Happy New Year | Portsmouth First Night 2015
Portsmouth’s First Night celebrations included the annual fireworks display. It was a brisk and perfect winter evening and a great way to usher in the new year. Thank you for your support and for your encouragement in 2014 – my goal for 2015 is to get out more frequently and to capture more of the changing face of Portsmouth. I hope you join me in the new year’s new photo adventures…Happy New Year!
The Weathervane & The Steeple
The steeple of the North Church beneath some late day fall clouds.
The North Church steeple stands tall from this vantage point in Market Square with a full moon in the distance. While views of the steeple may be blocked from certain places around the downtown, the steeple looks most beautiful amidst its surroundings in the heart of Market Square.
On a foggy evening downtown, I decided to head towards the North Church to capture some of the lovely late day light and the spot lighting on the clock tower. I’ve shot this place so many times I can’t possibly count, but wanted to try something new and take advantage of the telephoto lens I had with me for a change.
Light and shadow are at play on the North Church steeple in the late day sunlight. I was dropping off the rest of my signed prints for Friday’s Art Round Town opening at Kennedy Gallery on Market Street when I looked up to catch the view above.
The North Church Steeple gets a lot of attention. It’s one of Portsmouth’s tallest structures, easily visible from vistas north, south, east and west. I’m always on the lookout myself for something interesting – and when grabbing food downtown before heading out for the trip this weekend, I noticed the moon hovering in the far distance just over the steeple’s shoulder. It’s a beautifully simple scene with some nice elements. Hope you enjoy!
After the sky cleared and the rain returned all at roughly the same time, this incredibly dynamic orange/grey sky took over the sky. Very apocalyptic and beautiful all at the same time.
Chances are – wherever you live, you’re walking the same streets time and time again, sometimes taking the time to look around and take in the scenery – and other times going through the motions. I’m always keen to look out for cool reflections in windows, and have seen numerous good angles on the North Church in the past. This particular day, the late afternoon sunlight was too inviting on the steeple to keep walking by. The warm spring weather had me in good spirits, making a point to enjoy my walk before heading home for the day.
The fleeting rays of the afternoon sunlight appear on the clocktower of the North Church. The blues of the late afternoon sky were a nice subtle contrast to the rich orange of the late afternoon sunlight. The textures and all the nooks and crannies of the clocktower of the North Church made for another interesting take on a familiar angle that I’ve posted time and time again. Sometimes I can’t help myself in shooting the familiar all over again, when new colors and moods present themselves.
It’s no secret I’m an admirer of architecture. This has me looking up and around all the time, checking out the lighting on rooflines, down alleys, at facades, etc….and this weekend it had me admiring the light on the North Church’s clocktower steeple. I loved the blue sky and the rich intricate details of the structure.
This was a handheld HDR shot with the 50mm f/1.2L lens that I rented last week. The lens is so fast that within milliseconds I was able to capture the 3 exposures needed to process the shot.
THE DAILY PORTSMOUTH 