighting on objects that just seem to fall flat with other lenses (or maybe I’m just a bit crazy).  Below, the front of the building gets its new brick skin…

October 22, 2010

Halloween in Portsmouth

Portsmouth is a cool place during October.  In addition to the New Hampshire Film Festival, Portsmouth also hosts Scarecrows of the Port (awesome scarecrows posted around downtown…my favorite is above Jumpin’ Jay’s this year…and will be featured next week)….including the little guy seen here hanging from the clock at 49 Market Street (donated by Summerwind Jewelers).  This shot was taken with my Carl Zeiss 100mm Hasselblad lens, with some beautiful clarity on the clock…falling off in the background to a nice soft view of the Athenaeum building and the North Church.

In addition to today’s photo – you MUST head over to my Flickr gallery HERE in order to check out more shots from the 10th Annual New Hampshire Film Festival.

October 21, 2010

At the Friendly Toast

The Friendly Toast is an eclectic breakfast spot (that’s actually open nearly all hours) on Congress Street.  The spot is incredibly colorful and has some of the weirdest stuff you can ever imagine on the wall – which definitely makes for an entertaining visit.  People tend to either love or hate the place…I’ve had some great breakfasts here so I dig the place, though sometimes it’s not the best thing to walk around smelling like a breakfast joint all day.  Check it out sometime, I love playing the game of “Who Can Find the Most Random/Scary Thing On The Wall?”…the best part is, everybody wins!

I’d been dying to get in here with my camera sooner or later, and decided to drop in while I was waiting for the closing ceremonies of the New Hampshire Film Festival on Sunday.  The dark rich reds of the ceiling and the definitively retro floor tiles and walls make this place like no other in Portsmouth.

Another fun fact – NHFF award winner Jordan Vogt-Roberts can be seen in the top photo getting ready to hit the road….only about an hour before receiving his award for Best Short Comedy – awarded for his film “Successful Alcoholics”.

October 20, 2010

South End Waterfront

Today’s post returns to a waterfront vista after all of the portraits and interiors featured over the past few days.  This isn’t the most dramatic shot you’ve ever seen of the South End Waterfront, but it’s a lovely representation nonetheless.  Rich blue sky and rippling blue water…who wouldn’t want this view?  The South Ward Meetinghouse can be seen off to the left above a cool looking red truck parked on the pier.  I love the character that little corner lends to this scene – a working historic waterfront. Be sure to click the image to see it LARGE!

October 19, 2010

Poco’s | Now & Then

The season for The Decks is drawing to a close.  The Old Ferry Landing has closed for the year…I haven’t seen many folks down at the River House lately, I’ve seen a few folks at Poco’s in their new covered deck and a few die hards at Harpoon Willy’s still venture out (and rumor has it they’re hoping to stay open through Halloween).

I wanted to take a minute to reflect at the past spring/summer/fall season that saw a lot of changes to the Decks.  The new pavers were put in throughout the alleyway, and looked pristine for a while (now you wouldn’t guess they’re only a year old with all of the grease and traffic they’ve seen), The River House constructed a second story deck and saw another successful year…and probably the most noteworthy change was the shift of Poco’s deck from on the water to against the building.  I’ll always miss the old configuration, but there’s something to be said for eating/drinking in a warmer spot against the building.  It’s opened the area up significantly….check out the shots below, which was taken last September just before the old structure came down. Quite an evolution for this little part of town.

October 18, 2010

Autumn in the Seacoast | NHFF 2010

The Music Hall

I’m going to keep today short and sweet by featuring two vertical shots taken on Sunday at the New Hampshire Film Festival.  Above, The Music Hall (main venue for the festival) is featured with the NHFF 2010 banner at the base of the hill along Congress Street.  Below – Market Street and the 100 Club balcony are featured in the shot taken during the VIP brunch.  It was a gorgeous fall day and a fantastic weekend…later this week I’ll share more of the portraits taken of the various filmmakers, producers, award winners attendees etc. from the various venues…where I’ll give the appropriate thanks to all the people that worked incredibly hard to make this event an enormous success.

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