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As I get back to creating and publishing images, I thought I’d have a bit of fun with this one. The original frame, by itself, didn’t really strike me as very interesting until I decided to apply the Train to Nowhere concept.
Taken at Crawford Notch, New Hampshire, on a cold, overcast autumn day.
Yeah, so it’s old. I remember seeing phone sets like this when I was growing up. What does that say about me?
A few years ago, Pete Limmer, from Limmer Custom Boots, allowed me the privilege of wandering around his business property in search of old photo subjects. Housed in an aged barn in Intervale, NH, old artifacts and boot lasts were kept stashed around the building, making for fascinating shooting.
Since that time, the building has become part of the Moat Mountain Brewery after a substantial renovation. Today, due to local zoning restrictions, tours are no longer allowed, so I consider it great good fortune to have been able to shoot the old building in its “classic” form. So, Thanks, Pete!
For a few other images from the location that have been published over the years, please visit, or hover over, the following links:
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It seemed far too long since I’ve published any images, so I thought I’d get back to what I like to do.
Back in late September, 2012, we found this small waterfall and pool below Long Falls in northern Maine. I think it was near Long Falls. Maybe. It’s been a while.
I set up on the slippery rocks and took a series of bracketed exposures, but for this image, I only used one ridiculously long exposure. Sometimes, simpler is better.
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I’ve said it before: I’m not an early morning person… usually.
While in Acadia National Park last autumn, we got in the habit of waking up early — around 4:30AM — so that we could get a cup of coffee and transport down to the waterfront for sunrise shooting. During the two weeks we were there, most sunrises were rather mundane due to the clear weather, but on occasion… this. It was well worth the effort, and had the added benefit of putting us in a place where there were few other people, if any at all.
This was taken from a set of 9 frames, merged in Photoshop Merge to HDR Pro, finishing with a bit of Topaz Clean (for the rock foreground), and a slight radial filter in the clouds to accentuate some of the long exposures.
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I never was much of one for waking up early, nor much for black & white photography. But, some places suggest pushing past those preferences into finding something new.
Crawling out of the sleeping bag (the nice… warm… sleeping bag, mind you) at about 4:30AM each day, we made a daily pilgrimage down to the cliffs to catch the sunrise. Due to the great weather we had during the trip, the sunrises were a bit droll because of few clouds, so I started playing around with long exposures, neutral density filters, and alternative views of the area.
During post-processing, I tried to conjure up some of Bob Lussier’s great B&W photography. Bob sets the bar quite high, but at least it’s something different to try out.
1/8sec at f/14, 36mm, ISO 100, way too early.
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Alongside of Route 191 in Cooper, Maine, lies the family plot for the Creamers.
I’m not usually one to skulk around cemeteries with a camera unless the statuary is notable, as in the case of Cave Hill in Louisville. But every now and then, you can pass by an alluring small plot that commands attention. They are often near the road and off the side of a small farm, and they tease with a story that you’d likely never hear unless you know the family.
In this case, thanks to the resource of the Internet, we know that Otis, off to the left there, died in 1860 at the age of 22, almost 23, and was the son of Thomas Creamer. Winslow, also a son of Thomas, died a little over a year later at the age of 19. Poor Phinemas on the right didn’t make it much past 6 years. A daughter of Thomas, Hannah, passed just short of 29 years old.
It caused me to wonder why these siblings all passed away at what we would consider today to be such an early age; how Thomas and Emily could possibly cope with having their children precede them, all in only four years time. Was it a rampant virus? Was it the long Maine winters? Something more nefarious, perhaps?
It was a family. Perhaps that’s all we’re entitled to know. But there is a story held in a few square feet at the side of a remote Maine road – a remembrance of people who were born into a time that was surely much more strenuous than we’re accustomed to today.
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Traveling along the coastal Route 1 in northern Maine, there is a wayside area that commemorates one of the earliest French settlements in l’Acadie, an endeavor that did not go terribly well for the settlers. Along the wayside, there are a number of beautiful statues along with storyboards that tell of a miserable first winter in the area.
Members of a French expedition led by Pierre Dugua, intending to colonize North America, settled the island in 1604.
Seventy-nine members of the expedition, including Samuel Champlain, passed the severe winter of 1604-1605 on the island. Thirty-five settlers died, apparently of scurvy, and were buried in a small cemetery on Saint Croix Island. In spring 1605 the survivors left the island and founded the settlement of Port Royal, Nova Scotia.
You can read about it here at the National Park Service site, if you’d like.
It was a beautiful autumn day in New Hampshire. After finishing a hike with Susan and my ol’ college friend, Tom, we were hanging around the truck having some lunch. No need to go anywhere else, as we warmed the bones in the sun.
A woman came down the road walking her dog, and as often happens in New England, we wound up having a nice conversation with her. I had my eye on an old, weathered barn across the street. The woman knew the owner of the barn, and suggested that the owner would have no problem if I moved in close for some pictures.
I loved how, in addition to the weathered wood, shadows from a nearby tree were playing across the doorway. This is the kind of rustic scene that, sadly, we don’t see too much of these days.
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Just another sunset from our campsite in Maine, autumn of 2012.
I understand that we should ‘shoot where we live’ – and there are plenty of opportunities to do so – but the Great State of Maine, with its natural beauty, presents a target-rich environment for beautiful shots. Sometimes, you don’t even have to wander out of your campsite, as was the case here. We were just sittin’ around chilling as the sun went down, and the sky lit up as you see here. While snapping the shutter furiously, I had to remind myself to soak it in.
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Merged in Photomatix Pro to 32-bit TIFF, pre-processed without tonemapping in ACR, finished in Photoshop CS6 with Nik Color Efex Pro filters.
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… when gasoline was cheaper.
I doubt we’ll ever see this at a working gas station again, but at least the moment was immortalized in a decrepit station sign. Being that I live in the south, I couldn’t help but notice that the sign has been repurposed into a target.
Found at the side of the road – of course – in northern Maine, at the same location where Gamble was found.
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