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We consider this our back yard when we’re camping in New Hampshire.

In a large campground that is often overrun with RVs in certain places, there is one loop we’ve found where the sites are large and private, no RVs allowed, and it has this brook running along the back of the site. After a long day of hiking, or on days where we just don’t feel like hiking at all, we spend some time along the rocks, listening to the running water, watching the autumn leaves fall, and soaking up a few patches of warm sunlight.

If I had any wish at all, it’s that we’d spend even more time in this spot. Really… why go driving around from one place to another when you can just spread out on a rock and soak up nature’s beauty? No driving – no effort – no worries.

We were in this same spot one night, watching the stars in the opening of the canopy, when a large owl flew into a branch just over our heads only a few feet away. He regarded us for a while, as we did him. After a couple of minutes, deciding that we were way too big for dinner, he flew off silently. Since then, we have a new name for the brook.

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This image came from three long exposures shot with a 10-stop ND filter. At f/10, 17mm, shutter speeds were 30s, 121.5s, and 291s. Those three gave most HDR tonemapping programs the fits, so I spread the exposures on each end by converting to TIFF in ACR, generating an even wider dynamic range. Seemed to work well. Post in PS-CS6 involved masking in elements of various tonemaps created with both Photomatix and HDR Efex Pro 2, spiced with Nik Color Efex Pro.

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It’s not a very effective technique, if you were to ask me.

Moose are pretty amazing creatures. They can be huge, gangly, and somewhat threatening when close by, especially during rutting season in autumn. Despite their size, they can turn into the woods and disappear after taking only a few steps. Yeah… they blend.

As we entered the area where we were going to camp for the night, we saw this bull at the side of the road. Two other people had already drawn him out of the woods by making various moose sounds and calls – again, not really recommended during rutting season unless you like surprises. But their efforts gave us the opportunity to shoot a number of frames of this beautiful beast, a rare treat because most bulls stay deep in the woods during the rut.

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While sweltering in the heat and humidity of summers in NC, I sometimes go back through my library of images to remind myself of what autumn in New England is like: Cool, serene, colorful, playful, usually clear, sometimes moist, always gorgeous.

One day in 2010, the weather was socked in, making summit attempts pointless. Really… why work that hard in order to see nothing? So, we decided to hike up to Arethusa Falls in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Along the way, we descended to Bemis Brook Falls, a worthy side trip.

During wet weather, you have to be very careful with your footing on these rocks. The algae can make them very slippery. Don’t ask me how I know this. 🙂

You can see a different view of these falls in portrait orientation here, if you’d like.

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While visiting coastal Maine recently, we went for a nice day hike in the Blagden Preserve, a little-known spot on the ‘quiet side’ of Mount Desert Island. The area, now owned by the Nature Conservancy, features a loop hike that leads out to some beautiful water views.

On the return through maritime forest, we were more than a bit surprised to see the remains of an old Dodge sitting just off the trail. With no roads nearby, it was a curiosity. Apparently, there either used to be a road or driveway here, or the old beast had been hauled off into the woods. Either way, it made for an interesting, almost spooky scene.

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On a little, one-lane back road in coastal Maine, not far from Eliot Coleman’s Four Season farm, aliens dropped a craft in the woods. In their language, the aliens call it a ‘Yurt.’

The yurt sits on the property called the Good Life Center, a hand-built house, garden and property constructed by Helen and Scott Nearing, well known back-to-landers. Helen and Scott are no longer with us, but volunteers and docents still work and maintain the property, and somehow visitors find their way to the center.

We thought it would be a good place to visit, as the Good Life Center is based on the ideals of self-sufficiency. In addition to a tended garden, the outlying areas have a well established permaculture in place. We stopped in to pick up some tips and ideas, as we’re heading in that direction with our own property now that Hurricane Irene saw fit to alter our landscape here in North Carolina.

We had a nice visit, and even left with a few Maine apples and a batch of heirloom Scarlet Runner beans that were cultivated by Helen Nearing. All in all, not a bad day.