Jim Salge Photography Blog

Top 10 Shots of 2010…

We’ve reached the end of 2010 and that means a look back at the year in photography. 

This year, I set out some goals at the beginning of the year for myself, and for the most part, I’m pretty happy about how those goals have been achieved.  I spent a lot of time in bogs and with orchids, and got golden hour shots from Wildcat and Pierce.  I got my Chocorua shot, and refocused on the Isreal River lupines.  Of recent, autumn and early winter have allowed me minimal time to shoot, but I’m hoping that will change as we embark into 2011. 

And with that, I present my Top 10 in chronological order!

Carter Notch Fox:
Early in the year, I led the high school outing club to Carter Notch Hut for a winter overnight.  We awoke to find this guy rooting around the bunkhouses for scraps.  A bit of crawling around at a low angle eventually yielded this opportunity.  If shot a number of foxes over the years, and this is definitely among my favorite experiences and shots!

Observing the Undercast:
My photographic life came full circle this winter when I was afforded an assignment gig with the Mount Washington Observatory, where I started my professional interest in photography.  The conditions on the day I arrived were perfect, and I was fortunate enough to catch this classic shot of an observer looking towards Lakes of the Clouds Hut.  I will be teaching a workshop at the summit in March, I’ll post details here soon.

 Spring at the Heath:
The remainder of winter, I made some nice sunrise hikes, but most I want to repeat this winter to improve the shots.  The next shot that really strikes me from the year was this rainy day at Saco Heath in Maine.  What a treasure of a landscape this area is.  The rhodora was perfect in bloom, and the weather ideal for a spring shot.  Might go back here this spring on a clear, misty morning, but I love the feel of this one!

Presidential Lupines:
I don’t think I’ll ever tire of shooting the Lupines in Northern NH.  The main area for shooting them is in Franconia, but there are fields of them everywhere north of the notches, and I found this one in Jefferson.  I had just about packed in for the night, and was driving back when the sun found away to light up the highest of clouds.  In my next post, I’ll highlight some goals for 2011, but I want to continue a personal project of views of Mount Washington.  Scenes like this are why that range inspires me so much!

Dew on Grass Pink Orchid:
This is the second year in a row I’ve included a Grass Pink in my “Best Of” collection.  Simply, it’s a beautiful flower that grows in places that are so incredibly unique, that I cherish the opportunity to shoot them every year.  This was in the Philbrick-Cricenti Bog in New London, on a calm, still morning with a bit of mist hanging in the air.  The breeze of course picked up soon after, limiting opportunity, but I don’t think this one was to be topped anyway!

 Sunrise in Prescott Park:
I don’t shoot many cultivated landscapes, but the gardens at Prescott Park in Portsmouth, NH is one spectacular place for gardens.  I had this week circled for a while, as it was the week when the sun shone right into the park, and was fortunate enough to come away with this shot with the sun rising over the water!

Lafayette Pair:
I had a great overnight stay at Greenleaf Hut in August, and ran up to the summit for sunrise.  The color and tone of the sky about 20 minutes before dawn was really striking, and the ridges between the Franconia Ridge and Mount Washington had a beautiful warm/cool contrast in their gradient in color.  I feel that the peace of the calm morning that I experienced on the ridge comes through in the first shot.  The dramatic shot came an hour later at breakfast, when the warm coffee hit the cold air of the hut, and sun streamed in the window during breakfast.  Brings me right back to all the great moments I’ve had in the backcountry of the Whites!

 Hurricane Earl at Portland Head:
A dramatic shot of LARGE breakers coming into Portland Head Lighthouse is on my must shoot list every year, and yet it still eludes me.  This storm was no exception, as the waves generated by Earl just lacked the punch we expected upon arrival.  Fortunately, with a bunch of photographers there that morning, we found mutual inspiration, and I slowed down the exposure to capture this neat frame.  I like that it looks and conveys a feeling of power…without actually being all that powerful!

Chocurua Lake:
One of the most photographed scenes in New England, and I don’t have a decent autumn shot of it.  And not for a lack of trying…I’ve been to the lake well over a dozen times, in all conditions, trying for the perfect shot.  And every time I went there, it wasn’t a place I could shoot elsewhere…so I was getting rather frustrated.  Finally, this October, all the conditions came together!  My Chocorua Shot!

Thanks for taking this journey through the year in pictures with me!  To a safe, happy and beautiful 2011!