portrait of a camellia

Soft, delicate, white... a camellia in bloom shows quiet beauty.

a splash of pink

Very cold air and snow-covered trails have convinced me that wandering outside should be curtailed. Fast walking may be OK; slow wanders with a camera are not.

Yesterday to satisfy my need for color I headed to the greenhouses of the Lyman Estate. While many flowers were quiet, there were enough wearing colorful petals to make me happy.

inside

Yesterday's low temperatures and wind chill drove me to walk inside instead of out. I thought it would be a little warmer today but when the temperature was still below 10 degrees at 1 PM I headed back to the Y for a stint on a treadmill. I much prefer walking outside but exercising in warmth felt good.

The temperature tomorrow might support outside activity. I'll wait and see.

layers

Wind and waves sculpt snow on the beach, sandwiching it in layers with sand.

white

Snow overnight and into the morning turned the landscape bright white. As the wind encouraged still ice-covered branches to move I could hear the sound of ice cracking, a kind of winter music.

icy

We received less snow than predicted yesterday but the freezing rain in today's forecast is definitely here. It's a good day to stay inside.

top photos :: 2017

As the calendar fades to the end of the year it's time for me to wander through the photos that I've published in 2017 to find my favorites. It's always an interesting exercise.

From the beginning of the year, here are my selections.

inbound tide

emerging

delicate

bright

tulip wearing pink

tilted

shimmering

on the Royal River

gloriosa daisy

perched

a walk on the beach

curves

These photos are collected into the gallery top photos :: 2017. If you'd like to see larger versions of the photos or you would like to view them as a full screen slideshow, click here to jump to the gallery.

stacked

A section of the New Hampshire coast just south of Odiorne Point State Park contains stacks of rocks, some small, some not. I often see people adding to the collection.

warmer

There was a breath of warmth in the air today with temperatures (eventually) rising to the upper 40s. The remnants of last week's snow are still present and many ponds remain frozen.

A day of winter warm air was a nice treat.

a winter day

Brrr! The air is cold with conditions changing from overcast skies to light snow and back to overcast skies.

This stretch of cold is supposed to be broken tomorrow with a brief return to temperatures in the mid-40s. I'm hoping that the forecast is right; a little warmth would be welcome.

greenhouse visit

As cold temperatures persisted yesterday, I headed to the west to visit a new-to-me greenhouse. The botanic gardens of Smith College have been a target destination for me for a while; it was time for a visit.

With winter enveloping the landscape the outside gardens will wait for a warmer visit. I headed in to the greenhouse to check the living beauty.

More photos can be viewed in the gallery seeking color :: Smith College.

purple

This splash of tiny purple flowers caught my eye as I wandered through the inside spaces at the Tower Hill Botanic Garden last week.

cold & wind

Cold air has settled in, enhanced by a strong wind. It feels like winter.

Comfortable walking outside this time of year requires a bit of thought to determine the best layers. Even though the wind chill was in the teens when I was walking this morning I was reasonably comfortable.

snow at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

a bit of color

As we move into winter I'm happy to be able to find a bit of color via indoor flowers. It's a good time of year for greenhouse visit.

snow on the beach

I love walking on the beach after a snowfall. Sometimes there is a sharp contrast between snow and sand, sometimes the wind mixes them in streaks of brown and white.

My walk today was mid-point in the transition from low to high tide. There were bright white clouds decorating the sky, white snow sitting on the sand.

at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

early snow

Today brought the first snow of the season. While the accumulation started slowly, the forecast calls for a noticeable depth by the end of the storm.

first impressions :: Fuji XF 80mm Macro

I've had my eye on Fujifilm's X Mount Lens Roadmap for a while now. A new macro lens was projected to be available in late 2017; it was a lens that I believed would fit into my photography habits since macro work focused on flowers is a ongoing focus of mine.

When I picked up my Fuji X-T2 at Hunt's Photo and Video last month I asked to be placed on the waiting list for the soon to be released Fuji XF80mmF2.8 Macro lens. The rumored release date was the end of November. At that point I had no idea when I would receive my new lens. I understood from the sales rep that my request for the lens was within the number of lenses that Hunt's had ordered, but he also told me that the manufacturers often didn't ship full (requested) quantities when a new lens or camera was released. I kept my fingers crossed, hoping to be included in an early shipment.

I was delighted to receive a call on November 30th to let me know that my new macro lens had arrived. It was a good afternoon to drive to Hunt's.

I've had the lens for a full week, enough time to know that it is a keeper. I've used it for macro photography and I've used it for landscape shots too. The lens has a fast auto focus system, is weather-sealed (yay!), and has optical image stabilization (excellent for hand-held photos). So far I'm delighted with the image quality.

Here are a few samples of the photos that I've taken with this lens so far.

I'm happy!

perched

My focus during my recent walk at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge was on small items sitting on the beach. A leaf perched on the sand was perfectly posed.

delicate

A visit to the greenhouses of the Lyman Estate is a feast of delicate flowers. When days are gray it's a good place to satisfy my need for bright colors.

powerful

I am appalled by the president's order yesterday to reduce the size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments by over 2 million acres combined. The order reduced Bears Ears by 85% and Grand Staircase-Escalante by 46%. There are lawsuits filed already; I suspect that more will be coming.

At the same time I was delighted to see this powerful statement on the home page of Patagonia's web site:

I'm hoping that this order can be overturned. Opening up protected lands to development leads to destruction.

The article 'The President Stole Your Land': Patagonia, REI blast Trump on national monument rollbacks published by the Washington Post provides a good summary.

I also found the opinion article Trump’s National Monument Reduction Is Illegal and Likely to Be Reversed in Adventure Journal to be an interesting read. I'm trying to hold on to hope.

...and a day later, the National Parks Conservation Association published the blog post 7 Facts About the Trump Administration’s Illegal Attack on National Monuments . Perhaps this is a battle that can be won. I hope.

tiny

These very tiny flowers caught my eye as I wandered through the greenhouses at Lyman Estate. It almost looks as if the bright purple is painted on the petals.

a walk on the beach

I headed to the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge early this afternoon for a walk on the beach. The tide was headed out, presenting a well packed and somewhat wet surface that was perfect for walking.

I shared the beach with a few birds, sea gulls walking, sanderlings flying just over the ocean surface.

It was a wonderful day to walk by the ocean.

upgrade :: Fuji X-T2

It was over two years ago when I jumped into the mirrorless camera world with the purchase of a Fuji X-T1. I held on to my Canon 7D and lenses for a long time, finally selling in September. The cash was put to good use, feeding my desire for an upgrade to my camera.

I've been eyeing the Fuji X-T2 for a while, believing that there were enough changes in the camera body to warrant a purchase. When I saw an instant rebate from Fuji in combination with a photo show at Hunt's Photo & Video in Melrose I decided it was the right time. I picked up an X-T2 at the beginning of November and I've been attached to it ever since.

There were a number of new and changed features that jumped out at me as must haves. First the sensor is 24 megapixels (X-Trans CMOS III). That's a welcome change from the X-T1 with its 16 megapixel sensor. Given that I do sometimes crop photos I prefer to have more megapixels to start. Next, the X-T2 has many more (up to 325) focus points, and a very fast autofocus of 0.06 seconds. One change that I love is the focus stick on the back of the camera; it allows me to quickly move the focus point.

While I usually focus using the viewfinder there are times when the flip screen is the focus point of choice. On the X-T1 it was very usable if shooting landscape mode images but it wasn't as helpful for portrait mode. That's fixed very nicely on the X-T2 with a flip screen that articulates 3 ways, two horizontal and one vertical. Awesome!

There are dual SD card slots with settings for the photographer to designate how they are used.

I'm still exploring the camera; so far I'm very happy.

All of the photos in my blog posted on or after November 6th were taken with the X-T2. I've included a few more samples here.

waves along Jenness Beach


Memorial Bridge, Portsmouth, NH


ocean action at Reid State Park


chrysanthemum at Longwood Gardens


orchids in the greenhouses of Lyman Estate

If you're interested in a review of this camera, check Karen Hutton's article The Fujifilm X-T2: First Impressions & Images.

curled

While most leaves are on the ground there are still a few holding on to branches, curled and dry.

wild wind

It was a warm day for the end of November with temperatures reaching close to 60 degrees. The warmth was tempered by wind gusting to 32 mile per hour. As I walked in Maudslay State Park this afternoon the wind picked up leaves from the ground and threw them into the air.

Most of the branches are bare; a few wore berries in bright red.

watching

This sea gull was standing, watching, making sure no one approached his spot.

in Prescott Park, Portsmouth, NH

blue and white

Inland waters near the edge of Odiorne Point State Park provided a perfect canvas for reflections, a painting in blue and white.

lift span raised

The the lift span of the still under construction Sarah Mildred Long Bridge is in place and tested. The span currently sits in the open position, probably to avoid the need to staff the bridge before it opens to traffic.

waves

Yesterday felt like a good day for a walk on the beach. I headed to Reid State Park in Georgetown, Maine for a bit of a wander.

As soon as I arrived I heard the sound of the waves. It's always good to walk by the ocean.

bright

A bright pink bougainvillea brings a touch of color on this gray and rainy day.

return to The Point

My last visit to check the murals of The Point in Salem was in late September. I chose not to visit in October since Salem with its history of witchcraft really gears up for Halloween. With today's (relative) November warmth it was time for a walk among the murals. During my last visit I saw murals in progress; today I saw the finished art.

I was fascinated by the change in the mural titled "The Lovechild 2017" by Chor Boogie. Only the top of the mural was in progress when I saw it in September. The full mural is fascinating!

More photos from today's visit are in the gallery walls and water :: Salem, MA starting with this photo and ending here.