Bee on Flower

One of the first close up photos I have tried with my camera and lens. I hope to improve on these types of pictures since I don't have as much practice with them.

This one was taken outside of The Tannery in Newburyport, MA. 

Joppa Flats Sunset

The sunset over the Merrimac River mouth new Newburyport is a beautiful sight. One of the quieter places to watch it without straying far from the downtown area is at Joppa Flats on Water St.

Whale Watch

 Mike took me on a whale watch for my birthday. We took a boat out of Gloucester, MA to the Stellwagen Bank Marine Sanctuary. We were fortunate to see two pairs of humpback whales.

By far my favorite photo from the day! The whales came quite close to the boat and were amazingly large. 

Not only are the whales very large but they are also very majestic.

Another whale watching boat also came to visit the whales. 

I was interested in the way that these wild animals have become a spectacle and event for humans to watch. 

Gloucester Bay

I recently took a Whale Watch out of Gloucester, MA. It was a beautiful summer day so the colors were very vibrant and the fisherman were out in force!

Yankee Homecoming 2015 - Newburyport

Each year Newburyport, MA has a week long celebration of the town's history and culture. I attended the opening ceremony at the Bartlett Mall on Old Fashioned Day and took some pictures of the people enjoying the day.

Children played carnival games and enjoyed the bouncy castle and this blow-up obstacle course.

Children's shoes of all colors outside the bouncy castle.

Kids loved the train going around the Frog Pond.

The pony rides were also popular.

Meanwhile speeches took place as part of the opening ceremony. This little boy looked longingly at the carnival games from his seat on the stage.

Adults also socialized with their friends.

Once they had exhausted the games at the event, children made their own fun like these boys rolling down the hill.

By the end of the day the children seemed pretty tuckered out!

Historic Photos of New York City

I haven't been getting many photos done lately. My wedding in two weeks hasn't left me with a whole lot of time for editing photos. I hope to get more photos up in late July.

I recently stumbled across this series of photos released by the New York Municipal Archives.



Although I haven't spent much time in New York City, I felt a deeper connection to it after seeing these photographs. Not only is the history interesting but the photographs are quite striking. Below are my thoughts on a couple specific photographs in the link above.

#1 - I particularly love the first photograph of Grand Central Station. The light streaming in creates pools of light on the floor where ghostly figures stand conversing in small groups.

#11 - The eleventh photograph has a similar feeling of a ghostly figure. The distant figure is visible through the fog on Queensboro Bridge.

#24 - The twenty fourth photograph features painters suspended in the Brooklyn Bridge. The diminishing perspective coupled with the various heights where the men are standing provides a really intriguing composition. Meanwhile the city peeks out of the background.

#43 - Similarly the city peeks out of the background giving us a sense of place in the forty third photograph. The lighting on the steel beams are impeccable and the dark silhouette of the man looking out of the city was well seen.

These photographs are very beautiful and there is a lot to learn about the power of photography from them.

Flower Walk in Maudslay State Park

If you ever go to the Newburyport area I highly suggest going to Maudslay State Park. It is a wonderful place for a walk. In May and June it is full of blooming Azaleas and Rhododendron. Bald eagles nest there in the late winter and it has some wonderful paths through a pine grove, along the Merrimac River and in historical gardens.

They frequently offer programs for the public such as historical tours, painting days or flower walks. I was able to attend one of these flower walks. My favorite photograph from the one hour tour was this one of a flying ant suckling at a white peone.

It was difficult lighting at first but I was able to get the ant in mid-flight. The peone's were beginning to lose their petals so I made it just in time to get a good picture of the peone before it passed for the season.

I had good luck with insects that day. I was also able to get this pretty good picture of a bee at a Catawba Rhododendron. The photograph was underexposed but I thought I captured the bee well enough that it is worth posting. On the flower walk I learned that this is a rhododendron and not its close sister the azalea because it has more than seven stamen. Azaleas look very similar but have only five stamen and do not have thick waxy leaves like the rhododendron.

I hope to do much more photography of the special flora at Maudslay State Park over the summer. It is a truly beautiful place to visit.