Category Archives: Connecticut
Moonlit Foliage
I finally forced myself out to shoot some landscapes this week! My schedule is pretty busy these days, so I used the only free time I had and went out around midnight to get my shots. Yes midnight!! This was my only light source for the session…
I have always loved shooting under moonlight. It was pretty dark out, but the full Hunter’s Moon lit up the area enough to get a decent composition in the camera. After that, the rest is pretty simple as long as everything falls into place like it did for me on this night… It was extremely calm, which is key for long exposure shots. It is also peak foliage season right now, so I was hopeful that I’d see some dramatic colors once I snapped off a few photos. I did a few quick test shots to get my times down and then began taking a couple from each position, increasing or decreasing the shutter speed a little each time. The images were between 2 and 3 minutes long and shot at f/8.
First Day of Spring!
Daffodils are big springtime favorite here in Connecticut and with today marking the first day of spring for 2015, I’m sharing one of my faforite’s of the yearly blossom…
Time to wake up from hibernation and get moving!
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!
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.
Spring is in the air!
After a very long and cold winter, I am finally coming out of hibernation. The grass is getting greener, the days are getting longer, and it’s finally getting a little warmer here in Connecticut. It’s all helping to get my photography juices going again. I still have a lot going on in my life, but the need to be creative and to share some of the beauty I’ve been fortunate to see over the years is rising back up.
Spruce Brook Falls – Beacon Falls, CT
I took this photograph back in 2010, but it still remains one of my favorites. I have it hanging at work so I get to look at it every day. It reminds me of the fact that most, if not all, good things in life require hard work. The photograph itself wasn’t very hard to take. I had been shooting waterfalls long enough at that point to understand what camera settings to use and what composition would showcase the falls In a pleasing way. What was a challenge, was getting to this location. It had been raining for days prior and continued that morning as I trekked through an overgrown trail to the falls. It’s not an easy place to reach, but I had read that it was worth the difficulty, so I continued forward. I carefully stepped through the slippery mud and over the soaked rocks while ducking the branches and swatting the mosquitos. When I finally reached the falls, I was rewarded with an amazing view as the water washed over and then down the ravine. It made the difficult hike well worth the effort and continues to be an inspiration to me when times get tough.
Frozen!
Within the 9 to 5
Although my job at work mainly consists of analyzing and programming, every once in a while, I get to work on a photography or video project. Back in October of 2012, I was given the opportunity to produce a music video for my company. It was done during the viral parody days of the now famous Carly Rae Jepson song, Call Me Maybe. I was given the task to create one of these videos promoting Manufacturing in Connecticut.
Being a huge fan of shows like “How it’s Made” and “Unwrapped”, I jumped at the chance to go in and video eight different manufacturing companies during a span of two weeks. Editing was very time consuming, but I enjoyed every minute (That’s probably a lie, but how I remember it now!).
A copyright issue with the song kept the video from playing on mobile devices for over a year, but apparently that has been lifted. We managed to get over 10,000 hits despite the problem, but I often wonder how many we would have received if it was available on phones and tablets from the start.
Frozen! Sylvan Lake, Watertown, CT
With all of the sub-freezing weather we’ve been having this year; I felt the need to post one of my favorite frigid feeling photos. Even though I am not a huge fan of the cold, I don’t mind (too much), photographing in it. Dressing in layers as well as wearing good thin gloves are two important keys for me to be happy while shooting. I definitely work a little quicker once the temp drops below freezing, but I can tolerate it enough to capture beautiful scenes like the one below.
Stay warm everyone! Spring is right around the corner!
Magical Shot! – Rockledge Golf Club
Golf
I love golf! I’ve been playing ever since I could remember. My dad would take me to one of the local courses near our home and we would chip and putt around the practice green for what seemed like hours. Knowing my dad’s patience is similar to my own, it was probably closer to a half hour or so, but it was fun no matter how long it was…
Magical Shot! – Rockledge Golf Club, West Hartford, CT
I love it when all the pieces fall into place for a photograph. In May of last year, good timing, manmade features, and the natural elements, aligned for this magical shot. I had left work a few minutes late, and if you know traffic in Hartford, that can be a major mistake most nights. The extra delay slowed me down enough to keep me in the city while the sun quickly worked its way down through the clouds and toward the horizon.
As I neared the exit for Rockledge Golf Club, I knew that I would be able to capture the dramatic sky from the parking lot overlooking the course. I hopped off the highway and as I pulled into the lot I saw the first member of this threesome teeing off. That gave me only a couple of minutes to park, hop out of the car, adjust my camera settings, and fire off three quick shots as the last player hit his ball down the fairway.
I looked at the LCD screen and knew I captured both the shot and the scenery to my liking. I was even more pleased when I looked at it on my monitor later that night, but I also knew I had quite a bit of work to do in edit. A few distracting elements needed to be removed and the guy in the middle was hunched over with his club protruding outward from his waste. I removed the club and stood him more upright using the cloning tools in Photoshop.
Dealing with a few glare spots as well as getting the color and tone the way I wanted was a big chore as well. Shooting into the sun creates a lot of contrast, but luckily technology is offering up new and better ways to deal with that all the time and Lightroom 4 by Adobe is a perfect example. I was able to bring out the details in both the highlights and shadows by using adjustment brushes and graduated filters where needed.
Spring Ahead
Happy spring everyone! A lot will be changing in the next few weeks and I can’t wait. Colorful flowers will be blooming; daylight will go deep into the evenings; and the cold weather will become a distant memory.
This blog will also be getting revived too. I still have a lot going on right now, so I will post when I can, but they should become more frequent.
Blooming Crocuses – Watertown, CT
Happy Birthday to my friend Liz! I promised her I’d have a post today when she didn’t accept my high-five as a good enough gift 🙂
Reflection
First of all, I’m sorry for not having any posts in a while. Life takes priority sometimes and this is one of those. I’ll get back to posting more regularly soon, but for now, I will when I can.
Reflection – Middlebury, CT
I had intended to wait till fall before posting this image, but after more than a week of personal reflection, I decided it’s just as relevant now as it would be then. For me anyway and it’s my blog, so I get final say 🙂
I have always liked this image a lot. The autumn colors flow really well together and the abstract composition kind of gives it a Monet quality. I have tried to take similar photos since this one, but none have that little extra something that I think this one does.
I hope to post again soon…
Hartford Cityscape
Taken from the stairwell up to the highway overpass at Charter Oak Landing.
Have a nice weekend!
