Category Archives: Buildings and Structures

The Carnegie Abbey Club

The Carnegie Abbey Club in Portsmouth, Rhode Island is a magnificent place just north of Newport. The eighteenth hole runs along the Narragansett Bay, naturally adding beauty to the well maintained grounds!

Enjoy my favorite image of the clubhouse taken with the eighteenth green in the foreground…

Barn on Route 100 in VT

The ride along rt. 100 in VT is one of the most scenic in the northeast. It’s very windy and you might get stuck behind an occasional slow moving car or truck, but it’s definitely worth the drive.

I believe this barn is in Pittsfield, but I took it back in 2009, before I started recording location info off the GPS, so I might be wrong on the town. I do remember it was just off the road to the right while traveling north on 100.

Vermont looks beautiful anytime of year, but it’s truly amazing in autumn!

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Hartford from Wickham Park

For the better part of the last year, my landscape/nature photography has taken a back seat to just about everything. Luckily for me, one of those things recently gave me the opportunity to get back into it a little. I was photographing a family portrait session (Yes…I do that from time to time and hope to have a new website up, promoting that work, soon) at Wickham Park in Manchester, CT. If you have never been there, I highly recommend it. It’s a beautiful park with many attractions for both families and couples.

While walking up to the high point of the park, the view of nearby Hartford jumped out at me. The foliage leading there and the low flying cloud at the base of the city drew me in. I only snapped off a few photos before getting back to the session, but it was enough to remind me how much I enjoy photographing and editing scenic shots. I’m thinking I need a day trip somewhere very soon with just me and my camera. It’s been way too long!

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The Round Barn in Autumn

The Round Barn on East Warren Rd. In Waitsfield, VT has always captured my attention. On this fall morning, I happened to be traveling on Common Rd., which runs higher on the mountain and offers up more expansive views of the Mad River Valley surrounding the barn. Everything came together perfectly for this image and I have always been pleased with result. I hope you like it too.

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Southford Falls

Well… I have been slacking terribly in posting to this blog. Because of that, I have decided to change up my format starting right away. I’ll no longer be doing a long write-up about each image. I’ll write where it was taken and maybe a sentence or two more but that’s it. If anyone wants more information about a particular post, I invite you to ask questions in the comments section or send me a direct email (chris.mcguire9@gmail.com).

This will hopefully result in more frequent posts. Time will tell…


Covered Bridge at Southford Falls

Southford Falls in Southbury and Oxford, CT is a great place to picnic, fish, hike, and view the many different sights it has to share. I return often when I need some photographic inspiration and it seldom disappoints.

Southford Falls

Gray’s Beach – Bass Hole Boardwalk

As a follow up to my last post, I want to share a little more about Gray’s Beach in Yarmouth Port, MA.  I have been visiting this spot ever since my parents purchased a condo, just 5 minutes down the road from there, a few years ago.

There are nicer beaches in the area for swimming and sunbathing, but none have the photo opportunities that Gray’s Beach hold.   Everywhere you look is another perfect “Cape Cod View”.  I won’t go into much detail now, but I have many images over the years that should explain what I mean.  I will be posting my favorites in the next few posts.

 

The Bass Hole Boardwalk

The signature photo-op of this bayside beach is the boardwalk that extends out over the surrounding salt marsh.  If you go into any nature artist’s gallery in Cape Cod, you will more than likely find a painting or a photograph of this seemingly endless structure.This is my favorite image of the boardwalk.  It was early on a beautiful August morning.  I remember I loved the way the sun was hitting the boardwalk and making the grass glow, but in my first test shot, I could tell the contrast between the sky and shadow areas was too high.  Luckily, HDR exists to help deal with such problems.  I set up my camera to bracket +-2 stops and fired off a few sets.  Once I found the composition I liked the most, I processed the three images in Photomatix and made further edits in Lightroom, Photoshop, and Nik Color Efex Pro until I was happy with the final image.

Bass Hole Boardwalk

 

Hartford Cityscape

Taken from the stairwell up to the highway overpass at Charter Oak Landing.

Hartford Cityscape

Have a nice weekend!

 

Snow Covered Farm

Snow

It snowed here in the northeast today and that gave me the idea to post one my favorite snow images.  I kind of have a love/hate relationship with the winter and it’s accompanying precipitation.  My work commute, is bad enough on dry days, but throw a little of the slick stuff on the ground and my ride ends up like leaving Gillette Stadium on AFC Championship Sunday (bumper to bumper and a lot of disgruntled drivers!).  I also have many fond memories of the snow though:  Sledding as a kid, or even as an adult with my daughter;  snowboarding trips to Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire; watching my dog run wildly and chomp at the pile I tossed her way while shoveling; and many others that brought an equal amount of joy even on the coldest of days.

 

Snow Covered Farm – Washington, CT

On those snowboarding trips up north, I remember looking at all the snow covered farm land and admiring it’s beauty.  All the trips came during a long stretch where I wasn’t taking any photographs at all.  That’s a story for another day, but those trips were the one time I wished I was still shooting.

So, a few years after digital imaging took off, and I let go of my grudge with photography, I took a drive out to the northwest area of Connecticut. It came after a winter storm had come through the days before.  When I turned onto Painter Ridge Road in Washington, I knew I found a great spot to shoot.  I loved the way the red barn contrasted with the snow and how all three main elements created a nice triangular composition.  I took away a few favorites that day including a close-up I really like of the barn, but this one wins out for me.

 Snow Covered Farm

 

 

Nubble in Black and White

Black and White Photography

I’m not sure exactly why, but my favorite images tend to be black and white. It’s probably because I shot mostly without color when I was just starting out. Well, I really started with those throw away cameras with the film preloaded, then quickly onto a point-n-shoot where I learned I needed more control of what I was doing. So I purchased my first SLR and signed up for an intro photography course that was all about developing black and white film and making prints from the negative.

I really got into the course and loved using the various developing techniques we were being taught. I read everything I could find on photography and developing and I loved thumbing through old photo books trying to figure out what the photographers did to produce those images (see note below). Since I was already working in black and white, I gravitated to the same when I was looking at images from others. I read most, if not all, of Ansel Adams books and like most people, fell in love with his images. I also liked learning the history of photography to see how we got to where we are. There weren’t too many color images in any of those books either so, I guess you can say I was brainwashed into liking black and white photography, but I embraced it and am not complaining at all.

 

Nubble in Black and White

After my friends and I left the lighthouse, we went to eat at a great seafood restaurant down the road. When we were ready to burst from all the fantastic food, we left and headed to my buddy’s place to relax for the night . We all sat around drinking adult beverages and chatting until someone suggested we play the board game Risk. I had never played or don’t remember playing as a kid, but it didn’t take long to learn and the competition in it made for some fun moments. As competitive as all four of us were however, meant that nobody was willing to give in and the game went late into the night as did the consuming of beverages.

Luckily, because of those late drinks, the fact that I never set my alarm didn’t cost me an early morning trip back to Nubble. Nature’s alarm clock woke me right around sunrise and after screwing my head back on, I jumped in the car and rushed over to the lighthouse. There were still lingering effects from the previous days’s storm, but the sun did come out a little. I took photos for about an hour before my headache brought me back to the house instead of my planned trip north to Kennebunkport. That would have to wait for another time.

I went back and napped for a few hours before I had to head home. After saying my goodbyes, I decided, even though it was noontime and probably not the best light, to stop at Nubble one last time. Because of the increased light and therefore contrast, I thought a black and white image would look best. I bracketed to make sure I captured the full range of light giving many options in edit later on. A few more clicks of the shutter and I was on my way home.

Nubble in Black and White

 

Tomorrow, providing the cold I’m fighting doesn’t take me down for the count, I’ll be posting a wild scene of ducks.

 

Note: Studying Images: Studying various images is a great way to learn. Look all around the images you like. See where the light is coming from. See what they let go all black or blown out white. How much detail was left in the shadows or how much grain there is. After that, ask yourself what you would have done different if you were the photographer (Just don’t tell them unless they ask! Most people don’t take that very well).

 

Nubble Lighthouse – York, ME

Before I get into any photography related information, I wanted to share a new site related to the Newtown tragedy.  It’s the Sandy Hook Promise website and I am proud to have taken their pledge earlier today. You can too by clicking the link above.  I also updated the Newtown the Beautiful page that you can always get to by clicking the ribbon that’s at the bottom of the right hand column. I added some new links as well.

 

Who To Follow – Zach Frailey aka…The Uprooted Photographer

I first found out who Zack was back when I was learning about HDR photography. I had been following a few photographers already on the subject and one of them, Trey Ratcliff, had just launched a new, member based website, HDR Spotting.  I really wanted to become one of those members, but team Trey had an ingenious caveat to joining.  You needed a unique code to get in, and that code was only given to current members in good standing.  I’m not sure how many codes were given to Zack, but when I googled around, looking for a way to get my own code, I came across an offer he had.  It basically said, like his Facebook page, The Uprooted Photographer, and he would give you the code.  So I did, but unfortunately, I was too late.  Someone else received his last code before me.  Oh well, search continued on, but I didn’t drop his page and still haven’t today.

Zack Frailey might not be the biggest name right now, but if he’s not in the Major Leagues of photography, he’s certainly in the minors about to be called up.  I’m envious of Zack in many ways because, at least from what I can tell, he lives photography most of the time.  I always enjoy seeing his images and reading what he has to write.  Both his blog and the Facebook page are updated frequently with insightful information.  I think I would be more that way myself if I didn’t have my 9to5 every day, but that’s the price to pay for having two work loves. So yes, I am envious, but not jealous. I’ll just have to keep following Zack to  satisfy that need for knowledge.

You can get his info and links to all his social media outlets at The Uprooted Photographer.  Definately worth the follow.

 

Nubble Lighthouse – York, ME

After I left Gloucester(see previous post here), I continued up the eastern coastline till I reached York, Me.  I was about an hour early for meeting my friends, so I headed right for the place I was looking forward to the most; Nubble Lighthouse.

It’s really a remarkable view right from the parking lot, but of course I didn’t stay there.  No, I climbed down onto the lower rocks so I could capture a dramatic view of the lighthouse as the waves came crashing in.  They weren’t very large waves, but they would splash wildly as they careened onto the rocks.  I studied them for a short time to see where I could set up without getting soaked and then moved in when I felt comfortable.

It was starting to get dark out, and the cool fall air was starting to really howl as I snapped a few sets of photos.  I remember feeling very excited to be there, but also tired from the long trip I’d been on so far that day.  A few seconds after I took the set for the image below, a larger wave came in and soaked me and my equipment when it crashed. I quickly moved to a higher spot, but getting wet on a cold windy night like that was enough for me to pack it in.  My friends would be showing up a few minutes later anyway.  I did managed to get some personal shots of all of us when they showed up, but I don’t look to happy in any of them. That couldn’t be further from the truth however.  I had a great day of photography and was about to hang out with some friends I don’t get to see very often.  I just needed to warm up!

Nubble Light - York, ME

 

Come back tomorrow as I wrap up my trip with another of the lighthouse and find out why playing the game Risk almost cost me my morning photos!