I’ll never tire of watching the cranes unload materials from the freighters at Granite State Minerals’ Market Street terminal.  Sunset adds another element to the process, contributing a rich glow to the crane structure and the sand as it falls out of the crane’s claw.

People have come out of the woodwork to enjoy Portsmouth’s downtown.  It’s that awesome time of year when everyone wants to be enjoying the weather and the restaurants/shops/etc. that Portsmouth has to offer….and the sun is out late and every sunset seems to be mesmerizing.  The time of day when the sun’s gone and the night’s not quite arrived (the blue hour) has some great opportunities for photography, and I hope to take full advantage.  Try getting out and shooting this fun time of day.

A very simple image of a very massive structure.  I’m endlessly fascinated by freighters, buildings, bridges, all of the incredible things that humans have created to meet their needs for daily living.  This imposing vessel travels the world carrying sand/salt to terminals, bringing with it the minerals so important to getting through a New England winter. The decks run around the structure, with ladders and buoys and red pipes all over – all of which I’m sure serve a purpose.

Distilling this down to a simple fraction of the huge craft to force myself to take a moment to think about the boat rather than its role in the waterfront and a sweeping wide-angle view is hard.  I love shooting full scenes…but in getting the zoom lens out, I think it conveys a new feeling about these ships and their roles in Portsmouth’s waterfront heritage.

This little piece of colorful Portsmouth scenery was provided courtesy of Hasselblad.  Today’s post is short and sweet, and the shot is simple and clean.  This is straight out of the camera – with all of its rich colors and crisp details.  I haven’t had a chance to get more of my traditional shots with this camera to properly test it out – but this was a nice bright first entree into what the medium format world would look like.

The bucket of the crane is empty.  It’s been unloading sand from the freighter Hera for days now….replenishing the nearly depleted supply on the Market Street terminal. I loved being out at night and watching how the lights on the massive cranes illuminate the scene…yet only enough to shed some light where it was needed to unload. I actually saw each of the four bays on the freighter being unloaded at various points throughout the week…with the sand/salt mountain looking pretty ominous all over again.

This welcoming storefront belongs to Three Graces Gallery on Market Street downtown.  The gallery’s location on Market Street usually gives it gorgeous sunsets, with rich intense rays of sunlight reaching down Hanover Street to hit the storefront for a few minutes before retiring for the day.  The shop also has a gorgeous hanging sign, but there’s something about a straight on shot of a store with a good door that I can’t get enough of.  More shots to follow of the hanging sign and of the window soaked in sunlight to follow another time…  If you love art, do yourself a favor and stop in to see the one of a kind items featured in the gallery.  Currently, the Teeny Tiny Art Show VIII is featured and well worth a visit.

There’s a new tenant moving in next door to the salt piles on Market Street.  Traditional Woodworks, Inc. Design Studio has made some nice improvements to the exterior of the building and looks to add a new dynamic to this end of the Market Street entrance as you head into town.  The snowy and very cold looking scene doesn’t do much for it, but I look forward to seeing some new commerce happening in this neck of the woods.