Sunset on the Connecticut River - One More Post

I guess I'm going to share one more set from our visit to the boardwalk.

Here are couple of Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) boats.

Yes, there is a train in this photo.

Reeds

Sun's Almost Gone

Sun's Gone

Sunset on the Connecticut River - Perspectives

Sometimes a very small change in perspective can make a big difference. The five photos featured in this update were all taken from the exact same spot on the boardwalk. Which perspective works the best for you?

This shot was taken from a standing position and at a bit of a slant to make it a bit more interesting.

Here's a bugs-eye view with a mid-range focal depth. The boardwalk nearly converges to a single point at this wide angle.

Same bugs-eye view at higher zoom and a deep focus. I love the line of screws winding down the middle of the walkway and the stand of tall reeds sprouting up like flames over the horizon. This picture didn't do much for me until I cropped it down a bit; now it may be my favorite of the set.

This one brings the focal point up close and personal. This one was my favorite until I cropped the one above.

When I was done laying in the middle of the boardwalk to take pictures I rolled over to get back to my feet and this is what I saw... One of my lovely assistants taking her own pictures despite the very-cold wind!

Sunset on the Connecticut River - Lines

My post Monday night seemed fine... until the pics disappeared. Here goes again to see if the uploads will stick... Thanks!

We took a walk along the river at sunset on Saturday night. I love the color of the light. I came back with many photos. These all feature dominant lines in their composition.

Boardwalk Under the Bridge
(It looks almost 3 dimensional)

Train Bound for Boston
(This one is probably too similar to the first one to be artistically significant... But is has a train in it, ergo, it is cool, ergo, here it is!)

Zigzag Path to the Osprey Nests

Here's another one that is pretty similar to the one right above it. I like enough to include it anyway. Which of the two zigzag paths do you prefer?

Art Show - Sill House, Lyme Academy

Note: When I originally posted this entry on Monday night I verified that the images uploaded correctly and that the automatic email worked. On Tuesday, however, I got feedback that the pictures were no longer visible online or in the emails. The Blogger forums indicate that many blog authors are seeing the same problem this week. Unfortunately, the fix the Blogger team listed didn't work for my posts so I am re-posting from scratch in the hopes that the uploads will stick this time! Thanks for your patience!

My daughter had a drawing on display at the 26th Annual Youth Art Show at the Lyme Academy College. Here is one set of sculptures by a friend of ours and a few other scenes that caught my attention.

Men of Snow

Light at the End of the Hallway

Sill House Chimney

Ivy Under the Sill

I've Seen Enough Art...

Groton Long Point - Misc.

Here is another comparison between filtered black and white and the original color capture. Does one of them speak to you more effeectively than the other one? If so, what does it say to you...?

 
A tattered, snow-aged little flag, just waiting for the end of the off-season...

 
Ahh, the classic self-portrait

Groton Long Point - Seascapes

 

 

 

 

Groton Long Point - B&W

Here are a few more filtered black and white conversions. It was cold with a brisk wind on the sound side of Groton Long Point this Saturday but there was calm water just a few hundred yards inland in the harbor.

 

 

 
The New London Ledge Light is visible on the horizon.

 
In contrast to the waves on the sound, the water in the harbor inlet was calm and glassy.

 
Looks like the winter wind has taken its toll on this flag.

Groton Long Point Close-Ups

Spring is coming! After a jog in brisk cold wind at Haley Farm State Park I stopped in Groton Long Point and took a few pictures. These are a few close-ups that I found interesting.

 
I'm sure this flag spent most of the winter under a deep pile of snow.

 
Textured fungi.

 

 

 
Can you spot the man-made intrusion in this photo? I didn't until I had been looking at it for a few minutes in post-processing.

Look Up, Look Down, Look All Around

Here are a few views from our walk in the woods this past Sunday. Do you have a preference?

Do you like the abstract?

The macro moss?

The landscape stream?

Pattagansett Lake

 

 

 

 

Icicles

 

Black & White Sunday Morning

Sunrise on a snowy Sunday morning: Waterford Ward Chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, Quaker Hill, CT.

 

 

 

 

Gillette Castle

After spending the weekend in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine under gray and drizzling skies we awoke to blue skies and sunshine at home. We took a short drive up the river to ride the Chester-Hadlyme Ferry before it closes for the season. Then we took a walk around the Gillette Castle. Sometimes you don't have to go far from home to find some of the most interesting sights.

Gillette Castle from the ferry

The Chester-Hadlyme Ferry from Gillette Castle

 

 

 

 

My wife and kids all told me not to include this picture of the arch because they like the other one better... I included it anyway!

The Connecticut Arboretum

Ah, it's Fall in Connecticut. I love this time of year! Do you like the blurry duck?

 

 

 
My daughter was enamored with this rock, for some reason.

Lighthouse Park, New Haven, CT #2

Here are a few more pictures from Lighthouse Park in New Haven. I tried a few different compositions to try and make the lighthouse a little more interesting. Do you have a favorite?

 

 

 
This shot caught the last reflected light of the sunset on the waves out on the point. Literally, seconds after I snapped this the sunlight that was reflecting off the clouds was gone. My kids like this shot more than any of the lighthouse shots...

 

Lighthouse Park, New Haven, CT

Yesterday evening we were in New Haven and we stopped at Lighthouse Park to watch the sunset. I enjoyed watching a ship with red sails make its way out past the outer light then turn around and head back for the city. There was also a large wedding party that had the carousel rented out. Counting me, the wedding photographers and all the other people wandering the beach taking in the scenery there were probably over 150 cameras in action...

 

 

 

 

I couldn't help but capture this photo shoot that was happening on the beach. They stood here taking pictures for a few minutes and all the while the red-sailed ship was working its way closer. However, right after I snapped this shot they finished up and headed back to take pictures on the carousel. With the angle they were shooting I'm pretty sure they missed the ship. Maybe it's just me but I think they missed a great photo opportunity.

Foreground Study #3

How about these examples of the use of foreground? These were taken at Avery Point in Groton.

 
Framed sailboat

 
The Branford House "Thru the Black Hole"

 
Thru the Black Hole

Pilgrim's Landing at Sunset

So I took several (ok, it was well over a hundred) photos down at Pilgrim's Landing in Old Lyme. Here are four more that I like enough to post.

 

 

 

 

Composition: Foreground Study #2

The red dinghy is back again. I received a few good comments on yesterday's post, thank you. While similar to the first pics, this set is more focused on keeping the foreground in focus rather than the objects in the distance, if you get my... um, focus.

 
This photo is nearly identical to this one posted yesterday. Shifting the focus forward and the horizon up seems to reduce the crowded feel that it had before.

 

 

 
Angel emailed and suggested that I crop this picture, which I posted here yesterday, to improve it. Did it work?

Composition: Foreground Study

I've been trying some different things with photo composition lately. The other night I took these with the object of keeping objects in the foreground in an attempt to create a sense of depth and make the pictures more interesting.

What do you think? Does the technique improve any of these shots for you?

 
The Raymond E. Baldwin Bridge over a rack of dinghies. I like the solid red and green in the foreground, I just wish I could have taken this from a slightly higer position to reduce the crowding of the boats on the river with the dinghies.

 
Another shot over the dinghies. Again, I wish I could have positioned it so the boats on the river weren't obstructed.

 
Bridge over grass #1

 
Bridge over grass #2.
These two shots are similar and there are things about each that I like. Which one do you like better?