New York, Late Fall 2017

After returning from my trip to Maine, I found myself feeling still eager to do more photography. We flew up to New York to see our grandchildren and do some babysitting for our children, but I still managed to get away during a few of the days with my camera to do some serious work. When we first arrived, there was still some fading glory in the color of the trees, and the area in which our children live is very close to some beautiful spots: Bear Mountain State Park and Harriman State Park in the southeastern section of New York State. Both parks are marvelous at any time of the year, but the Fall is especially beautiful as the leaves go through their parade of color change. While perhaps not as vibrant as the colors that fill Maine during this time of the year, they are nonetheless still striking and highly photogenic. There are also a few lookouts that allow you to gaze down upon the Hudson River, and it is easy to see why this spot is so popular with tourists in the region. Looking up the river, the beauty is unmatched and a wonderful subject for photos. So I was able to spend several days out in nature with my camera, much to my delight. It also allowed me to come away with some nice new work for my portfolio.

The Hudson River and Bear Mountain Bridge, New York

Maine, Fall 2017

It is now about a week since I returned from Maine, and my photos from this trip could not have fulfilled my goals much better. They seemed to do a superb job of capturing the Fall color change this year, which appeared and then disappeared extremely quickly. When I first arrived in Portland, I was sure that I had come too early; by the end of the trip, I knew that I had fortunately timed the trip exactly right. Had I come a few days earlier or arrived a bit later, it would have been fine, I suppose, and I would probably not have known the difference, but it was superb as it was. People that I ran into from Maine, however, were somewhat disappointed in the Fall this year. Not only was it shorter than last year, but the intensity of color change was somewhat less. That's a tough thing to judge, especially when you don't live there. I think it is probably more of a gestalt feeling that a resident has, because there were unquestionably terrific patches of color brilliance that were absolutely breathtaking. In fact, sometimes after taking a photograph and putting the camera away, I would just sit or stand there for awhile admiring what Mother Nature had wrought. It was often breathtakingly beautiful to the point of tears. The sweetness of the entire experience carried the sound of glorious violin music that simply stirred the soul, a sensation that, for that moment in that space and time, all was right in the world (though that is hardly the case these days). At least, it felt that way for just a brief moment, producing a marvelous memory that will stay for years to come. 

Maine, 10/10/17

I have now been in Maine for the past week. When I initially flew in to Portland, I was a bit distressed, since everything looked completely green for the most part. I was sure that I had scheduled this trip too early. The summer months had been warm and rain was less than usual, so it was not looking as if my trip was going to be very productive this year. Driving from Portland to Camden, where I stayed for the first two nights, I felt my spirits lift a bit, however, since the roadside color was clearly better than I had anticipated. By the afternoon of the first day, I was even more astonished as it seemed as if the color was filling in right before my eyes. I was certain that there were areas in the morning with little color change that looked much more impressive later in the day. When I mentioned this observation to the desk clerk at my hotel, she immediately lit up and told me that she had observed the same thing. In driving to work the previous day, a strand of trees that were green in the morning had noticeable signs of red by her drive home. She added that tis kind of rapid change happens some years, especially when it comes on late.

Well, this news made me very excited and I couldn't wait for the following day. I was not disappointed. Camden Hills State Park had very marked color change in some areas that were quite beautiful. I was also delighted that my new camera, the Nikon D850, had arrived before the trip, and I was eager to pursue making images with it. My initial impressions when I uploading my memory card was that it was the most amazing camera that I had ever used and I was looking forward to making more images over the upcoming week.

A Fantastic New Camera 09/27/17

I am not really much of an equipment geek when it comes to photography. While there are many people who are constantly in search of a new camera, a new lens, a better tripod, etc., believing that that is what will make them a finer photographer, I have never really followed that path. I buy a piece of equipment that I like, then use it to death or until I am convinced that something has come along that is significantly superior to what has gone before. For about 5 years or so, I have used the Nikon D800E or D810 faithfully, been happy with the results, and have not wanted to go elsewhere for any reason. The image quality that came from those cameras was second to none, and the cameras performed flawlessly for me, exposing well over 150000 frames with not a single hitch along the way. But about a year ago, rumors of the replacement for the Nikon D810 began to surface and they looked really interesting, if in fact, they were true. Finally, the Nikon D850 was released a few weeks ago and it sounded too good to be true: faster speeds, sensor illumination, 46 megapixels, auto focus stacking, and so on. I could not wait to get one and so I ordered it. And yesterday was the initial trial.

I went out shooting in the Catskill Mountains. It was slightly early for peak Fall color leaf change, but beautiful nonetheless. Driving along mountain roads with beautiful scenery and no traffic whatsoever was marvelously peaceful and energizing. There are few pleasures for a photographer than to drive and hike in search of images, with all of the turmoil in the world and one's life tucked well into the background. And the Nikon D850 made the day that much more pleasurable. It was simply a remarkable tool to use. All the little features that I had wished were in the D810 were now there in the D850. The images that emerged from the camera were simply astonishing--smooth textures, incredible detail, and phenomenal dynamic range. It was a terrific day with a fantastic camera. Next week, I will be headed to Maine and am very much looking forward to really seeing what this camera can do. Hopefully, my initial impressions will be confirmed

Anticipation 9/20/17

Several years ago, about 5 or so, I order the Nikon D800E camera. The thought of a 36 megapixel camera and what it would mean for my images was the great fascination, since I had never owned anything more than a 20 megapixel camera previously. Before I went out to shoot, I was a bit skeptical about how much of a difference there could be, even though the pixel count had almost doubled. The images that emerged from that camera, however, truly astonished me. I had not seen resolution like that before, and the captured reality came significantly closer to what I was experiencing in the landscape than anything I had ever seen. I was truly amazed at the leap in technology and what it meant. In fact, I went and examined some of my older prints from both 2 1/4 and 4 X 5 cameras and thought that the D800E exceeded what I could do with either of the film-based camera images that I had made for years.

Today, I received my D850 Nikon and I have the same sense that I had back then--how much better can this actually be? I don't have the answer yet, but I will be in New York State next week and will get a chance to put the camera through some paces to see what emerges. I am quite excited, though, because all that I have heard online and on YouTube have been nothing but raves, almost to the point of disbelief. There is little question that the naysayers and the nitpickers will enter the discussion soon and this camera will be found to have its share of flaws. But if it can exceed the quality of images that I have gotten from my D800E and my D810, all I will be able to say is hats off to you, Nikon, this is a real winner. Let's hope for that being the case.

A Nikon D810 Image