An Eclectic Set of Images

I’ll start by saying that I did not feel that 2022 was my most productive year in photography, so my decision to look through my catalog for a few images to represent my year was a reluctant one. However, once I started poking around in Lightroom, I changed my mind. In fact, I had more than enough, albeit several from the same trips. So without further adieu, here are some of my favorite images from 2022. Be sure to click on the image to super-size it!

SEA SMOKE GLOUCESTER

Back in January my friend Steven Perlmutter and I continued our semi-annual tradition of hunting sea smoke — that bitter-cold phenomenon of icy mist rising above the water when the air temperature rapidly drops below that of the water. The morning this was taken, the air temperature was just below zero, but the icy wind made it drop much lower. The wind also added to the mood, creating a churning cauldron of frigid delight. It took the better part of the day for my body to thaw out

CRESSON EXAMINING ROOM

Cresson Sanatorium and Prison in Pennsylvania no longer operates as a prison or sanatorium, but it is open for self-guided tours. Photography strongly encuraged.

Upon checkin we were given a map of the facility, which included classic cell-blocks, the barber shop, a chapel, solitary confinement area, and the medical buildings. where I captured this image.

Urbex begs for an ultra-wide lens. It has always been my go-to. But on this visit to Cresson I challenged myself to use only my prime Olympus 17mm 1.2 (a 34mm equivalent on full frame cameras). Getting out of my comfort zone helped me to see things differently. In this case it forced me outside the room where I picked up additional context on the wall.

RAZOR WIRE

Here is another image from Cresson, this one taken in the “The Yard” of the solitary confinement facility.

Designed to give prisoners in solitary confinement some sunlight, The Yard consisted of three or four smaller narrow holding areas separated by heavy chain link fencing. The ceiling was open to allow some sun and fresh air in, but was topped with razor wire to prevent escape.

Solitary was the last section I visited that day, and I’m glad of that. For most of the day we had overcast skies with intermittent heavy rain. By the time I got to Solitary, the rain had passed and the skies were clearing, leaving behind these beautiful textured clouds.

GRANDSON #3

I would never forgive myself if I didn’t include at least one photo of at least one of our three grandsons. And while I have a ton of images of them, I only have a few that I would consider of high enough quality to post.

This is one of them — the youngest grandson, taken back in April on a quick trip to visit him and his parents in Brooklyn, NY. His name is Jules. At the time he was 8 months old and just starting to pull himself up on his feet. He is now walking, still smiling and starting to talk a bit.

500 BOYLSTON

It had been a long time since I had done any photography in Boston. It is a beautiful city with some amazing architecture; new and old. Back in April I went to the city to meet some friends for afternoon sushi. I did bring my camera, but I had no plans to do any serious photography. We left the restaurant late in the afternoon. The cloudless sky was perfectly blue, so I decided to put my camera to use. I wandered around looking mostly up for a compelling composition. Once again, I had restricted myself to the one 17mm prime lens.

OLD CAR CITY

I took a second trip later in the spring with Michael Criswell to Georgia to visit our friend, John Deas. While we were there primarily to photograph waterfalls, we took a day to visit Old Car City (OCC) in White, GA.

OCC is a automobile graveyard/museum. The several acre property houses the rusting bodies of hundreds (maybe thousands) of automobiles dating from the 1920s to the 1970s. It is easy to get lost both physically and mentally. The six miles of trails can leave you disoriented, and the decaying beauty of the old cars is photographically mesmerizing.

This shot is one of many that could have made this list.

AMICALOLA FALLS

As mentioned above, the trip to Georgia was mostly about photographing waterfalls. And we photographed quite a few!

All of them were beautiful, but the highlight for me was the last one we visited. Amicalola Falls, in the Dawsonville area, dances down a nearly 800 foot cliff. A wooden stairway from the bottom to top provides several viewable areas along the wall of water.

The falls are a compositional playground, and the trek up the 800 or so steps the top is a physical challenge that I was determined to overcome. I made it up and back down, and walked away with a few images I liked.

I grabbed this image from a viewing platform that crosses the falls close to the top (if I recall correctly).

THE GRID

For the past 12 years I’ve participated in the I Did the Grid Road Race in East Northport, Long Island put on by Team Chris. The race had been held each year to honor the memory and sacrifice of CPL Christopher G Scherer, USMC, who was killed in Iraq in 2008. After a 15 year run (no pun intended), 2022 was the last running of the race. As a long time friend of the Scherer Family, I looked forward to the race and participated in the “competitive” run (it was followed by a community walk and a kids fun-run). On this, the last year, I chose to forgo the run and photograph the finish of the competitive run.

This image captures everything the race stands for.

PASTEL BEE

I tell myself every year that I am going to do more macro photography, yet I seem only to muster a couple of sessions with my friend Mike Tully.

Those mornings in Mike’s back yard, “Coffee, Conversation, and Critters” have become an annual tradition. They usually take place early in July, but could and should span the entire summer. I’ve learned a lot from Mike about macro from Mike, and picked up some additional tips by following some of Olympus’ (now OM Systems) macro photography ambassadors.

In addition to the sessions with Mike, I did get out for one or two solo sessions, but it is not nearly enough. Maybe I’ll make 2023 a Macro breakout year.

This bee was captured in Mike’s back yard.

SABBADAY FALLS

My family’s annual week in the White Mountains is really all about family. There is some light hiking with the grandkids, some time hanging at the pool or down by the river, and of course two full solid days at tourist trap amusements parks — unavoidable with three young grandkids in tow.

That said, if the conditions look right for sunrise or sunset, or there is some downtime, I will try to sneak off to indulge my photography.

On this past summer’s vacation, I had the chance to break away for a few hours with my middle son for some waterfall photography. Short hikes were all we had time for, so our first stop was Sabbaday Falls on the Kancamagus Highway.

Sabbaday is arguably the prettiest waterfall in the Whites, and one of the most accessible. The base of the falls is a short, 10 minute hike from the parking lot. It is usually crowded, so if you want to photograph it without the clutter of tourists in the background, go early in the morning.

I’ve photographed this waterfall many times over the years, so I was amazed when I walked away with a new favorite photo of this spot.

PROFESSOR VALLEY PANORAMA

The final two images from my year-end round up are from my October trip to Utah with the NXNW crew.

If you are new to my work, NXNW are a group of 2000 era photobloggers who, after following each other’s work decided to meet up in person for a long weekend of photography. Apparently we all got along because we are going on our 13th year of photo-meet-ups. Anyway, this year’s location was Utah and this image is a panorama of Professor Valley, outside of Moab.

It took 3-4 hours of rough, high clearance 4-wheel, off-road driving to reach the overlook. When we arrived, the light was already receding from the valley. We all rushed to grab our gear from the vehicles and scramble to the edge to set up. We may have missed peak light, but the color in the sky after the dipped below the horizon did not disappoint.

Be sure to click the image to get the full panorama exeperience.

FACTORY BUTTE SUNSET

I had a location in mind for my sunset shot from this location. It was right near where we parked the vehicles. We arrived so early, and the area was so expansive rich with compositional promise, I decided to go exploring, grab a few more compositions, and still make it back for the sunset shot. Along the way, and more than a few shots later, I lost track of time and underestimated how quickly the light fades (I swear, here in New England sunset takes MUCH longer!).

I tried to jog back to the car park, where that sweet composition awaited me, but the light was fading and I had to find a shot quickly. In desperation, I framed up a tight shot of the butte with the moon. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted that little gulley below me in the shadow. I quickly reframed, using the gulley as a leading line.

Pre-planning is overrated :-)

For the record, I did get the image I had originally visualized. It wound up being a blue hour image, and it worked out just fine. Look for that in an upcoming blog post.