Okay, we were out on a snowy day and I was shooting from the car's rider's side. I set my camera to a low ISO, set the shutter speed to slow and the fstop to a small opening. Another One!I wanted the blur effect, but am not sure this works. Or is this one better with the wider perspective? I kind of liked the trailing lights behind the plow truck on this one! But I liked the isolated effect on the first? Which one works best for you? Intentional Blur  Or perhaps neither works particularly well?

Sorry, I got the picture order backwards, but can't take the time to rewrite...sorry for the mix-up.

Beth
 

Took this shot of my sister-in-law reading in low light and got lots of blur. I desaturated it and rather like the effect. What do you think? Does it work?

What do ya' think?

Well, we've broken records for snowfall this winter and two days ago, we had a storm that nightmares are made of! Snow Formations Snow formations 2 We had about a foot of snow overnight and then at about 9:00 AM, it turned to rain...heavy rain!! Well, our snowpiles acted as dams and the water ran off into our driveway and pooled. I ran out and dug channels for it to run into and off. Snow formations 3 Yesterday, the sun came out and we looked at the snow. It had collapsed from underneath as the snow melted from the ground up. What an interesting pattern it made in the snow! You could see 'riverlets' on hillsides where the water had run down and the snow collapsed! It was beautiful with the sun out producing shadows in the snow. There IS something to be said for winter and snow...even if you DON'T ski!!

Beth

This little lady hates to eat healthy food, so we entice her with sweets. "If you eat three more bites, you can have a dessert." So, she eats chocolate whoopie pies with relish! (Whoopie pies are a Maine delight...vanilla icing between two round, chocolate cake patties.) Here her Eyes and Crumbs!! dominate the shot!

I know! I know! We are programming her to love sweets. Should we bribe her with carrots or broccoli? Wouldn't work!

Beth

Winter in Boothbay When you live in a place where there are long months of winter, you must ask yourself how best to capture the season....glorious scenes of snow or people and pets enjoying it? White on White Or to capture key features of it like this shot of Ice Paths with footprints in melting ice.  Or one could play in Photoshop (or other programs) to turn your work from color to black and white to see what turns up.Ice texture  BW If you hadn't guessed, I find winter challenging photographically!

No, it IS winter here right now and in winter it can get darned COLD! But there ARE compensations. Seasmoke When it gets REALLY cold, the water is warmer than the air and then we get 'seasmoke,' condensation on the surface of the water and add sunrise and you get, Seasmoke2 this kind of scene! (This was shot from a hospital window! What a place to be sick!)Christmas Boat And at the holidays, the town lights up...right down to the boats. This one makes daily trips to Squirrel Island which I guess has residents even in the winter! Boothbay Winter And the library decks itself out for the holidays! Come any time of year. There's 'stuff' to shoot no matter what the season!

Burnt Island The Burnt Island Tour here in Boothbay Harbor takes you to a lighthouse on Burnt Island where there is a reinactment to teach you about life on a Maine Light Island in the early 50's.  Burnt Island 2 We are greeted by the 'lady of the house' doing her laundry out in the yard on her wringer washer. (Sorry for the missing head again. I wanted to concentrate on the technology AND didn't want to ask for a release, so neglected to 'get' the whole woman.) Burnt Island 3 Then the actresses playing the teenage daughters took us to the boathouse and around the island. I loved that they were barefoot! Burnt Island 4 These buildings lie behind the light; the lightkeeper's house and enclosed hall to the lighthouse. Burnt Island 5 In this one the lightkeeper (actor) shows us the light source for the light back in the early 50's. Amazing that an oil lamp could cast that much light (with the help of a fresnel lens) Burnt Island 6 After the tour, we get to explore the island and THIS is the view we get of the harbor from the island! Lovely!  Burnt Island Light And I guess it wouldn't be complete without showing you the light itself.

Yes, these are more from the train trip last spring. Here is a shot inside the sleeper car...the only way to go! It's tight, but surely beats doing your own driving and yes, you CAN shoot through windows...IF they are clean enough which they are sometimes. Train Interior Amish/Mennonite Mom And here's the proof of the pudding! This was shot through the window at a stop. So, at least I didn't have to deal with train movement though that can add interest in itself. See last image. Cloud formations on the way. There are glorious cloud formations to be seen along the way. I was a bit worried about these. They billowed up as we passed through Illinois on the way back. Dusk horse coral And here is my favorite! This is a coral of horses as we passed near Browning, Montana on our way to Glacier. It was dusk and the light was absolutely gorgeous! The train was moving, so I got this 'shake' effect. I personally like it! How about you?

Sorry these aren't bigger, but it's  my way of protecting them from use. I know I could put a copyright notice across the front, but that seems even more destructive of seeing the image.

Last June, we headed out by train (AMtrak) for Montana and Glacier National Park. It's a wonderful experience to travel cross country by train. We went from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon by train! Wow! I have lots of shots of the trip...through a train window. Mission Mountains as seen from National Bison Range, Montana, 2007 The nice thing is that nearby there are lovely scenes without having to go into the park! This is taken at the National Bison Range!  Glacier National Park, 2007. Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park, Montana, 2007 Here's my hubby shooting Lake McDonald, a 10 mile long glacial lake. National Bison Range, Montana, 2007 And not too far away, the National Bison Range gives you opportunities to photograph buffalo! These guys were approaching us to cross the road we were on, so I got several nice shots of them up close and personal! This one is okay...could be more contrasty, I think, but I liked how it looked like they were in their natural habitat and as though I had kneeled in front of one to 'shoot' him/her. Actually, this was shot from a car window!  

Windjammer Days Each spring (in June) Boothbay Harbor, Maine hosts Windjammer days. On this day, old wooden, masted schooners parade into the harbor under full sail. Heritage at Windjammer Days They are gorgeous old sailing vessels and are a wonderful photo op!  Windjammer Days In this one the boat sails by a cottage on the harbor! The juxtaposition of sails and roof is wonderful, don't you think? Don't see that too often anywhere else!! Windjammer Days in the fog In this one, a lady gets her morning 'constitutional' on the harbor the day after Windjammer Days. The boats harbor overnight and are still around the next morning. I think there's usually a fireworks display over the harbor the night of the event, so there's another photo op as well! Windjammer Days in AM fog. And as you can see here, even fog does not obscure the photogenic!! Yes, we DO get a lot of fog on the Maine coast in the summer. The warmer air condenses into fog when it comes into contact with the cold water...seldom gets out of the 60's (water temp that is) in summer....brrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

Anyway, this event is well-worth the trip up here. The boats sail into harbor around 1:00 PM in the afternoon, then sail back out at different times the next day.

And these boats don't always come through. If the weather is bad, they pass on the event as it is threacherous passing the Pemaquid area in a storm (yes, the area by the lighthouse...see previous posts). They don't wish to endanger their passengers.

So, far of the 4 years I've lived here, they have come all 4 years!!  

I had a nephew in the Guard a couple springs ago and he was being called up for Iraq, so we attended a Mobilization ceremony. Action Hero This shot was taken outside during a time when the troops were standing at ease. Families were allowed to stand with them....or at least this little boy stood with his Dad. He was grasping an action hero figure in his arms and it is cradled behind his back. I thought it was very touching to see him standing in a stance that mirrored his Dad's. The action hero added to the 'story.'

They are now back and lost no one, thank God! One came back minus a leg though...NOT GOOD! We were on pins and needles the whole time he was away. It is awful to  watch someone you've loved and watched grow from a baby, to child, then man go off to war where you know people will be shooting at him; and he at them!

He now suffers from PTSD, but is doing okay. We pray that this war ends soon and he doesn't have to go again! It doesn't look good though. Too bad they wanted it so badly that they were willing to lie to get us there! (I'm trying VERY hard to avoid the politics of this whole thing!) Better stop here...more another day, but this is the best I've got!

Stay tuned...
cokids

...there seems to be quite a bit of interest in Maine lighthouses and someone asked yesterday if one could get up into the lightroom in one. Well, the answer is YES! Pemaquid tower This first one is looking up the light from the inside with spiral stairs. The window blows out part of the wall and that's not so good, but...Shadows from the Light  Then this one shows the view looking northeast from the top of the light. You can even see a shadow of the light on the ground. Scene from the top: Pemaquid  This one shows the view looking east across the ocean. A bit of the fresnel lense is in the shot too. You can see a whole lens in the fisherman's museum at the lightkeeper's house. This is truly my favorite lighthouse site in Maine! The habba at dusk. And this one is from my 'hometown,' Boothbay Harbor at dusk. Sorry for the diversion from lighthouses, but I couldn't resist. Oh, and this one was taken with my point and shoot, a Panasonic LX1.

Ok, I am NOT from the Maine Chamber of Commerce, but....this state stretches with a coastline as long as the one from Maine to Florida and has mountains AND seashores. It has lovely summers and COLD winters. If you love the seasons, you'd love Maine! Here is a lovely view of the Machias River at sunrise on a fall day. Machias RiverWe also have ample wildlife and this guy/gal makes regular stops in my yard to check out the bird feeders. I shot these through my glass slider, so they are not as sharp as they might otherwise be, but I still like them. How about you? Foxy fellow....listening for danger! Foxy Fella New Year's Eve, 2007 And in winter we have lovely, bright days and colorful sunsets as was this one on New Year's Eve day of 2007. We had just had a snowstorm, so the trees were magical! I love this time! Fear in the winter! And if you are so inclined, there is fun to be had in the snow that is plentiful this time of year.

I am going to start to blog about photography in Maine. You'll find my blog at http://storyhourphotography.blogspot.com/, if you're interested. I hope to do some articles about photographing different places in Maine starting with my 'hometown,' Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor!! (Hope it's okay to share this kind of info here.)

I DO hope that some of this whets appetites to come up here with your cameras!! It is a great place to photograph. And I have nothing to gain and some to lose by people 'finding' Maine!

Anyway, enjoy and DO come!!

Stay tuned....
Beth

We have many lights up here and I've visited only a few, but they all are fertile subjects for photography. I think that this lightWest Quoddy is my favorite! I just love the candystriping! Another favorite lighthouse And this one is one of the oldest in the country. It was commissioned by our first President, George Washington! Another Famous one! West Quoddy Favorite This was shot from the giftshop IN the old lightkeeper's house.  Unusual perspective And this is another of Portland Head Light...from the base.  Needless to say, I have too many of these!

Stay tuned....
Beth

....WISHES she was!She says she wants to be a princess when she grows up. She's probably already a princess! This is secondhand dress-up clothes and a big, floppy hat that she was trying on back in December. She had just gotten a new
'magic wand' which went with the get-up perfectly! Snow White she is NOT, but she surely would LIKE to be!

Stay tuned...
Beth