Rotting Trucks

The front end of these trucks were covered pretty good and the home of the owners within view so that ruled out a frontal shot. I had to try to do something. I got low and included the leaves and this helped rid some of the sky. It makes me think how soon these trucks will be part of the ground, rather than the landscape. No more potatoes for theses guys.

Waiting

This is one of my favorite places to shoot because of the mountains and light, or fog, whatever seems to drift in here. Western Mass is quite an area for photography as it has the mountains, rushing streams, and farm land. There's also good places to eat, and warm up. I have a series I've been doing of John Deere tractors and although this one wasn't at work, it was ready to go as usual. Sometimes I wish I could hop on and chop some corn. I love stuff like that.

Autumn Afternoon

I was watching the wind in the tree tops thinking not enough wind and not enough leaves. I'd missed it by hours I think. The digital phenomenon allows me to play, and try things where I normally would have been more reserved with film. No cost to trying something. My first thoughts where I wanted to just look through the camera and see if I could find a shot up there. I liked how the upper leaves shoot across from right to left to break up the dominant vertical lines. The soft back lighting with the bare upper limbs seem to look more distant. I decided to make the image. The imperfect foliage worked out after all.

Savoy Barn

I had stopped and turned around to make this image and that's when I noticed my previous post. On the way by I noticed the light and color of the siding and figured if I moved and turned around fast enough I might have a chance at something before I lost the light. My camera was not ready and I did a lot of fussing but finally got the shot. This has good cross lighting, longer shadows. Yesterdays image came from moving down the road about 100 yrds and shooting back over my shoulder. Back lit rather than side lit, all I had to do was manage the exposure. Two different barns not that far apart and two different looks. Good addition to my "Barns" series.

Yellow Stripes and Barn

These yellow stripes have no reason to be here, perfect for a picture. Most may know what these are for but if someone looked at this 200 years from now what would they think? I can only hope.

Ripples

Somethings look better when they're moving and somethings not. I like to see movement in my images but this time I thought differently. It might sound simple post pic, but while I was watching this I realized it was already moving, why not stop it. This happens normally even if you have your camera on auto, this I know. I was doing it purposefully here, with thought. Any shot wouldn't do, so I studied, watched and tried to understand and see it differently. I have nothing profound to speak about concerning my thoughts, but in the study I did see different moments, eventually realizing it was never the same, it wouldn't repeat. Everything slowed down, I was in the zone, had to shoot.

Ragged Tree

Who knows how much longer this tree will be making leaves. I think it took quite a beating in this past winter with the ice and snow. I liked how ragged and haggard it was but still tried to put on a good fall show. I think it did, and as usual, having the fog didn't hurt. I like the word ragged too.

Yellow Ferns

I guess I never think of ferns changing colors like leaves on the trees but they do. Usually I notice them when they've browned up and clobbered by the weather, these look nice and healthy. On a good day, with these ferns, I doubt I would have anymore light on them since they were low in and under evergreen trees. The blacks and the depth of field to make this interesting. I've since learned that mosquitoes make ferns there home. I don't know if I like this, but at least there were none on this day.

Wispy Grass

I've been into this wind thing for several months now. I love wind on grass. I had to be careful with this, I didn't want all the grass moving so I had to wait for the wind speed to slow enough for the shutter speed I was using. There's one plant by itself, bigger, therefore not moving the speed of the grass and I think the wisps of green add to it. Even if you don't know there's wind, it's still a pretty image.

Seasoned Depot

This is another place I photograph a lot but things have to be just right. I'm intrigued by the building and would love to go in but this is in an area people would notice and a big deal would ensue. To the left, behind it, and to the right, it's a populated area. Without getting any closer, this is the shot. I've done ok when there's some sort of weather. I like the pastel color.

Bog Colors

There just wasn't that one tree full of color you think of. It had to be somewhere else. I go through phases of color. Sometimes I want it or just need it. Lately I've worried about loosing it. Back to dreary winter. The image has an obvious show of color and black and white. It's a nice contrast on this overcast day. Fall colors and respect for the dead.

Red Barn

The only shot was through the trees, at least that's how I saw it. I kept moving to the right but there were to many open doorways and the message of color was lost (I did make an image over there, but it wasn't about the barn). In this, the shallow depth of field gives you nothing to focus on but the color. Who knows where the livestock is. I saw this as another Fall image of color, it just happens to be paint.

Early Autumn

I was thinking how much the sun had moved and realized this was one of those "good light for photographers" moments. I bumbed up the look a little with some multi-exposure, mildew lens, and a dirty windshield. In real life I'd consider this a "nothing view". It serves to block the road and some neighbors. I guess every thing was right at this moment to make this.

Autumn Sycamore 2

This image gives away the separation between the Sycamore and background. A little respect for the tree trunks I guess. I like this image as well. The soft carpet of golden rod and these things carrying the load. There are no deer here, but plenty of ticks I'm sure. Does that take the beauty out of it?

Autumn Sycamore 3

I like making images with trees and images of trees. Sometimes I've had hard times culling images due to an in camera crop. A little to the left the shot is about the tree, a little to the right and it's about the meadow. The opportunity I thought was to pick these things apart. Usually I do this with the sky as the background but that wasn't happening (to far to run). Good light right now and it would ruin everything. I like how the Sycamore does all the work, it looks like it has good light buy nature. I used a long (mildew) lens trying to bring the background closer. The Sycamore look like veins of a forest. If I could paint with a brush, this is what I'd paint.

Autumn Sycamore 1

I have several images of this family of Sycamore. I'm glad there were no leaves on the trees, how else would we see this. I think of the lady that said the color is gone. A photographer can't think this way, at least I can't. There has to be something, and I want to be the one to find it. I don't think I could recognize a sycamore leaf, I've never paid attention, only to the limbs. It makes sense that I should like this.

Autumn Undergrowth

I'd been stopping, turning around, back and forth on a dirt road when I finally stopped and told a walking couple I'd leave them alone and be moving north. They said that unfortunately all the color was gone and I'd missed it by a week. I shot this less than a 5 minutes later. Luckily, I wasn't looking for color.

Sonic Maple

I really like this image. I've always tried to make special images of my Japanese Maples and I think think I have one here. It's a combination of many things and missing any one would change it. I had to shoot through my windshield and I purposefully slowed my wipers so rain would collect. I used shallow depth of field, and part of the inside of the car to help vignette. And then there was the timing. The speed of the shutter with the speed of the wiper and the timing of the shutter release. To fast a shutter speed and you could see the wiper system, to slow and you wouldn't have an effect you could see. I shouldn't leave out the "Mildew Lens" either. And how about the sonic wave shooting through the trunk? I like stuff like this.

Poplar Tree

This was a day I didn't have the quick release plate. I had the camera, had the tripod, but not the connection. It was with the lens I wish I had. We had a breeze, it was a perfect day to do some time exposures, if... I had the QR plate. So what to do. I new I had to be steady and I wasn't, so I went to plan B. I held as steady as I could and took two exposures a fraction of a second apart at faster shutter speeds on top of each other, hoping the breeze would move the leaves enough so they blurred each other in combination. The faster shutter speeds helped me keep the tree in the same spot. It was really quit easy.

Maple Duo

The tree was pretty good but far away. Shooting from the side of the road worked out pretty well here in that it the bank was so close and the tree far away. I used half the frame for basically nothing but color, the other half being the star of the show. The depth of field separated the color and helps send you to the maple. Looking at this now I'm glad I didn't have a long lens. I would have a big image of the tree, but no environment.