Category: Photograph

Categories
Nature Photograph

Lake Champlain or Icelandic hot spring?

The Burlington Free Press recently posted an article about algae growth in Lake Champlain triggered by the recent heat wave and lack of winds.  As soon as I saw their photos of milky-blue water, I was transported back more than 4 years to a quick trip we took to Iceland.  On the day we arrived (on the red eye from Kennedy airport) we booked an afternoon at the Blue Lagoon to relax in the hot springs and try to recuperate for the next three days. When we arrived at the spa, the water rendered us speechless.

The next day we toured around and saw some of the other natural hot springs that are close to Reykjavík. Amazingly, many of these other pools of water had similarly mystical colors. The second shot below doesn’t really capture the vibrancy of the water – it almost glowed when contrasted to the yellow/gray rocks surrounding it.

Incidentally, if you’re headed to Iceland I recommend taking a half day or so at the Blue Lagoon to adjust.  Heck, if you’ve got a layover in Keflavik, I believe they run shuttle busses for those folks that want a quick dip or massage.  If you’re staying a few hours, though, why not just extend your trip and stay the weekend or longer.  Iceland was wonderful to us and we’d go back again in a heartbeat.

Categories
Art Nature Photograph

Quiet Morning in Vermont

I woke up this morning with a laundry list of tasks to finish.  Paint some trim, prep some doorways, patch some drywall, mow the lawn.  It’s humid here in Vermont; the gentle rains last night and the morning dew meant that I couldn’t yet mow the lawn.  Those same rains left some treasures on the irises that line my driveway, so after doing a little sanding, I took some time to appreciate the little things in life. I have photographed these plants and droplets in the past, but somehow they never get old to me.

Drop of water on an iris leaf

Vermont mornings provide beautiful droplets after a night of gentle showers.

I remain perpetually fascinated at how perfectly round the water droplets are some mornings, and how on other mornings they cling with all their might, flattening down to hug the leaves.

If you like these, please take a look at some of my other macro & floral photography, or look at my general gallery of artistic photos.

Categories
Photograph

A walk in the park

A friend was visiting Burlington from out of town, so three of us decided to take a walk in Ethan Allen Park.  For those that haven’t been there, Ethan Allen Park is in the North End of Burlington, very close to Leddy Park.  A bike path comes in from the Burlington Intervale and climbs up a hill, branching in multiple directions; some paved and some dirt. When I lived in Burlington, I had a loop that would start by the Winooski River and come through the park, riding as many trail segments as possible. I would inevitably stop at the tower to take in the view of Lake Champlain and the Adirondaks — it’s one of my favorite views in Burlington. When we arrived, the tower was locked. I later found out that Burlington Parks & Recreation unlocks the tower on Mother’s day.

Even with no access to the tower, we took some photos on the trails and enjoyed the views from both the tower and pinnacle lookouts.

Sunset in Ethan Allen Park

Someone had a sense of humor and painted “So Close to the Edge” on a piece of metal sticking out of the rocks behind a safety fence.  Just beyond is a drop high enough that I wouldn’t want to experience the fall.

Metal rebar stuck in stone with the words "So Close to the Edge"

Macro photograph of a ladybug on rocks

Person taking an iphone photo next to a stone wall

Most of the shots above were goofing around, but I like the shot below.

I’d imagine it was a nice night for bouldering in Vermont. The temperature was comfortable on our casual stroll, so it might have even been warm while working out on the rocks.

Matt asked what I was going to do with this photo.  I still don’t know, but I kinda like it.

The random glasses we found at the Pinnacle.

It’s hard to argue with a sunset like this.

Sunset over Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks

I would have loved to stay longer and watch it hit the water, but we were hungry and it was time to find some food.

Categories
Photograph Portraits

Quick portraits for a friend

We had houseguests this weekend. Some of my college friends were up for a weekend of sun, skiing, and catching up. Just before they were about to leave, we ran down to the studio to take a few quick portraits. He wanted some headshots for use on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Categories
Photograph

Beautiful Burlington Sunset

Some days, it’s nice to break free from your patterns. Monday and Tuesday night, as I was commuting home from Burlington to Essex, I had amazing views of snow-capped Mt. Mansfield and Camel’s Hump. In my rearview mirror, the sun was setting behinds Whiteface, Marcy, and a slew of other peaks in the Adirondak mountains of which I do not know the names. Every day, I’ve had my camera with me and tried to stop to take a quick shot. This is a common occurrence, and more often than not I’m let down with the results.

Today, instead of going home, I was staying in the city to meet some friends. I had a couple of minutes to kill between finishing things up at my desk and heading to their house for dinner, so I stopped by Perkin’s Pier. The sun had mostly set by the time I arrived, but it didn’t matter. Sunsets over Lake Champlain rarely disappoint.

I don’t always post one-off shots to my blog, so you may want to check out my Flickr stream, my Facebook page, or my Twitter stream if you’re interested in seeing more of the individual shots.