New England: Travel Photography
The backroads of New England will undoubtedly lead you to some beautiful places. Just the other day I heard someone make a comment, "wow I have been to like 6 different states in 1 day." Clearly this individual is not a true New Englander and hasn't traveled from Maine to Rhode Island in one day, passing through Vermont and New Hampshire with a detour to Connecticut, in one day like some of us do. They were, however, referencing having walked through the state buildings at the Big E. The Big E is a colossal festival of carnies, hungry people without a care in the world for their waistlines, and people looking to drink, buy the same crap thats been there for 25+ years, and do stupid things; such as heckle the hot tub sales people. In one spot you can consume enough food to get diabetes, rip a pair of jeans, and get gout, all while buying hot tubs, crap you see on TV at 1:30 in the morning, and slide down a giant piece of yellow plastic. Sounds fun, right? Well the Big E marks the end of the summer and is a tradition for many New Englanders. It is so well blogged about and photographed that you will not see anything of mine on here. Rather I will show something more scenic.
Greenhouse, Amherst Mass
The low lying light of the sun about to kiss the horizon is a sign that summer is ending. Late August and early September have incredible evenings with light and sunset shows. For those who know how to work a camera, it a spectacular time to get out and make photographs. I personally favor that romantic golden hour light. I can never seem to drag myself out of bed early enough to capture the crack of dawn, so I rely on the evening to make photos. Personally I feel that is the best time, not because I do not want to be up early, but because I feel the light has a different personality. When it illuminates the landscape or a person posing for a shoot, it is more magical than the early morning. Sounds super cliche, I know, but it is the truth.
I always get sad at the end of the summer. I never really admit this to anyone, but I do. Having grown up in New England I know what comes next, a few weeks of cool evenings, a few days of magnificent foliage, some rainy days, then nearly 5 months of misery. I have never been diagnosed with seasonal affect disorder, but I find that every year I creep closer and closer to needing to spending 4 hours under a heat lamp to keep from being depressed. I spend those cold months thinking of the summer, Cape Cod, and the light. Regardless of how beautiful a winter scene can be, during or after a snow storm, nothing replaces the beauty of a warm afternoon fading into the evening.
A farm off of 47, Amherst, Mass
New Englanders are spoiled with having 4 seasons. They really are. Some places and people are not as fortunate to have a rotating climate that brings seasonal changes that give meaning to the geographic location they call home. Amherst is located in the western part of Massachusetts. Famous for being a college town, having rolling pastures, farms, one of the first lumber mills in the country (semi truefactual, its very old), and one thing I think it should be famous for, Antonios, the greatest pizza in the world. Amherst, like many other town or cities is an artery that connects directly to the quintessential heart of New England. Anyone who has been to Amherst can tell you that around each corner there will be something worth seeing and enjoying.
When you exit the main routes, 116, Rt 9 and 47, you will find some incredible places. Hiding in plain sight are fields, barns, farms, people on bikes, paths, sun drenched roads that navigate the viewer further into the summer fast closing day. I have seen a lot of New England, spanning from the Coast of Maine to the state capitals of every New England State, to the smallest coastal nooks of Cape Cod, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. I have been in the backwoods of Vermont, hiked the Berkshires, and have had many reckless nights in Boston. When I think of New England, I think of all of these places, but a part of me always wanders to the pastural landscapes; primarily because life is slower, more relaxed, and the light glows much differently than when you're sitting at the open window of Dillion's on Boylston St in Boston seeing how many times you can compliment a girl before she stops to talk to you.
A tobacco barn, Amherst, Mass
As far as I know there is not a single farmer in my family. My grandmother always had a lush garden when I was growing up, but it wasn't anything to write a novel about. Though, she always had some kick ass cucumbers. Thanks for those memories, grandma. But I have found that when I drive through regions such as Amherst, I am compelled to enjoy them as much as I would any other place at the golden hour. Late in the day light will always be an element in my work, both with portraiture as well as with any travel work I make. Make time to see the world, it is shrinking, metaphorically speaking that is.
New England: Winter Photographs
January and February in New England see the most amount of snow fall. As I write this post I am excitedly awaiting the arrival of a "blizzard," scheduled to land in less than 24 hrs. This past Saturday we woke up to a coat of snow the covered the ice that formed throughout the previous week. I am not one for early mornings on weekends. However, I found myself wide awake by 6:30 am, well before any amount of snowy cloud-diffused light could illuminate the accumulating snow.
It took me all of about 10 minutes to decide to go out and shoot. I checked the light a few times while dressing and prepping my camera bag. I was satisfied with what I was seeing and knew what I would be able to capture. For the last several years one of my longest projects has been photographing the urban landscape in our town. I will not dive into the motivating details at this moment. I left the house with the intent of making it downtown and leaving it to intuition to make photographs. While there are a few places I have visited during snow storms, I wanted to avoid them and focus on some new images.
I did however visit one specific location that I tend to use as a location for shoots. I made a few photos treking through the snow. Even though I have been visited this location in the snow many times, I aways find something new. I want to preface the following by hopefully giving your imagination and memory a run for its memory. If you are not from New England or did not spend any time in the winters in New England, on the slopes skiing or ridding during the winters, then you will not be able to understand this quite as well as a native will. New Englanders, you know that moment when you play in the snow till everything hurts? You are so cold your body is in pain, you may have a slight headache, but you do not want to go in because you are having so much fun? That is exactly what my morning was like. I was outside, making photos, enjoying the falling snow. My hand, cold, firmly molded to the grip of my camera, was slightly red from the snow falling. I wear gloves while shooting when I know I will be outside for more than a few minutes at a time. Having been navigating around the empty streets via 4x4, I wasn't worried about gloves.
As I began walking down the snow covered walkway of the park I periodically stopped to make photos. I wanted to make my way to the far end of the park and see the recently cut open view of the river. I managed to find a patch of ice covered with snow. I began to break dance, moving in ways I did not know I could move. I tried 2-3 times to gain my balance. Like an ill attempted back flip, my feet came out from under me and I went backwards. I hit the ground with enough force to knock my hat off. I did not drop the camera from my hands until I realized I was horizontal, catching snow flakes on my tongue that was now hanging out of my mouth and my eyes that were wide open in shock. It took me a few seconds to asses my situation and come to the conclusion that I was not injured. I grabbed my head to make sure I was not bleeding. Once I realized I had not bashed my head on the ice I placed the camera in the snow for a second so I could rotate and get up.
That was the hardest part. Trying to get up was a bit of a challenge. I had fallen with such force that I could already feel a sharp pain in my shoulders, neck, upper back. With a low groan I moved to my side. The soft snow was comforting, but the pain was increasing and I wanted to get up and regain my partially murdered consciousness. My upper body was stiff, my camera wet, my ego shattered. I had a similar fall in 2009 when I was in Boston studying at the Art Institute of Boston. I was walking through the Boston Common when I went to walk onto the ice of one of the ponds. I stepped over a short chain fence, at least I tried to. Some how as I was placing my leading leg over, the snow gave way from the opposite foot and I slipped forward. My legs became a tangled mess in the chains. I fell with force face down into the snow. The film body I was shooting with went down with even greater force right into the snow. The camera was fine, my legs cut up, my ego scarred. I stood up and bowed to Boston for hitting me hard. I had a mile walk back to the school to catch the shuttle back to my dorm. I was cold, wet, limping, and mentally writing the story down for a later point and time.
Back to our snowy Saturday, 3 hours later I was on location in the snow to make some family photos of one of my clients. Loaded up with two bags and my Profoto light mounted to a stand, I went to step around the corner of the gate to enter the reservoir. I was lucky enough to find another hidden patch of ice. I slipped, once again losing my balance. This time I wasn't trying out for "Dancing With The Stars," I just fell fast and hard. I was also fortunate enough to cut my hand on a phantom object. It was the light, stand, or the bag, but it was a nice little scratch. They say chicks dig scars, not sure if the fiance digs them, but it was just another wound for some sympathy, as if I needed any more. By the time night fell I was in a bit of agony. I have had my share of bad ass shitters. I have a displaced knee cap from snowboarding. I've had 4 staples in the back of my head. I have bad ankles from skateboarding. I have had numerous falls from bikes. Numerous scars from the pedals of my bmx bike, as well as a few other injuries. But this icy, break dance themed fall was hard. What saved me from smacking my head like I was trying to head butt some jerk was that I twisted my body during the fall. I tend to do that when I fall.
In 2012 the fiance and I were ridding our bikes on the rail trail at the cape when she nearly fell off her bike. To avoid hitting her I swerved. I laid the bike down on its side and slid some 20', grinding a nice patch of skin of my right side, arm, back fat, and leg. She enjoyed my fall with a bout of laughter and fear. She noticed that I instinctively turned my head away from the pavement to avoid any concusing bashes. I have always had great balance. I was surprised that I had actually fallen as hard as I did on the ice. By Sunday morning, waking up was rough. I was in pain with spasms. As I write I am comfortably numb on the couch. Out of it all I got some great photos of the early morning coating of snow. Was it worth it to bust my ass so hard? But of course. The small price to pay for a photograph. The moral of the story, be careful, tred carefully, and always watch your footing when you're in compromising places. While I was on solid ground, I didn't evaluate the landscape or expect fresh smooth ice to want to cuddle. Enjoy the photographs below.
Winter in New England: Photography
Winter is usually a time when I can sit down and plan the year out, get taxes done, work on some lingering projects, and spend some time outside. I have a tendency to get in the car when the snow comes and drive off into the foggy wall of falling snow. As much as I love the summer, the sun, the beach, winter brings with it a different light, different colors, and a unique set of contrasts that can only be found in snowy conditions. A few weeks ago we had the first snow fall of the winter season. Not the first snow fall of the year, (2014), but for the 2014-2015 winter season. I happened to be in a rural area heading out to visit a friend when I happened to see some elements in the landscape that I couldn't pass up. I just had to stop and make a few photos. Below is one such photo.
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