The setting sun disappears behind one of the abutments of the Memorial Bridge. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Prison can be seen to the right….I loved how the sun was glinting off the water and on the sand in the foreground…another photo to follow from this scene later today!
New Hampshire has the nation’s smallest coastline of any state with an oceanfront location. That doesn’t mean it lacks for anything – this shot taken from Great Island Common in New Castle depicts the state’s simple coastal beauty. The sun was setting at my back when I was snapping this shot, casting a soft glow on the horizon and over Whaleback Lighthouse off in the distance.
I though the rock formations were pretty cool and made for some interesting movement in the frame.
As I was making my way back towards home on the other side of Portsmouth from New Castle, I was savoring the orange glow that just kept getting better. I had been shooting over at Great Island Common and was ready to pack it in for the day and was in the car planning to have some dinner…thinking the camera was off for the night. Well, as I was heading down Route 1B towards Portsmouth again – I was greeted by a fireball of a sun just over the horizon, situated perfectly above the Memorial Bridge. Naturally, I pulled what was probably an illegal u-turn so I could park and grab the tripod…and this was the first set of brackets (exposures) I fired off.
I’ve always liked how the road is windy and curved, and the fact that it splits the bodies of water on either side. The power lines and the painted lines on the roadway help give this shot a very nice flow…the glowing road helps too!
I’ve always enjoyed my sunset stops over at Great Island Common in New Castle. I was struck by the gorgeous orange glow of sunset this particular night, with not much going on in the sky for clouds…it still managed to be a subtle yet stunning sunset. The light was hitting this walkway so it was catching parts of the wood – so I headed right over. I am always a fan of symmetry, so when a scene presents itself like this – I go for it with the shot.
One of the neat parts about this particular image is the Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse that is tucked under the railing on its left side.
The grounds of the Wentworth By The Sea are gorgeous. I was back in this neck of the woods this afternoon, so decided to see if I could find some new things to snap shots of. Despite being here numerous times before, I never wander too far from the bottom of the hill where I’ve captured a few shots of the hotel that I have really liked. I stumbled across these adirondack chairs that I’m sure have been there for a very long time, but until this afternoon I hadn’t ever seen them – and today I could definitely appreciate the luxury they provide to those who plop down in them to relax for a few. Looking forward to when I can unwind in one of these!
A glimpse of the Market Square fountain in action. I’ve wanted to snap a shot of the old bricks & the inlaid fountain for a long time. Thankfully I was out for a nice stroll on Saturday morning before grabbing a cup of coffee to start the day…and was armed with my tripod so I could get a nice stable shot low to the ground – without getting the shake I’ve been accustomed to if I try to stabilize myself low to the ground. The morning light makes for some interesting shadows and color.
This year I took part in two sessions of the 3rd Annual Scott Kelby Photowalk. In the morning I made a quick appearance at the local Portsmouth walk led by Ron Risman…before heading down to Boston to meet with some sharp photographer fellows (Brian Matiash, Pat O’Brien, Scott Wyden Kivowitz and Andrew Yaniuk) for a quick tour of the Sam Adams Brewery before the evening photowalk in Boston. I have a few hundred images to wade through, but had a great day of New England shooting….in the meantime, here’s a few shots that I got to sooner than later. More to follow through the rest of the week. I enjoyed meeting the group and it was awesome to put a face to so many names…looking forward to everyone’s shots!
The shot above was taken near the World Trade Center Boston in the Seaport district. The next shot was taken with one of my latest rentals…a Carl Zeiss 18mm manual focus lens. So far I’ve found that it’s incredibly sharp and has beautiful color directly out of the camera.
The last shot is one of the Boston group led by Brian Matiash…we had a great time wandering the streets and shooting, and thankfully the skies stayed clear through the early evening (click the image to see it large!).
The afternoon this shot was taken happened to be one of those perfectly timed opportune moments. I had just filled up on gas over on Islington Street and was heading towards the Congress/Middle/Islington/Maplewood intersection and happened to see the bridge span lifted all the way to the top (a rare occasion in the summer, particularly as high as it was).
I decided that instead of heading directly home, I ought to head up State Street towards Prescott Park to see if there might be some interesting nautical traffic. I happened to be in luck, and this massive beauty was just approaching the Memorial Bridge…and this girl must have been as interested in catching a glimpse of the boat as I was – since she ran all the way to the end of the pier to watch and enjoy the view. The umbrella with the cloud cover along with the bright ship made for a beautiful shot. Here’s another version below with an antique processing/feel – which do you like better?
The seacoast experienced a gorgeous sunset on Thursday evening. After an event in New Castle at the Wentworth Marina – I was joined by another local photographer, Ron Risman of Cameratown.com. We decided to head over to the sprawling Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion property on the back channel in Portsmouth…and despite the ridiculous mosquitoes that wanted us to pack it in for the night, we enjoyed some lush colors in the sky and some moonlight.
The shot above features the large yellow structure as it sits along the waterfront with some awesome summer hues. The shot below was taken directly opposite from the sunset shot a bit later on – and features the gorgeous moonlight reflected on the water, with a little bit of jetty to spice it up.
For the camera techies out there – the shot above was a 5-exposure series (-2 to +2)…and the moonlight shot below was a 3-exposure set of brackets (-2 to +2).
It’s that time of year when everyone loves being in the Seacoast. The Wentworth Marina in New Castle is no exception, and the water is packed with all types of boats. This was the first time I’d ever made my way down to the docks below the Latitudes restaurant that belongs to the upscale waterfront hotel…and I was blown away at how fancy everything felt, even though I had expected it to be of the highest quality. The setting was surreal, though the lighting wasn’t the best…but I was happy to come away with this shot and a few others that will make their way to the site over the next couple weeks.
THE DAILY PORTSMOUTH 