Zooming in on Spring Leafscapes

Using a Telephoto Lens to Focus on the Spring Color

 

Having survived stick and waterfall seasons we are now firmly in leaf season. Mid to late spring is a time of infinitely varied curtains of green and it is one of my favorite times of the year.  Not only can we say goodbye to the last remnants of winter (I hope), but the colors in the trees rival the autumn for warmth and brilliance.  Too soon the leaves will settle into their deeper and more monotonous summer greens, but while it lasts I feel like a kid in a candy shop trying to capture the unique beauty of new beginnings.

Not the Grand View
So far this spring I have been concentrating on macro images of the early buds and flowers, but the colors of the spring leaves lend themselves to a broader canvas.   In the Spring and Autumn, when the emphasis is on the color of the foliage, photographers often capture expansive images of hillsides with vast splashes of color.  It is tempting to focus on the grand panoramas, but for me, these images are generally monotonously busy and without direction.  I prefer to move in on the detail, arranging leaves, trunks and sky into more intimate compositions.  I had great fun this early spring limiting myself to the world seen through my 100mm Macro lens, but for the spring foliage I decided to switch to my telephoto zoom generally restricting my view to the 300 - 400 mm range.

 


The Telephoto View

Long lens' change photographic vision in a number of ways.   I found that the massive hunk of glass hanging from my shoulder quickly altered the focus of my attention as I scanned for more distant subjects that I could pull into the viewfinder.  The long telephoto restricts the angle of view making it easier to isolate arrangements of leaves, tree trunks, branches and fauna into simple but powerful compositions.  It compresses distant layers of foliage creating interesting and complex combinations of differing flora.  At the same time, depending on aperture, the telephoto creates a narrow range of sharp focus allowing soft bokeh to simplify the image and draw attention to the main subject(s).


 


 
 I started by scanning across pastures to the distant forest edge looking for patterns. The variously colored leaves created lovely montages while in other areas the dark branches provided interesting contrast with the soft foliage. Once I started looking, the compositions were everywhere. Foreground elements also helped to provide interest and context to the images. Through the perspective flattening effect of the long lens fences, sheep, and horses were compressed into the scene linking the background with the foreground interest. The effect can be subtle but still provides an almost unstated sense of connection which is very calming.




A couple of days ago I awoke to find a gentle mist hanging on the trees.   I rushed out  to shoot before the fog melted away. The depth enhancing effect of the mist combined with the compression of the telephoto produced lovely contrasts.

Spring Mist

 



 The leaves are beginning to settle into their summer hues. Sadly, the soft spring colors seem as fleeting as autumn's garish display, while it lasts it is well worth zooming in on the show.
Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com

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Photographing a Winter Sunset

Chasing the Last Cold Light
As we in New England have been struggling through this year’s bone chilling winter, it is nice to recognize the first tentative promise of the coming spring, the days are getting longer.  In the depths of winter, I typically go to work and return home in the dark.  Even with the sparkling crisp winter days and the warm glow of our wood stove at night,  it is hard to escape at least a touch of Seasonal Affective Disorder depression.  But then, usually sometime in February, it suddenly hits me.  I’m heading home and there is still light in the sky.  It may be 10 below, but that sudden revelation fills me with an invigorating sense of hope.

Spring is Coming

Steeple Light, Westmoreland, NH

It was earlier this week that the revelation struck.  I was heading
from Keene, New Hampshire to my home in Spofford and I suddenly became aware of the beautiful evening light playing against the snow.  Actual warm sunlight!  I called Susan to warn that I might be a little late for supper, and then the only question was where should I go to chase the light.  I decided to head north.

I headed north from Westmoreland to Walpole New Hampshire generally along Route 63.  The images here where all (except one) captured as

Westmoreland to Walpole

the sun dropped below the horizon, over a period of about forty minutes, covering just eight miles, last Tuesday evening. Winter sunsets have a different quality than those during the warmer months.  Perhaps it has something to do with the clearer air or ice crystals diffusing the light as then float weightless in the sky.  I suspect that the glow from the snow cover affects the drama above, but the winter white certainly helps to strengthen the appearance of the foreground as it reflects the colors from above.

On this evening my first question was whether to find a dramatic spot and sit still as the light changed or to keep moving looking for various locations that might work with the evolving glow.  I decided to hit the road.  It is amazing how quickly the mood changes as the sun dips toward and then below the horizon.  Moment to moment the light provided different opportunities and challenges.  It helped that I knew this route extremely well and could anticipate how the illumination would compliment the lovely rural countryside.

 Gizmo's World
My first stop was at a favorite farm in Westmoreland on the Old Westmoreland Road just outside of Spofford.  Of course, if you

Gizmo's World

were going from Westmoreland to Spofford, you would call it the “Old Spofford Road”.  The sun was still above the horizon casting a warm glow on the snow in the pasture.  Gizmo, the farm’s prize bull, was warming himself in the evening light.  Yes the bull’s name is Gizmo, and I’m sure he finds that name endlessly annoying.  Regardless, he is a powerfully proud animal who seemed quite content to pose for the shivering photographer.



Park Hill Light

Park Hill Meeting House, Not at Sunset

My next goal was to reach Westmoreland’s Park Hill before the warm light faded from the buildings.  Park Hill is a lovely collection of classic houses arranged around one of the most beautiful white churches in New England.  It is just west of Westmoreland’s main village, but it is really a place unto itself.  The church, which stands on a small hill above village, has been the subject of many of my photographs, but on this evening the direct sunlight was fading fast and was best seen complimenting the red bricks of a house at the edge of the green.  The glow quickly slipped away, but while it lasted it seemed warm enough to cut with a knife.  And then it was gone, but I kept moving to enjoy the afterglow of the developing “Blue Hour”.

The Blue Hour
 The Blue Hour is the 45 - 60 minutes after sunset when the sky retains a cool blue tone before all descends to black.  I found a spot on a hill that allowed me to contrast the deep blue with the sunset reds and gold reflected off the clouds on the horizon. I especially liked the detail of the farm house and the tangle of tree branches that dominated shadowy foreground.  Just a few minutes later, and from the same location, the sunset glow could only be seen in the reflections off the windows across the cow pasture.

Orchard's Last Light
In order to get one last shot at the fleeing light, I went to the hilltop

Alyson's Orchard, Walpole, NH

of Alyson's Orchard in Walpole.  From this high vantage point, there was just enough light in the sky to illuminate the ranks of apple trees.  It was interesting to see how the chaotically pruned branches contrasted with the careful linear order of the orchard rows.  The hill was lovely, clear and cold, but the light was nearly gone and I was ready for the warmth of our wood stove heated kitchen.  Of course I was also excited to see what magic I had captured on my innocent appearing CF card.

 
People often say that photography is about the light, almost as if "the light" was one thing.  Of course, we all know that light is always changing and that is what makes photography so endlessly fascinating.  The surprising variety of colors and moods in the sky over the short duration of a winter sunset is a magnificent example of this restless of quality of light and it is a privilege to be able catch even a small taste of that wonder.  And yes, I have seen the light, and can assure that spring IS coming.


Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com

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Independence Day Fireworks on Harvey Pond

 

Harvey Pond Revisited

It has been a busy summer for me and I suddenly realized that It has been several weeks since I dropped by Harvey Pond to watch the Great Blue Herons improving their nest for their anticipated brood. Harvey Pond is next door in Westmoreland New Hampshire and it is a great place to enjoy and photograph nature's summer transformations. Life is bubbling at the pond and I decided that there could be no better time to witness this celebration than on the occassion of our nation's birthday party. Other commitments kept me from witnessing the fireworks this year, but things were exploding on the pond. Harvey Pond is located next to the Glebe Road in Westmoreland making access very easy, but the other advantage of this proximity to car and pedestrian traffic is that the animals are conditioned to human presence and seem more easily approachable than at more isolated locations.

Chicks
My prime reason for returning to the pond was to check the progress of the Blue Heron chicks, and I was not disappointed.

Josting Chicks

Early morning is the best time to view the action on the nest as the parents return from hunting to feed their voracious offspring. The chicks have already grown considerably and are getting quite active on the nest. Although I had been told that three had hatched, I only identified two suggesting that a smaller, a late hatching, chick may have been lost. The two remaining chicks were quite healthy and energetic and It seemed that they became particularly aggressive with each other as soon as a parent returned to the nest. I am sure that this playful jostling was all about competition for food, and training for survival.  No one got hurt, and mom seemed to prefer to ignore the whole scene.   Heron photography involves prolonged periods with the lens trained on the nest waiting for something to happen. Patience is essential, but difficult with so much entertainment going on all over the pond.

Geese on Parade 

The Canada Geese were also quite busy on the pond, shepherding their chicks among the proliferation of lilies that now dominate the shallow areas. They paraded back and forth in front of us despite the fact that Nellie was right at the shore, frozen in rapt attention. The Geese appeared to have such patriotic spirit that I almost expected a fife an drum to appear at the front of their procession.

Snapper
At one point our attention was drawn from the pond to see a

Snapping Turtle

massive Snapping Turtle ambling across the road. We rushed to shield the prehistoric beast from on-rushing traffic, but he seemed more annoyed than grateful for our close approach. Snapping Turtles are especially aggressive when on the land, so we kept our distance until he sunk, gratefully, into the pond. The picture here suffers from a lack any means of scale, but I can add that his carapace was more that two feet long. Snapping Turtles have been know to live close to 50 years in captivity. I would love to know how long this old guy has been stalking the depths of Harvey Pond.

Summer Concert

Croaking

My favorite residents of Harvey Pond are the frogs. They also seemed to lack any fear of Nellie or Me and allowed us to approach quite closely. I was especially excited when the pond burst into a chorus of croaking and I was able to capture the concert. I noticed later that I had also recorded the vibrations spreading out from the frog's ballooning gullet. I was only sorry that I didn't have my field recorder along.

Beauty and the Beast

Sublime Rapture

In my opinion, the ultimate prize in frog photography is what I call the "Beauty and the Beast" moment, when I'm lucky enough to catch a frog next to a fully resplendent Water Lily. Luck was on my side this day, but I wonder whether luck is often helped by the frog's own appreciation for beauty. Why wouldn't a particularly sensitive amphibian become transfixed by such a spectacular but fleeting floral display in their otherwise drab universe. 

Harvey Pond Display

Blue Heron chicks , parading Geese, singing frogs, a antisocial Snapping Turtle, and an explosion of Water Lilies, now THAT is a fitting Independence Day celebration. 

Check my about Harvey Pond earlier this Spring
For more images of the pond check out my Harvey Pond Flickr Set 

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