"Emmanuel"...

"Emmanuel"

Much like one of the most wonderful pieces of music I've ever heard...for me this image triggers a full range of complex emotions. Hope, anticipation, abandonment, solitude and intimacy.

It is unclear if these chairs are abandoned for the season or if in just a few minutes two people be sitting here sharing a special moment together.

Like much in life each of us will see something different here and interpret this within the context of our own emotions and feelings.

CHRIS BOTTI IN BOSTON | "Emmanuel" w/ Lucia Micarelli | PBS
https://youtu.be/m8NN4fpdm40

Simply Ablaze!...

"Simply Ablaze" - A Roadside Snapshot.

It seems every tree in New England is begging for individual attention right now. Which raises a question of how best to enjoy the beauty of fall in New England?

Like people each tree has it's own unique qualities. Yet when viewed "en masse" and enjoyed as a group of good friends... there is a completely different dynamic and feel to them. 

And in the end I guess trees in fall are like people... there is no right or wrong way to embrace, enjoy and learn from them. You simply have to be open to the opportunities that both life and Mother Nature present us to enrich our lives and nourish our soul and not let them pass you by.

"A Tragedy Told in Stone"

"Tragedy Told in Stone" - West Lebanon NH

“Numbers rule all things.” -- Pythagoras 580 – 500 B.C.E.

While I'm not really superstitious... this family headstone found in a local cemetery certainly tells a tragic story and would seem to contradict the fact that the number seven is generally thought of as being lucky in most cultures throughout the world. 

However in this case it seems to have been very unlucky… although certainly important.

While I will not make any claims as to the accuracy of this information... you can read more about the meaning of different numbers in cultures around the world here: http://mysticalnumbers.com/

"Abandoned Buildings 3" - Autoware, Canaan NH

This is the third in a series of images of various abandoned buildings and structures located in the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire.

Time and the original owners seem to have forgotten most of these places... but I'm sure they all have a story to tell.

In the case of this building I know a little of the history and there is some information online as well.

Unfortunately I believe this building stands as a sad testament to what happens when people take a "too causal" attitude towards the proper handling and disposal of junk and potentially hazardous waste.  At one time this was an automobile repair shop.  And my general understanding is that no one has been willing or able to buy and develop the property since the shop went out of business many years ago due to what it would cost to have all the junk material and potentially hazardous removal done.  It is now listed as "abandoned" on at least one list of such properties online by the New Hampshire State Treasurer.

Some references are here: https://casetext.com/case/state-v-autoware-inc and here: http://new-hampshire-unclaimed.org/data/++CANAAN,+NH/AUTOWARE+INC/66313985.html


If you are a local follower and recognize any of these places please post a comment as to the former use. Eventually I hope to put together an album of these images along with a brief history of the building or location.  Thanks!

Summer Sunset...

"Summer Sunset" - Mascoma River, Enfield NH

For the past few weeks I have been challenging myself to try and "see" in black and white again after many years of shooting almost exclusively in color.

And so far I am pretty happy with the results.

 I know the resulting images have made me think more about what I see and how I view the world around me... and I hope they do the same for those who occasionally view and enjoy my work.

Abandoned Buildings #2

Abandoned #2 - Route 120, Lebanon, NH

This is the second in a series of images of various abandoned buildings and structures located in the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire.

Time and the original owners seem to have forgotten these places... but I'm sure they all have a story to tell.

Unlike the first photo in this series it looks like someone has come to the rescue of these two buildings... but that still doesn't tell us anything about their original purpose or history.

If you are a local follower and recognize any of these places please post a comment as to the former use. Eventually I hope to put together an album of these images along with a brief history the building or location.

Abandoned Buildings and Other Places Time has Forgotten...

"Abandoned 1" - Route 4, Enfield, NH

This is the first in a series of images of various abandoned buildings and structures located in the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire.

Time and the original owners seem to have forgotten these places... but I'm sure they all have a story to tell.

If you are a local follower and recognize any of these places please post a comment as to the former use. Eventually I hope to put together an album of these images along with a brief history the building or location.

 Thanks!

Signs #1

"Follow Your Heart"  :-)  

"Follow Your Heart"

This is the first in a series of new photographs I am working on... "alternative interpretations" of the signs (both literal and figurative) that we see and experience in our lives each day.

In this case it is about following your heart!

Have a great journey! :-)  

To see this and more visit: https://davemengle.smugmug.com/Inspiration/

Smell All the Flowers...

One of the problems with photographing flowers is that it is so easy to get caught up in their sheer beauty through the viewfinder that it is easy to totally miss or ignore their other great attributes.

And one of these is the multitude of wonderful smells and fragrances you experience while "nose to blossom" when taking closeups like this one.

And it was this realization the other day that led me to re-think the old expression about "Taking time to smell the Roses".

In fact we should take time to smell all the flowers and experiences life presents us with.  Often it is easy to get caught up in one aspect of something and miss a lot of what life is just begging us to experience.

So the next time you start to focus in what you think is that single most important aspect of something take a step back... take a deep breath and enjoy the rest of what life has to offer!  :-)

Self Assignment...

Iris - Lebanon, NH

Every once in awhile I like to challenge myself.

Today's "self-assignment" was to find and photograph at least two visually interesting subjects within 50 feet of my home.

Further more... the goal was both shoot and post-process the photos within 30 minutes start to finish. 

The genesis of this challenge came from a conversation I was having with a friend the other day.  I had been trying to explain to him what it was like to work as a news photographer in the mid-19080's when you had to shoot an assignment, process your film, edit negatives, make prints and write captions under a deadline.

While the technology of producing and distributing photos over a network has changed wildly in the past 30 years... some things have not.  You still need an eye for composition and content.  You still need (some) technical skills and you need to be able to function effectively under a deadline.

This image was shot with a Samsung mobile device and processed using PhotoShopExpress.  While I'm not a huge fan of shooting with mobiles the results can be good properly handled... and since it was also raining during this challenge to myself... I didn't really want to expose my DSLR's to the wet weather.

"Umbrella 2"

Umbrella 2

"Umbrella 2"

Since it's a rainy day today... seems like there's no better time to post another photograph from my recent "umbrella series".  And since I believe in giving credit where credit is due - I have to admit that these photos were inspired by a very good friend of mine and excellent photographer in her own right. :-)

Shot with a Nikon E8700 and processed in Nikon Capture NX2

"Umbrella 3"

"Umbrella 3"

Recently I spent a few minutes shooting a display of umbrellas in a local retail location.  And to be honest I was inspired to make these photos by the work of a very good friend of mine.

I was attracted to the different colors, patterns, textures and the mixed lighting present.

Situations like this offer endless opportunities to try shooting at different angles and focal lengths to create different compositions.  The mixed light sources (in this case daylight and industrial track lighting) can be used to enhance the colors in your photographs.

This is part of a series I did using an Android device and PhotoShopExpress.  I plan on returning with a DSLR to follow-up on my initial shooting of these colorful subjects.  

Stay tuned :-)

Mt. Moosilauke - Aplenglow

M

Mt. Moosilauke - Warren, NH

t. Moosilauke - Alpenglow.

This photo of the last rays of sunshine falling on the western slopes of Mt. Moosilauke was shot on a cold and windy fall evening from the summit of Mt. Cardigan in Orange, NH.

I had hiked to the summit to witness a relatively rare astronomical event.  Sunset and moon rise were both going to happen simultaneously (or at least within 5 minutes of each other) that evening and I thought it might make for some interesting photographs.

My first thought about how to illustrate this event had been to try for a panoramic that included both sunset and moon rise in one photograph, but the brisk and windy conditions on the summit of Cardigan crushed that plan relatively quickly.  

Changing up my approach, I set up 2 cameras, one facing east to shoot the moon rising over Newfound Lake and the other facing west toward Mt. Ascutney in VT for my sunset photos.  Both cameras were mounted on "mini-pods" close to the ground to try and minimize any wind induced camera shake during what would be long exposures.

As the moon come up and the sun sank below the horizon, I managed to shoot the equivalent of about 5 "rolls of film" while laying on my stomach and trying to time my shots between 25 mph gusts of wind.

This photograph of Moosilauke (roughly 27 off in the distance), is one of my favorites. 

Shot with a Nikon 8700 at 1/8 second.

Moss & Pine Needles on Forest Floor

Moss & Pine Needles on Forest Floor - Cardigan Mountain, 

This photo is one of a series I did a couple years ago exploring the colors, patterns and textures of the forest floor.

Shoot while hiking on Mt. Cardigan in Orange, NH it features elements of all the above.

My style of photography tends to focus on use of long lenses (a result of my years shooting sports) or looking for the patterns, colors and textures that occur in Nature and "zooming-in" on them to produce a different and visually interesting composition.

Shot using a Nikon Coolpix 8700 camera using close-up mode and a very slight amount of user controlled fill flash.

One of the biggest challenges in making this photo was all the black flies that were trying to eat me alive while I stood still long enough to grab the photo.

Door Knob, Enfield NH.

Old Door Knob - Enfield, NH

A few years ago while traveling I was attracted to the texture of the wood and the layers of dust on this (apparently) unused door.  It seemed like the perfect place to spend a few minutes exploring with my camera.

I spent about 10 minutes shooting various details of the door knob and wooden panels and ultimately decided I liked this composition the best.

Initially I thought this shot would stand on it's own without any post-processing but it just wasn't happening. The lighting was to flat and the range of color throughout the original image was to limited.  I tried a black & white conversion but that still didn't make the image "pop" and catch your eye the way I wanted it to...so it sat unseen in my files for the next 5 years.

Enter the age of "apps"... which didn't even exist when this photo was first shot.  Yesterday using PhotoshopExpress I experimented with increasing the color saturation throughout the image and pumped up the contrast a bit resulting in the final image above.

Although I don't feel apps should be used as a crutch in the making of good photos... they can be a useful tool.  What's possible in photography is changing almost daily and it would be foolish to ignore that.  Applying new technologies to older photos can breathe new life into images that didn't quite "make it" before on their own. 

Shot with Nikon D90 and 105 Micro-Nikkor lens.  Post processed in PhotoshopExpress mobile.

"In the Weeds"

"In the Weeds"

This image is a good illustration of the interesting effects you can get shooting in mixed lighting conditions.

Shot late in the evening along a rural roadside it combines elements of backlighting and mixed color balances. 

Backlighting is a technique that can be used very effectively to highlight the main subject in a photo from a darker background.

The rich greens in the foreground are a result of the warm (colored) evening sun backlighting the weeds while the cooler blues are a result of having no direct sunlight hitting the background, which is largely in shadow.

This image is basically "straight from the camera" with minimal post processing in Nikon CaptureNX.

Android Simplicity

Paper Lanterns - PowerHouse Mall, Lebanon NH

Sometimes it's actually pretty incredible to me what you can do with a cell phone camera and a free photo app these days.

As someone who started their photography career using manual everything cameras, film and needing a darkroom plus 2 hours of time to see the results of a shoot... it's pretty amazing.

This photo was shot on the fly with an Android device and post-processed in Adobe PhotoshopExpress.

All in about 5 minutes :-)

While not gallery quality... what the average person with little to few technical skills can produce today both scares and impresses me.  

"Weathered Metal 1"

"Weathered Metal 1"

This photo was taken as an exercise in use of texture, color and composition to transform an everyday object into something visually interesting and different.

This is part of the handle on an old barn door.  The handle probably dates to the early 1900's and the door was obviously in need of painting. 

However both the weathering of the metal and paint over time made for an interesting composition.

Photo shot using Nikon D90 camera and 55/2.8 Macro Nikkor lens.

Sunset - Mt. Cardigan, NH

Sunset, Mt. Cardigan, NH (Fall 2013)

Sunset - Mt. Cardigan, NH

This photo was made on Mt. Cardigan in Orange, NH.

Shot on the way down from the summit during a full moon hike it is an example of a classic silhouette and near far composition.  The shot would not have worked as just a sunset with nothing in the foreground to add some interest.

This photo was shot using a Nikon 8700 camera using a long exposure and mini-pod.