A break from the haze…
Sunrise Pano From Percival
Heat and especially humidity are the bane of ME!
Both of which we’ve had way to much of in the past few weeks, and has limited my shooting.
I looked around my portfolio at the beginning of summer, and realized I didn’t have many traditional summer shots. This trend continues, as I just don’t find summer traditionally photogenic. Lots of green and blue to be found. An occasional stunner of a sunset, or a double rainbow can improve the viewscape, but beyond that…I struggle.
Fortunately, with a break in the heat and humidity forecast, a friend and I took off up Mount Morgan and Percival late yesterday afternoon for an overnight. My hope was that with the cool weather, a fall like pattern would develop, with mist over the lake below at dawn. And, with the passage of the front, I dreamed of rainbows as well. The former fortunately played out.
The hike up was wretched. It was an easy hike, but in drenching humidity and no wind and full overnight gear, we were in rough shape. By the time we got to Percival, we abandoned plans to go over to Doublehead, and settled in for the night.
Showers surrounded us during the frontal passage, but no light accompanied it. It’s still neat though to see the showers falling in defined streaks in the distance. Then it poured on us for about 20 minutes, and…it was dark.
Rain Shower over Squam Lake
From under my bivy during the overnight, I watched the stars come out, and the lights below disappear. Morning found us an island in the sky at a mere 2200 feet. What a view!
Island in the Sky From Percival
Mist from the Ridges on Mount Percival
Hopefully we keep some nice weather around, and updates won’t be so spread out!
Oh…and a larger view of the first image can be seen here:
Western NH Bog Tour…
Showy Lady Slipper
The phenology of wildflowers has been a bit off this year, a fact that became quite evident today as I toured around some bogs around western New Hampshire and eastern Vermont. The showy lady slippers, which have a target date around the 26th, were just about done blooming this morning. Most of the few remaining had brown spots, which limited the flowers we could shoot to about four, down from the few hundred blooms that had passed in this fen. In fact, the bog orchids were already going strong, and the Joe Pye Asters were nearing bloom. So early! Next year…
After checking out the showy’s, we checked out the Philbrick-Cricenti Bog in New London, which is rumored to have a nice colony of grass pink orchids. I’d never visited this bog, and was not disappointed. Flowers were everywhere, but the light was getting harsh.
Orchids Around the Boardwalk
In exploring, we found some great color in the peat lands, plenty of orchids, and way to much wind. I’ll try to return in better light within a week to improve upon these…
Colors in the Peatland
Until then…enjoy some more orchids from various wetlands this morning!
Grass Pink Orchid
Green Bog Orchid
White Bog Orchid
Close-up of White Bog Orchid
A special place that needs your help…
I mentioned in the last blog post that it would be difficult for me to get out much during the month of June, as a few good friends are getting married, and the camera would be fairly stagnant. That was before the Spirit Airlines strike, that found me stranded in New England this weekend. Making the best of it, I headed out today with a couple fellow photographers to Evans Mountain in Strafford to look for an orchid that has eluded me the last few years.
One of the people I headed out with was Scott Young, a naturalist, amateur botanist and fine photographer. I’m glad that there are people like Scott in this world. First off, while I can give you the name of most of the plants in the woods…Scott can rattle off the Latin name, let you know that there are three varieties, and which of those it is and why. And more importantly, Scott dedicates and donates an extensive amount of his time to the Bear-Paw Regional Greenways, a land-trust that permanently preserves tracts of land in Southeastern New Hampshire.
Red Eft Running Away...
The property that we hiked on today is a parcel of land that NEEDS to be conserved. It is an extensive wetlands, uplands and watershed that abuts already preserved land. It has varied habitat for moose, bobcat, fisher, birds, and active efts, and has ledges with fine views from the Seacoast to Mount Washington! Of interest today though was a small peat bog tucked in the back of the property that likely Scott and only a few others know about. I couldn’t find it again, which is probably good, as I’d want to go there too often for the habitat to handle. Why…orchids!
Snapshot of Orchids in Habitat...
We were there today to find the Rose Pagonia, a species I’d never found before, and we found plenty. It’s not all that rare, but the habitat that it grows in is rather inaccessible. And it is beautiful. Today its petals were heavy and tucked, laden with water from the incessant fog and drizzle this weekend. Many weren’t open, but the water saturated the colors and made for nice compositions.
Rose Pagonia #1
Rose Pagonia #2
Rose Pagonia #3
Scott believes he might know where another colony of this flower is…and I may try a drag/kayak trip to another this week if time allows, as I’d like to try to find these more open. But if not, I’m more than happy with these shots!
As a final note…next weekend, the Bear-Paw Greenways is hosting a Biothon fundraiser to help preserve the Evans Mountain property. They need about $500,000 to lock it away from development, and are hoping people will sponsor a naturalist next weekend as they fan out to catalog the property. You can sponsor Scott in a fixed amount, or per species that he logs. More information can be found here…and thank you!
Now…no posting until after wedding season…hopefully!
Lupine Festival…
With photography, timing is everything! To get a perfect shot, you have to be there, in the moment, and ready for that moment. To do that, you must anticipate, and gather all the background and ambient knowledge you can about the scene, the light and the weather. This weekend, my timing was off…and I really only had about an hour of photography where everything came together this weekend. I was glad to have those, but I’ll be bemoaning some missed ops for a while…
After work Friday, I shot up to Sugar Hill to shoot the lupines for sunset. The grand plan for the weekend was to shoot the lupines at sunrise and sunset, and hike up to the alpine flowers during the midday hours. The weather forecast nixed the second idea, so it became the weekend of lupines! Good light Friday night never happened…so I focused on something that is lacking in my portfolio…marketable images with people. Down at Pearl Lake, I found this scene. Wish you were them…eh!
Fisherman at Pearl Lake
I slept in the car at an undisclosed location in Sugar Hill that night, as with an incoming storm forecast for Saturday, I was hoping the sky would light up. I could see the moon all night, but an hour before sunrise, the rain moved in, killing that chance. The first instance of bad timing for the trip. Few morning photos, as there as limited fog and lots of rain, poor for atmospheric images. Instead, I met up with my friend Ed O’Malley, and had a fine breakfast at Polly’s!
More bad timing came later in the day, as I chose to eat lunch while a funnel cloud moved overhead. No dramatic storm image over lupine. I also wasn’t back by the lupines by the time that the first rainbow appeared behind the storm, resulting in me racing down Rt. 2. I was still out of my dream location for a rainbow when the next one showed up, but at least I was able to record my building frustration. To clarify, I don’t like the position of the river. A river should flow through a scene, not be crammed on the right. So instead, picture this instead over a sweeping riverbank of lupines…next time!
Rainbow Over Lupines - Second Rate...
Then came the aforementioned hour of good luck and light. From the half hour before sunset, to the half hour after, everything came together. Skies partially cleared, the sun lit from the horizon, and the winds died. After dark, radiational cooling (see last post) caused mist to fill the air. Dream images!
Cherry Mountain Lupines
Departing Storm Clouds
Presidential Lupines
Movement and Still Lupines Over Madison
I went to bed happy…planning to wake up at 4AM and do it again. The forecast was for similar conditions to Saturday morning…partly cloudy overnight with rain moving in. I overslept, and will forever regret it. I looked out the window at 5AM to see magic in the sky…poor timing.
I had a nice day enjoying the rain Sunday, but came away with few worthwhile images. Almost got one, but this bear cub saw me too early…
Brief Encounter With Baby Bear
This will be my last trip to the mountains for a bit, as I have a busy schedule for the last two weeks of school, and two upcoming weddings to attend. Next trip…end of June. By then, we’ll be ready to share some flowers at elevation!
Predicting Mist / Fog … And Dealing With It!
Rays Through The Mist
Lets start with prediction. Fog forms near the surface when the air cools to its dew point. There is always a certain quantity of water vapor in the air, and warmer air can hold significantly more water than cool air. So when air cools, there reaches a point where it can no longer hold the amount of water vapor suspended in it, and condensation occurs.
Two factors must be in place for the type of intense surface cooling necessary to reach the dew point…clear skies and light winds. Under clear skies, the heat of the day is allowed to radiate out into space, whereas clouds act like a blanket trapping heat. And light winds limit the mixing of the air with warmer air just aloft, and therefore keeping it warmer. If a clear, cool, calm night is predicted, morning mist is likely.
Clear, Cool and Calm = Morning Mist
An additional rule is necessary when considering mist over water. The water body must be warmer than the air above it. This can limit opportunities for atmospheric shots over water bodies in the middle of summer, but can occur at any time of the year.
Cool Air and Warm Water = Mist
Now…you go out and hit the jackpot…but how do you shoot it. Hi humidity conditions can lead to condensation and moisture problems on the front elements of the camera. This will especially be true if your camera is nearly the same temperature as the outdoor air.
There are some great ways to help minimize this though. First off, a dry bag is essential. Keeping the camera in the dry bag is the best way to limit the amount of total water that the camera can come in contact with. But of course, it the camera is in the bag, you aren’t shooting with it. The front element of the lens is very prone to fogging in these conditions. My way of dealing with this…a solid rotation of cokin filters, rapidly changed when fogging occurs. I store these in a microfiber case so that they dry in between use, and they are usually ready again minutes later.
Other tips…when shooting in the fog, it is important to pick your focus point, but a high depth of field is usually not as important. The fog limits sharpness anyway. Also, the fog is usually a grey color, but you want to make sure you over expose the scene in the fog, just as you would with snow. You can bring the contrast back up later if you over do it…but it’s tough to overdo.
Lastly…sometimes a bit of mist on the lens can lead to neat effects…well worth the experimentation!
Shooting Through A Lens With Condinsation
So there you have it…predicting and shooting in mist…and how to enjoy the next clear and cool morning this spring!
Baldface Bust…
There are some hikes that I plan out years in advance. This year I knew that in early June, I needed to hike the Baldface Circle loop to shoot the ledges of rhodora at sunrise. I’ve seen so many stunning pictures in hiking trip report forums showing the dramatic displays of blooms, and needed to experience it myself. One of those trip reports came from my friend and photographer Kevin Talbot, who accompanied me on this hike, as well as his wife Judy and dog Emma.
This year, wildflowers across New Hampshire have been very early, and the sub-alpine zones have been no exception. The rhodora on Mount Chocorua was in bloom last weekend, so I knew the hike had to be earlier than I had planned. I’ve also heard notes that it’s been a poor year for sub-alpine rhodora blooms, and once on the plateau, we noted the same thing. There were almost no flowers!
Lots of Rhodora, Very Flew Flowers
In spite of the lack of flowers, the Baldfaces are some of the most beautiful ridges in the Whites, and we were confident that with any light, we could come away with some special shots. Up on the summit of South Baldface, we found some patches of rhodora, and waited out a cloudy sky that showed promise of clearing to the west. It was one of those situations where the light show was going to be a ten or a zero. We got a zero. A few cloudscape over rhodora, and back to the camp…imagining what these scenes would look like with a soft sidelight!
View to Kearsarge Over Small Rhodora Patch
Glacier Erratic on South Baldface
Sunrise held promise as well, but there were evident obstacles as we awoke at 4am. First off, it was windy! VERY WINDY! The landscape was in motion, and it was hard to hold the tripod still. Second, there were thick clouds, with a band of clear sky near the horizon. Another all or nothing sunrise that amounted to no color. The clouds did offer some nice shapes to shoot, as did the creative stonework on the plateau near the summit.
Cloudscape Over Stonework - South Baldface
The last obstacle to landscape shots was the thick smoke that came in right after sunrise. There are evidently dozens of wildfires in Quebec burning out of control, and the haze came in about as thick as I’ve ever seen it in the Whites.
Evans Notch - Smoke From Canadian Wildfires
The trail down was an endless road of ladyslippers and bunchberry…so we did get some great flower shots. I’ll share those next post!
Overall, no light, no views, no rhodora…probably no shots to go into the fine art portfolio. However, it guarantees that I’ll be back next year. Lets hope that the rhodora takes the year without blooms to put energy back in the roots, and puts out an exceptional bloom in 2011.
Flat Mountain Pond Sunrise
In the middle of winter, I normally think nothing of getting up before 5AM to get to a location by the post 7AM sunrises. Summer is much different. Sunrises are now only a bit after 5AM, with good light starting during the 4AM hour. A two to three hour driving or hiking window equates to a sleepless night, which, until school is out, is simply not an option. So, the season of over-nighting at locations begins.
For me, over-nighting doesn’t always mean a backpacking trip, as I’ll often drive to a photo location, and sleep in the car until good light. But this weekend we chose the former, a nice hike to Flat Mountain Pond in the Sandwich Wilderness of Central, NH.
Flat Mountain Pond is in the Upper Left...
The hike to the pond is a fairly easy approach, with about 4 of the 5 miles following an old logging railroad grade. There’s even still evidence of the railway itself, not yet salvaged for scrap metal. The shelter sits at the south end of the pond, near a small dam, which makes it a popular place for swimmers and fly fisherman…and I’m glad I had my fly rod with me as well yesterday, as the trout were active.
Flat Mountain Pond Sunset
Sunset was interesting, but tough to shoot, as was the moose who refused to show more than a fleeting glimpse as he sauntered around the shoreline. Dinner was amazing…but everything tastes better in the woods…especially Annie’s mac and cheese with tuna! Besides that, the only notable was the persistence of black flies…who’s season has passed in SoNH…but is quite strong up north…
I woke up at 3:45 to the sound of Swainson’s Thrushes and White Throated Sparrows, and looked out of the shelter to see clear skies, and a heavy mist. Not a breath of wind disturbed the pond…and out I went to shoot. Now I’ve claimed to be a morning person on numerous occasions here, and this morning I had no problem getting my mind in shooting shape. My legs though…gave out on me on the wet rocks along the shoreline. Fortunately it was a warm morning…
Misty Sunrise - Flat Mountain Pond
Mist Catching the Sun - Flat Mountain Pond
Sunrise was just beautiful, with the mist slowly changing from gray to flame as the sun rose higher. A pair of beavers was the only disturbance to the pond, and birdsong was the only sound in the air!
After sunrise, I turned my attention to flowers…and the winds stayed calm until nearly 8AM. The heavy dew made for some neat shots of bog laurel, and I found some nice painted trilliums as well. I’ll post more of those shots next blog.
Dew on Bog Laurel...More Flowers To Come
It’ll be a pretty busy few days, but I’ll try to post a blog for tactics and techniques for misty mornings in the days ahead as well.
Thanks for following along on the hike!
Yellow Lady Slippers…
Yellow Lady Slipper Colony
I was out late last night, and ended up walking the dog around after midnight last night. It was truly a perfect night…clear and still, with a light fog. The inversion under clear skies trapped the smell of honeysuckle and lilac which hung heavily in the air. As an added bonus, distant lightning occasionally lit up the southern horizon. With sunrises so early, and sunsets rather late…I rarely see the deep evening darkness this time of year. Quite a treat.
Little did I know that I’d be up again a few hours later while the dew still clung to the grass. It’s a curse and a blessing…I simply can’t sleep in. So I packed up and headed out to find some flowers. There are way too many favorites that I haven’t shot yet this year…columbine, star flowers, lady slippers, Solomon seal, lily of the valley, painted trillium, canada mayflower, rose twisted stalk and bunchberry are all out now…ensuring busy shooting ahead, but this morning I was after a new flower. I’ve sought out the NH endangered yellow lady slipper for years, to no avail. Fortunately, a local wildflower garden has a small patch, and I figured before I go on a wild chase for them again this year, I better shoot the known, even if it is cultivated.
Yellow Lady Slipper
The window to shoot this morning was short, as the winds kicked up strongly, pushing me back home to watch the orioles eating oranges on the deck until the certain afternoon nap calls me. I’ll hope for less winds tomorrow to get a pile of wildflower shots in the annual collection!
