Morning sunlight streaks through adjacent woods, creating a striated light pattern on bright pink and lavender wildflowers. Early, backlit spring-green foliage forms a contrasting back setting for the colorful foreground and the ancient tombstones.
Hasselblad H3D, 210 fixed focal length lens at 125mm,1/8sec @ f/16, ISO 50, manual focus, spot metered, tripod mounted
Sunlight breaking through early morning fog highlights spring-green foliage in Cades’ Cove. After spending a few mornings there it is easy to understand how the name, “Smoky Mountains” came about. When Patches of fog are prevalent, they provide distinct separation of landscape features and add depth to the beautiful vistas from the small valley.
Nikon 800E, 70-200mm zoom lens at 125mm,1/50sec @ f16, ISO 200, manual focus, spot metered, tripod mounted
Constructed to create a storage basin on the Maggalloway River in western Maine, Aziscohos Dam was completed in 1911. When it was built, it was one of the largest storage reservoirs in the country, and with other dams in the region, it is part of one of the largest water storage systems in New England. The lake formed by the dam at Aziscohos is a headwater and one of the major tributaries to the Androscoggin River.
Details of the small buildings above the retention structure with their arches and brackets caught my attention, as I drove past the dam during a mid-winter snowstorm. Streaks made by falling snowflakes add a pencil-like texture to the dark areas of the large arch openings, and I felt the linear bridge, arriving from the left side of the frame, strengthened the composition.
Hasselblad H3D, HC 50-110mm zoom lens at 110mm,1/8sec @ f16, ISO 50, manual focus, spot metered, tripod mounted
Cathedral Pines, located in Eustis, Maine is one of the largest old-growth stands of Red Pines (Pinus Resinosa) in the North East United States. This beautiful mature Red Pine forest on the shore of Flagstaff Lake at 1,150′ above sea level is the site of a popular seasonal campground. Fresh snow on smaller spruce trees provides separation and scale for the towering red pine trunks reaching to the forest canopy.
Nikon D800E, 70-200mm zoom lens at focal length 82mm, ISO 400, f11, 1/125 sec, UV filter, manual focus, spot metering, hand held