More than Meets the Eye. Photographing Close to Home.
Did you ever say or hear people say, “Oh, it is boring where I live. Nothing to photograph”?
When I moved to Massachusetts from Nebraska and started posting on the different New England photography Facebook pages, a heard a version of this statement a couple of times. Someone asked me once, “These are in Massachusetts? Really?” For someone coming from Nebraska this was an amazing statement. After all, Massachusetts, and more generally New England is like a candy store for a photographer. We got it all — ocean, mountains, waterfalls, wetlands, and what not. People from all over the US and the world flock here for Fall colors. So, how come some people feel there isn’t much interesting to photograph here?
I guess, the answer to this is that we just get used to it. We don’t pay enough attention to the small details. I have to admit that sometimes I too feel that, “oh, well, it’s just another waterfall.” After all, I have plenty of those in my portfolio.
Over the weekend I ran my first workshop at Enders Falls in Connecticut. We had a great time, and, hopefully, captured some worthwhile scenes. Workshop participants drove for a couple of hours just to get there. As they say, '“showing up is 90% of winning.” And that is especially true of photography. If you don’t get up early and go to those places, you won’t capture the special moments. One frustrating part is that even if you do, you might not get anything :-)
Fairy Tale Stream
But do you need sprawling vistas or majestic waterfalls to capture beautiful images? Those don’t hurt, of course, but sometimes, just paying attention and coming to a location close to home time after time can be great too.
Reflections
You probably noticed that I have multiple images of the Old Stone Church in West Boylston and Rauscher Farm in Clinton in my galleries. The reason for this is that I live less than fifteen minutes away from those locations. I can easily come back time after time to take advantage of great light, weather etc. I already know what point I need to go to to capture these places, so, all it takes is to look out the window and grab your camera bag. These days, you don’t even need that as you most likely have a decent camera in your phone.
Stranger in the strange Land
This is a great advantage over some beautiful location half a world away. When I went to England last year, I only had five days there, which I also had to balance with my day job. in order to take full advantage of the trip, I spent days preparing. I got in touch with a local photographer for recommendations, read all I could find on the internet about the different locations, and built multiple contingencies as to where to go depending on the weather, time etc. I still had to return to a certain location three times because I was unlucky the first two times. However, I was somewhat lucky with the weather and I managed to cram into those five days significantly more than I should have. To the point where I almost collapsed on the last day going to the airport.
In the Mist
When you go to locations close to home, you don’t have to do this. sure, you still need to do your homework. However, if one day doesn’t work, come back another day. You can build a list of locations with comments like, “this will look great in fog”, or “this is great for a nice sunset”, etc. Then, when the time comes, grab your camera and head out. And if it doesn’t work out, come back again another time, noting what didn’t work the last time, and whether you can adjust to get a better result.
Of Trees and Mist and Birds
I am not sure if it is just the Spring finally coming, or the fact that I switched my kit, but I have been more motivated to get out more over the last month or two. On my daily commute there are a few locations that I marked for my list of possible locations to photograph. Last week, I got up an hour earlier. It was misty outside, and I headed to one of those locations in Lancaster. I went to that location in the past, but was never satisfied with most of the images i captured there. Well, this time I hit a jackpot, and captured a series of images that look like they came from a fairytale.
Three Sisters
Another location near home is Bolton Spring Farm. I passed it a few times, though it is a little out of my way. It has a beautiful apple orchard. Yesterday, after the workshop I drove by to see if the trees are blossoming. And, boy, do they. I expected the orchard to look good at sunrise. So, I got up today at 5am and headed out. It took the sun a while to get over the trees, and I had plenty of time to walk around and to choose my spots. Once the sun rose enough, it bathed the blossoming trees in an absolutely stunning golden light.
Blossoms and Light (Blossoming Apple Trees in Bolton, Massachusetts)
Breakthrough
After taking many images, I headed home for a much deserved coffee and some sleep. It is Sunday, after all!
Welcoming the Light
I guess, my message to you is to get out and find those little gems in your neighborhood. Then, go back to those places often when the weather, the light, and time of year are right to do the places justice in your photos. I hope you enjoy these photos.
Have a great week!
