Burlington was very lucky with tropical storm Irene. When she was a hurricane and the path was uncertain, we didn’t know if it was going to come up Lake Champlain and destroy cities along both sides of the water or if it was going to veer out to sea. Ultimately, Burlington received heavy rain for about 24 hours combined with some sustained winds.
The rest of Vermont has devastating flooding. There are covered bridges that have washed away; towns that are under water; roads that no longer exist; and significant damage to farmlands. We expect the rivers to swell over the next day or two, so I suspect the real extent of the damage is unknown at this point. Suffice to say, there will be a lot of people who need a lot of help over the coming days, weeks, and months.
Church St. in Burlington, VT during tropical storm Irene.
The extent of the damage I’ve seen in Burlington has been limited to a few small & medium sized branches, leaves covering many sidewalks, and a potted plant that fell from a second story porch.
And now, for something completely different. While I was in Rhode Island, I decided to try some HDR photography. It’s not something I do a lot of, but with this particular vacation I wasn’t willing to take the time to set up a shot when the light was right, so HDR seemed like a good solution. My mom has this theory of gardening – you learn when the best time is to transplant, cut, prune, etc., but you do it when you have the time. If it works out, great. I guess photography is the same way. I knew this was about the worst time of day to shoot and the cloud cover wasn’t going to be ideal. I didn’t have a tripod or neutral density filter on me so I couldn’t do any long exposure experimentation, so I thought I’d see if I could make some HDR “paintings.” The processing on these is a bit over the top and that’s by design. I’d like to print some of these on canvas and give them the feel of a painting.
For those of you who don’t know what HDR is, it stands for High Dynamic Range. The human eye is capable of adjusting very rapidly to a scene that contains very bright and very dark elements but the camera has a fixed range of brightness that it can capture in any single exposure. HDR is a way of tricking your camera into acting more like your eye; you take multiple photos at different exposure levels and merge them together. I don’t normally talk about technique or gear, so if you want to learn more you’re probably best off reading Trey Ratcliff’s HDR Tutorial.
So, one afternoon in Rhode Island we wandered over to Watch Hill to check out the lighthouse on the point and this is what we saw…
HDR photographs don’t have to be over the top. This next photo is much more subtle, but the texture in the wood and the color of the hedges really stands out in this version. It’s not perfect – you can see some halos in the upper left (I think a result of my lack of a tripod, but it could also be how I processed the photos.)
My opinion of HDR is changing over time. In the beginning I was fascinated; then it got really popular and I started to hate it. Now, I see it as a tool to keep available. The nice part about it is that you don’t have to bring any extra gear with you when you’re out shooting. A tripod is really all you need and it’s a good idea to travel with one of those anyway. I’ll continue to experiment with it and refine my technique.
It was certainly fun to shoot some new things while on vacation. So much of my time is spent taking photos of people — either weddings, portraits, parties, events, sports or otherwise — that I forget it can be fun to make images without people as well.
It’s probably opening a can of worms to ask, but what do you think about HDR? Useful? Interesting? Gaudy? Drop me a comment below.
P.S. – if these look familiar to you, it’s probably because we’re connected on Google+. I signed up just before going on vacation and decided to try using it while I was away. If you’re on Google+, too, add me to a circle and we can figure out a new platform together. If you’re not on Google+ but want to be, I’d be happy to send you an invite so you can sign up.
I arrived in London on a rainy morning after a red-eye flight. My hotel wasn’t ready yet, so I dropped my bags off with the concierge and took a walk. That was the theme of my stay in London as after work each evening I would drop my bag off at the room and go for another walk, usually in a different direction to check out a different neighborhood.
When you’re walking solo, it’s easy to cover a lot of ground. On the first day, I headed towards Parliament, Big Ben, and The Victoria Tower Gardens.
When I crossed the river, I was immediately greeted with the most British of signs.
And of course, no trip to London would be complete without a photo of a red double-decker bus.
Around the corner from my hotel, I saw something new to me; a rack of bicycles available for rent. Every morning, the rack was nearly empty and in the evenings it would fill up again.
I couldn’t resist a photograph of this guy — his hair matches his shoes.
After a rainy start to the week, I was presented with two perfect evenings of warm temperatures, sunshine, and blue skies. I took advantage and strolled around Southbank enjoying the street performers and musicians.
This shot makes me think “Mark Twain.” OK – wrong country & all, but the mood just fits.
While walking along the south bank, watching the skateboarders, a little girl came up to me and asked to have her photo taken. I obliged and showed her the result. Her mother was calling for her to return but she gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek before she ran off.
On the second sunny evening, I walked toward Trafalgar Square and then over to Covent Garden to enjoy more street performers like Tom.
This guy was impressive; he had an audience member hold his arms out in a circle for a long time. During this time, he was sizing up position, height, etc. acting like he was going to jump through it. Two of the other performers I had watched earlier had a part of their act where they said they were going to run around the circle and jump up onto something, but both ended up with a humorous execution of some sort. I figured this guy was going to do the same thing, but no, he up and jumped through the guy’s arms without so much as brushing them.
Stylistically, I had some fun with HDR photography and wide angle lenses – two things I don’t use that often.
I don’t do a lot of traveling, but I’d go back to London in a heartbeat; it’s a great city.
It’s taken a while for me to get around to blogging this wedding. I think it’s because it has special meaning to me; or maybe it’s because I had a hard time picking just a handful of photos to share here.
Last fall, two of my good friends were married at Lareau Farm Inn in Waitsfield, Vermont. For those of you that are repeat readers, you may recognize them from an engagement session in Burlington last summer.
Peter proposed with his grandmother’s ring and that vintage act seemed to set the mood for the rest of the planning. Between the beautiful Vermont fall foliage, the comfortable, rustic atmosphere at the inn, handmade invitations and wedding favors, and a talented musical lineup, the day came together perfectly.
The flowers that The Blue Toad provided were beautiful and a perfect match for the venue and other decorations.
After a morning of getting the pavilion and ceremony site decorated, Peter was ushered back to his room to get ready with his best man.
The girls ran down to the hair salon to get their hair done (and, rumor has it, stop for a creemee on the way) before returning to change and apply any finishing touches.
Peter didn’t know it, but while he was outside chatting with his parents, Emily was just feet away peeking through the bathroom window at him.
One of the smartest things we did was to find a spot for their first look which was away from the arriving guests. Across the river, there’s an old road or driveway that looked back at the inn. While Peter was waiting for his bride, he got to watch as family and friends made their way to the ceremony.
Best. Reaction. Ever.
First looks are one of my favorite times during a wedding. As a photographer, you get to watch as two people that love each other take a few minutes to themselves. It’s a beautiful sight and almost as memorable for me as for the bride and groom.
We knew that most of the guests had arrived, though, so we had to scurry off to the upper field to make it legal!
Peter was obviously feeling good about the day!
And Emily was almost floating as she made her way up the long walk with her attendants.
Normally, group shots of family & wedding party are pretty cookie-cutter, but when you’ve got a bunch of performers together you can capture out of the ordinary attitude.
The rest of the night is a blur as family and friends celebrated by playing music & dancing the night away.
And when the music finally stopped, there was a fire outside to sit around as we all digested the day’s events.
What a beautiful, perfect wedding. If you’ve got a few more minutes, please take them to enjoy a slideshow of more photos set to two original pieces played by Peter’s band-mates in The Grift.
As I passed by, I casually wondered what would happen to it and where it would end up. Little did I know that I would be part of that process. Parks and Rec. put out the call for volunteers and I heard about it through Run Vermont and the #BTV Twitter hash tag. I regularly benefit from the bike path personally and professionally so I decided to head down to help clean up.
Burlington has a lot of pride in the lake, the waterfront, and our popular bike path and a number of people showed up to help clean it up.
While some folks went out to start collecting & sorting debris for transportation back to the dumpster, a bunch of us stayed behind to pick through the current big pile. The goal was to provide the McNeil generating station with a dumpster of clean driftwood ready for burning. To that end, we had to hand-pick through everything to remove any metal, plastic, glass, paint, or pressure-treated wood.
While we were working on the big pile, trucks came in with the driftwood that others had collected from along the rest of the bike path.
Given the size of the pile, I thought it would take the better part of the morning but after an hour or so we were down to little bits which would have to wait for the bucket loader. After some wandering around, looking for the best next project to dive into, a small team of us ended up near the Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center and the fishing pier loading driftwood into a trailer for transportation back to the dumpster. We made about three runs, filling (and sometimes overfilling!) the trailer with water-logged wood. Adam would then drive the long way around because it was the only semi-dry path that the cart & trailer could make it through.
After a few hours of work, our dumpster was full and people were reporting that Perkin’s Pier was equally filled so our work was done for the day. There’s still a lot of cleanup to do, though, and a fair bit of standing water. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and some of the water will drain on its own before the marathon!
I took advantage of some free time on Saturday after the Race Vermont Half Marathon and walked around the Shelburne Recreation Path and some of its’ surrounding trails. I followed the trails by the lake until I could follow no further (because of flooding.) Still, I enjoyed seeing the trillium dotting the forest floor and the trees blossoming. It’s about time. It’s been a rough, rainy spring.
In my yard, out in Essex, the flowers are still mostly waiting for a little more sunshine — well, except for the bleeding heart.
As an aside, I was on a business trip last week and got the chance to swing by Frank Lloyd Wright’s most popular building, Fallingwater. I enjoyed the walk around the grounds, but I would like to return when I have a little more time to take the full tour. I had to, of course, take my version of the most famous photo.
This past Saturday, Race Vermont held their annual Spring Half Marathon. I’ve photographed a number of events for them and they’re always a good time; this one was no exception. The weather forecast threatened rain, but we only got the lightest of sprinkles during the event. The flooding in Vermont meant that Rayne had to reroute the course a little bit and, thankfully, Shelburne Farms was willing to accommodate him.
There was a good sized crowd at the start as last-minute race details were covered (including the standard no-iPod rule) and then they were off.
After the pack takes off, I relocated to Shelburne Farms’ South Gate and waited for the runners to arrive.
This guy was taking advantage of the change of scenery and cheering on the runners as they passed.
Congratulations to everyone that ran! I hope you enjoyed your morning as much as I did. All of these photos and more are available on SkiPix.com!
Lake Champlain has crested 103′ for the first time. We’re more than 3 feet above flood stage and about one foot over the previously highest recorded lake levels. And lake levels are expected to continue rising over the next day or so.
So, to continue with my flood-related photo activities, I went for a walk along the Burlington waterfront to see the sights. I saw a lot of people doing the same thing, nearly everyone with a camera in hand. The first thing I noticed was our buddy Champ. A few weeks ago, the water was high but I could walk next to him. Now, it looks like he’s been shifted by water that’s a foot or two higher. He’s now looking the other direction almost as if he can’t believe how high the water is either.
Continuing down the waterfront there are some signs that spring is making an appearance, but mostly there’s just a lot of water. Even in places where the lake hasn’t swallowed up the land, there are standing puddles of water. The breakwater is nowhere to be seen; the coast guard launch is non-existant; the pier just north of the waterfront is at lake level, if not a bit submerged.
The rain keeps coming, the rivers are raging, and the lake is rising. I’ve taken to going on a quick walk at lunch time or at least making a brief stop on the way home to check out some of the flooding in the area. Today, I stopped at the IBM dam on the Winooski River. Last October I had stopped here to snap some photos of the flooding we were experiencing then. Conveniently, I had taken some photographs a few weeks before so I had some nice before and after shots of the river. I decided to stop at the same location today to see how it compared. I think, actually, that the river was probably flowing faster in October.
I was intrigued, today, with the way the bubbles danced as the water cascaded over the falls.
The flooding in the Champlain Valley and on Lake Champlain is definitely worse right now. You only have to see these aerial photos to understand that. I think, though, there was more water coming down the Winooski last October. What do you think? Drop me a comment below and let me know.
I was in Washington D.C. early this week and was supposed to travel home to Vermont during the thunderstorms Tuesday evening. The flight was delayed and eventually cancelled which meant I flew up over Lake Champlain at around noon on Wednesday. I was greeted with sights that I’ve only seen in photos from other flooded areas. Silt and debris flowed out of every river and stream into Lake Champlain creating plumes of muddy water. The photo below is of the mouth of the Winooski river with the silt streaming north past Colchester point and towards the mouth of Malletts Bay. Usually I travel with a decent camera, but this was a quick trip and all I had on me was my iPhone.
After dinner, Tawny and I decided to walk over to the farmer’s field near our house to see what the flooding had done. Earlier in the day Route 128 was closed right here, but the waters had receded enough to re-open by early evening. The flood waters had eroded large parts of the shoulder but the traveled lanes still looked structurally sound.
I can’t imagine this truck is going to move for a few days. Earlier this morning, Tawny informed me, there was a tractor in the middle of the field across the road. The tractor made its way out, but there were some serious ruts that indicated where it had been.
We walked around for a few more minutes as the sun set, enjoying the near 80 degree weather. It’s hard to believe that this is a farmer’s field. Usually photos like this are down at the lake shore looking over at the Adirondack mountains.
It’s been an exciting year for weather in Burlington. What’s mother nature got in store for us next?
