The Artful Engineer

I have alluded to this in the previous two posts, but there was a distinct challenge during my one-day New Hampshire photographic marathon: so many trees with so many colors. Unlike the forests in the Western US where evergreen trees dominate, in New Hampshire the deciduous trees hold the overwhelming majority. When confronted with the endless mix of green, yellow, orange, red, and brown leaves, I went through a series of phases. First, I was excited—there is so much to photograph here! Then, I was overwhelmed—where do I start? Then, I was concerned—why is this so hard? Then, I panicked—my day is one-third over and I don’t have anything worthwhile! Then, despair—I am in New Hampshire, in October, with an entire day to photograph, and I am going to come up empty.

Of course, the morning wasn’t really as unproductive as I felt like it was at the time, but it was not until mid-day that I really started to feel settled into a productive and enjoyable groove. I went through a very similar progression in the almond orchards of Andalucía, Spain: I flew all the way to Europe and will be in these amazing almond orchards for two days and I can’t make anything work! In that case, as well, it just took me a few hours to settle down in a new environment.

The real turning point on that wet day in New Hampshire was when I finally tracked down a beautiful classic white New England church in Center Sandwich. I learned about this church from David Long’s Fall Foliage Landscape Photography in New England ebook. Ironically, the bright overcast sky really wasn’t conducive to photographing the church itself, but right across the street I saw the metal roof pictured above and below, sprinkled with beautiful maple leaves. From that moment, it was game on.

As is usually the case with woodland photography, the challenge is trying to end up with an image that actually has a subject. And once you identify a subject, it is usually difficult to get it to stand out in the busy scene. In the image below, the vertical fan of lichen-covered branches was interesting and, fortuitously, I was able to position myself straight-on so that the branches were all in the same plane of focus. Using what passes for a wide aperture on my long zoom, the depth of field was just shallow enough to help the branches stand out a little from the background. The picnic tables are a nice little extra detail in this idyllic scene.

This next tree stood alone in the middle of a grassy field. I tried to isolate it against the background of one of the uncommon groups of evergreen trees. Again, I used the lens’ widest aperture, but even wider would be better for this image. (Which is exactly why I have my eye on the Nikkor Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena.)

For various reasons (like the rain) I didn’t use the tilt-shift lens more than a couple times, but I did break it out for this little scene just off the road:

This next image is one of my favorites from the day. Like the images from last week’s post, this view was taken from across a river. The two central trees—one covered in bright red leaves and the other covered in lichen, look like they are growing within a foot or two of each other. I’m unsure whether the leafless one is dead or just lost all its leaves earlier. In either case, the two stand out nicely against the patch of evergreens behind them. I also think that the straighter trees on both sides provide contrast to the spidery branches in the center of the frame. If you have been following my blog for long you know that I enjoy pulling off a complex image, and this is no exception:

This next image was a bit of an experiment that I would love your comments on. Again, this would have benefitted, I think, from a wider aperture, but I did not bring my fast 85mm on the trip. That’s a pity, but I like the image anyway; it is unlike any other I have ever made.

I hope you enjoyed the fruits of my one day photographing in New Hampshire. Next week we will turn our attention further south, to far western (not to be confused with West) Virginia.