Category Archives: animals

Photo #2

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I’m still sorting through the Whale pictures. I went on quite a few whale watches this summer so there are a ton of pictures. I eliminated all of the flukes and tails because I have lots of those so they lack that “special” quality I’m looking for.

This one is another surface feeding humpback. I like this because of the boat in the background and the shoreline. It gives you as reference point for size and the relationship to the shore. The water depth is relatively shallow where these whales are feeding.DSC_3183 copy

Check out all of the gulls flying around hoping for an easy dinner.

Photo Number 1

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Although I called this Photo Number 1, I don’t mean it’s necessarily the best. I mean it’s the first photo to make the cut.

This is a photo of a humpback whale “Surface feeding” as he skims the surface with his mouth open, the baleen strains the water out leaving the tiny fish and krill in his jaws.

The photo is sharp, can be enlarged and caught an unusual subject. It’s not everyday you see a whale feeding like this.

Baleen - Stellwagon Banks, Massachusetts Bay, MA

Baleen – Stellwagon Banks, Massachusetts Bay, MA

Anyone who knows me understands that I have a fascination with humpback whales. I’ve been following them and whale watching for over 30 years. This season was one of the best whale watch season I can remember. I even saw my first breaching whale. Unfortunately  it was too far away for the picture I got to pass the top 10 criteria test.

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Humpback Breaching, Stellwagon Bank, Massachusetts

 

Its That Time Again

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New Years is right around the corner. A blank sheet of paper if you will. Lots of people will be looking back over 2016 and setting goals for 2017. There will be the usual “lose weight”, “quit smoking”, “be nice to the neighbor” and so on. I’ll probably make some “resolutions” too. After all, a little introspection is a good thing but I tend to think of this week between Christmas and New Years as a time to wade through a whole year’s worth of photos.

Red Fox on a rock

Red Fox on a rock

Most of my pictures are of the snap shot variety. I grab the camera and try to capture a moment, maybe something to share here but every now and then I try to get that special picture. One that makes me say ahhhh.

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It gets harder and harder to get those special pictures. Everybody has a camera and everybody thinks they are a “pro”. Just this kind of atmosphere raises the bar.

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I’m reviewing my pictures for that special , indefinable quality that makes them a “cut above”. I want to find the 10 best.

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They have to be in focus, with lots of pixels so they can be blown up to gallery print size, and they need to be special in some way.

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So for the next few days I’m going to share my pictures as I search for those special top 10.

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Some of these are pretty good but I don’t think they will make the cut. We’ll see.

 

Jackson Falls

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I may not have gotten the photo I had in mind when I drove to Jackson NH but all was not lost.

Over lunch at a local restaurant several people asked me if I’d been to the “Falls” yet. I told them no and asked where it was. Turns out, not far from the center of town at all.

So having chased the snowless sleighs around for a bit I decided to give that a rest and see if I could find Jackson Falls.

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Just after making the turn by the  Wentworth Inn ( I think that was the name) I drove up a hill.  At the top was a place to pull over . There were quite a few cars there considering it was quite cold and beginning to spit some snow flurries. It turned out to be a wedding party getting their photos done. I didn’t want to intrude so decided to drive around some more and come back in a little bit.

I completed a circle that passed lots of scenic farms and finally brought me back to the covered bridge.

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I figured that was enough time for the photo shoot to end because the bride had to be freezing but I was wrong. The bride and groom were still there. Most of the rest of the wedding party had left. Trying not to intrude I wandered downstream away from the photo shoot but when I turned to photograph the falls I couldn’t resist a shot with the bride and groom standing nearby.

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This is one of my favorites from that day’s adventures.

In Search of the Perfect Christmas Card

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Its hard to believe another Christmas has come and  gone and the count down to the new year begins.   One of my favorite parts of the holiday traditions is making my special Christmas Cards.

The photos I use are always from the year before. In other words, I will use a photo from this year for next year’s card and so on. I do this so I won’t feel too stressed out looking for a last minute holiday picture. Usually I have something in mind. Last year I planned a trip to Disney World with the sole intention of finding a picture for my card this year. The result was the train.

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A few years ago I wanted to use one of the decorated homes in town.

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One year I was trying to get a good candle picture for my cards.

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So with a possible card theme in mind I took off to Jackson NH for a day trip.  Now a drive to Jackson from Taunton is about 4 hours.  I figured I’d have about two hours there to get the  special picture and then I’d need to head back home.

What I had in mind was a sleigh ride drawn by a team of horses. “Dashing through the snow”…but when I arrived in Jackson, there was no snow! Oh Oh. Strike one.

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Strike 2 was that to go on the Jingle Bell Chocolate Tour you had to be staying at one of the Inns. There was no room at any of the Inns, not that I really had time to stay overnight.

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Strike 3 was no sleighs (since there was no snow) well, in a way there were sleighs. They were mounted on wagon frames.

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To make a long story short, I didn’t get the photos I had visualized and at this point I don’t think they will make the cut for next year’s card but you never know. It all depends on what other shots I come up with. I had a good time and met some nice people and that’s what’s really important.