Fall Colors in Acadia Nat'l Park - Creating a mood with color and contrast

Today I was analyzing each photograph from my 4 days in Acadia National Park for composition and sharpness.  I chose a few images to play around with.  I balanced the color, the contrast, the highlights and the shadows.
Then I started to enhance the overall feeling of the images. I  began to play with color and contrast.  I began to break some rules.  It was fun and I was in the "zone".  I felt tuned in to the mood of each photograph.  I enhanced that mood in my digital darkroom.  
                                  

Thomas Bay - The Narrows

"I am sure the next step will be the electronic image, and I hope I shall live to see it.  I trust that the creative eye will continue to function, whatever technological innovations may develop."  
~Ansel Adams

I feel very happy with the photographs I have created today.  That creation began outdoors with my camera on a tripod in one of the most beautiful places on earth.  I finished the creative process today with my computer much as Ansel Adams did in his darkroom.

"The negative is the equivalent of the composer's score, and the print the performance."  ~Ansel Adams

Eagle Lake - sunset

                   

Ferns near the Park Loop Road.

Birches - Acadia Wild Garden.

Photography is an art form.  It is not only the faithful rendering of what we see in the world - we can leave that to the photo-journalists.  It is the creative expression of what we have recorded with our cameras.  As such it is unique to each photographer.

Please leave a comment if you like my work and visit my website at kmilsteinphotography.com.

Photographing A Beach Wedding!

Portrait photography is not my first love.  I am happiest above the tree-line knowing I got there by my own steam.
So why did I shoot a beach wedding?  Many photographers support themselves with portrait photography.  It pays the bills.  It's a challenge, it's fun and people are endlessly interesting.  Luckily, I'm retired and I don't need to do portraits.  But... I'm finding out about the fun.  And I'm learning a lot about photography as I do it!

The photographs are my wedding gift to the bride and groom.

How did I prepare myself?  What are the major things a photographer needs to think about when shooting a wedding?  Here's the short list:
~ Know the sequence of events of the ceremony.
~Who is in the wedding party?  Who is family?
~Familiarize yourself with the location and plan your shots.
~If it's a large wedding you will need two people with cameras.
~Pray for overcast skies or at least lots of clouds, no sun (white dresses and sun don't get along)
~Indoors? Learn to use your flash well!
~Ask the bride what she wants and how close to them you can get.
~Look at lots of photos online for inspiration.

It was great and I had a wonderful time capturing their special moments.  The best part is that they love the photos!

Sheep - They Do Look Like Old Ladies in Night Caps!

In a little country town in New England lives a woman who tends her sheep with love.  The sheep, in turn, give her soft, albeit dirty, wool in spring, which she trades for wool yarn.  

I am invited to photograph her and the sheep.  I'll give her thanks and pictures.

I came the first time when the snow was deep and the sky overcast.  No pretty nature or travel photos here!  This is an environmental portrait of my friend and her pet sheep. 

It is time for the sheep to be fed out in their shed behind the barn where they live.  No green grass this time of year but plenty of light green grassy hay to eat.
They can hear us coming and poke their heads out.  Dinner time!

They can hardly wait for her to put the hay in the shed and start grabbing it out of her arms.
I found the sheep to be gentle and afraid of me.  They are very used to her and are like pets.  One of the white sheep is more curious and posed for portraits.

    

Eventually, they all settled down to chewing while my friend pet them and talked to them.

Spring came and the snow slowly disappeared from meadows and parking lots.  The sheep were shorn.  One early morning I came by to see how they looked minus their winter coats.
I realized that they really do look like little old ladies in night caps!

The Marsh - November and December - Vote for your favorite month!

East Meadow River Marsh: Haverhill, Massachusetts.  A beautiful, unspoiled and undeveloped piece of nature that became my photographic project for the entire year of 2014.  Busy Rt. 110 literally crosses over it on its way from Rt. 1 in Salisbury west through Haverhill and on.  

Every week (I missed a few, I admit) I stopped by the marsh with my camera.  As the year went on I felt a growing sense of propriety.  "My marsh" I would say to friends. 

Here it is!  My last blog post for the year - November and December.  Look back at the other marsh posts and vote for your favorite by leaving a comment!

Reflection of exploding, brown cattails. Nov. 4

Yellow leaves and berries almost gone from the oft photographed bush. Nov. 4

A foggy day, my favorite! Golden browns with a hint of green. Nov. 12

A dusting of snow and ice changes the scene entirely. Winter on the way. Nov. 26

The marsh becomes monochromatic in late fall and winter. Nov. 26 

December - will there be snow or a deep freeze?  Wish I could string holiday lights from branch to branch!  Or tie glitzy bows around the trunks.  What am I saying?  I love this marsh exactly as it is!

2 weeks later there is not much difference.  December looks like November! Dec. 12

A different perspective - all reflection. Dec. 12

Only the evergreens look alive.  Animals burrow under. Dec. 15

Dec. 15

The decay of fall is incased in ice.  Dec. 30

I will cast the first vote.  I vote for May!  I loved the changes that happened so rapidly in that month.  What do you think?  Vote!  What was your favorite month at the marsh?

Hunter's Beach - Hidden Gem of Acadia

The trail to Hunter's Beach is easy.  The footing is tricky.  Wet roots provide the biggest challenge.  It follows a lovely little brook through dense forest to a cobble beach opening directly onto the Gulf of Maine.  The beach is a great place to catch the sunrise and see smooth cobbles, chunks of bedrock polished by the tireless waves.
You cannot get there on the Loop Road.  Instead, take Rt. 3 south from Bar Harbor towards Seal Harbor.  Turn left onto a small road angling towards the ocean which later reconnects to Rt. 3.  Look sharp as you are liable to miss the tiny parking lot at the trail head.  Down the road a bit you can find the trail head to the cliff trails or you can start up from the beach and climb the cliff trail.

Hunter's Head will be to your left.

Hunter's Cliff trails to the right offer exciting views of the beach and the ocean.

Hardly anyone knows about this peaceful little corner of Acadia.  Finding it feels like wonderful discovery all your own.
The cliffs are not for faint of heart.  One can walk out onto to rocky ledges for a wonderful view.

View of Hunter's Head

Close up of the lichen and moss on the cliffs.