04.21.2019 Atherton Brook Waterfall Closeup 1

So today I decided to challenge myself with a favorite hike along a brook that feeds the Quabbin Reservoir and eventually quenches the thirst of Boston and surrounds. The hikes on the west side of the watershed are mostly all downhill which means an uphill trek on the way out.  So far, no coronary as a result but it was quite tiring.  I need to do this more often, I think.

We’ve had quite a bit of rain lately, not as much as the middle of the U.S. but a lot just the same.  I figured the water would be running wild and it was.  Possibly too much water for photography and getting this much detail required an ISO of 800.

As last year’s leaves break down, there are a lot of tannins leaching into the water.  I considered desaturating them, or converting to B&W, but for now am staying with what it was.

I spent a few hours walking along the brook so you can expect a few more images from today as the week passes.

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04.16.2019 Another Roaring Falls Cascade

There is more to Roaring Falls than a few cascades, but often I find that focusing on the details of the whole can be rewarding. I made a video with my phone of the whole spot I visited, I think there is a bit more upstream, but had trouble with a Lightroom workflow for editing video.  I’ll keep at it and post that one way or another.  Quite an enjoyable sound.

04.15.2019 Cladonia cristatella

British Soldier Lichens or Red Cap Lichens are very common Cladonias found all over New England.  On my way out from visiting Roaring Falls yesterday I came across a spot covered with them.  I particularly liked this stump that was home to quite a few.

For a closer look see my post from April 7.  Mark Graf was wondering on Tom Whelan’s posting of these about the development of the red caps.  These are fruiting bodies and there has been conjecture as to what the red function might be, but I am not sure whether anyone has come up with a definitive explanation. Whatever it is, those caps make it a very distinctive sight in woodland ecology.

04.14.2019 Roaring Falls Cascade

I shot a video with my phone thinking I could use a tutorial to edit it, but the tutorial and my version of Lightroom don’t match up, I guess, so that’s on the back burner. For now, here’s an intimate little cascade at the bottom of the falls.

I shot a couple of other intimates that I haven’t worked on yet. I don’t see an option for video in Lightroom so now to search for another tutorial.

04.13.2019 Long Plain Brook Swamp

Another check for flowers went unfulfilled but I did get a chance to explore a swamp landscape that I have been driving past for years. It’s a difficult spot for compositions as the approach is Old Montague Road, I assume, that is now extremely overgrown. As well, since it is next to and below Route 63, which is highly traveled, guess what- loads of trash thrown down the hill.  I half expected to get conked by a tossed bottle but as it wasn’t nighttime no beer bottles were forthcoming, thank goodness. I found one clear view of the tussocks and beyond and the light, overcast and rain ending, was rich for saturation.

Across the way is a large pine with a large pileated hole.  If I want to get better compositions another day I will have to wear hip boots to get farther out. My knee high Mucks were not quite up to the task.

 

04.11.2019 Old Moon, Full Moon

This is a re-edit of an image from a few years ago. What’s your response?  Moody, mysterious, peaceful, spooky?

One third of the way through April already. I know we all mention the quickness of passing time, but the weeks are flying by.  Some of that comes with age, but even when we try to slow things down the hectic modern pace and keeping up with the world just makes it seem like time is slipping by more quickly.

04.10.2019 Dawn in New Salem