Photo Story: Sea Smoke on Penobscot Bay

I don’t claim to be an expert on fog, smoke or steam.  My prior post called “Fog on Penobscott Bay” was about a photo I took one early morning in August.  I did a bit of research online and found that there are several kinds of fog.  My conclusion based on the definitions given, was that the summer fog we experience along the Maine coast is “advection fog”. It requires warm air over cold water.Well, today I explored online the concept of “sea smoke”. I had seen a number of photos of sea smoke, though mostly they were taken along the Maine coast in the winter.  Nevertheless, I was pretty sure that is what I saw one cold morning last October.

Sea smoke can occur when cold air moves over warm water.  (It seems this is the opposite of the conditions that lead to fog.) I think this is what happened in the image shown below. 


This image was taken on a cold October morning.  I am presuming that the air temperature was colder than the water surface temperature.  It was about 6:45 a.m. and the sun had just begun to show itself.  I’m thinking this created the required layer of moisture-saturated air above the water that then cools and condenses. 


Of course I could be wrong about this, but it nevertheless was a pretty picture.

Olympus E-M1

Panasonic 14-140 F3.5-F5.6 

@ 140mm (280mm fffl)

1/2500s

F5.6

ISO 200

Photo Story: Fog on Penobscot Bay

Fog and the Maine coast go together.  This is especially true in the summer, when the prevailing southwest breeze can bring moist warm air off the land which then passes over the cold ocean water, causing the moisture in the air to condense.  If you spend a week on the Maine coast, you will need to be prepared for a few days of fog. Even in summer, this means fleece jackets or wool sweaters, and sometimes both.

I have read that there are several kinds of fog.  From what I can tell, the type of fog I have described above and which is shown in the photo below is called “Advection fog”.  Advection refers to the wind bringing moist air over a cool surface. Advection fog can also occur when warm air passes over thick snow-pack.

Olympus E-M1

40-150mm kit zoom F4-5.6R

@ 102mm (204mm fffl)

1/250s

F8

ISO 320

Into the Fog

The photo was taken in August at 7:00 a.m.  The location was Penobscot Bay.  An hour earlier, the morning was beautifully clear, and I witnessed an outstanding sunrise. I knew that it would be an interesting morning because I also saw in the distance a thin band of fog. It made the horizon look much nearer, and it began coming closer. Then, coming around a point of land to my right, and outside the field of view of the camera, flowed a white “tongue” of fog gliding across the surface of the water.  As you would expect, this did not seem to phase the lobstermen seen here heading out to check their traps. A moment after capturing this image, the lobsterboat disappeared into the approaching fog.  I guess that’s no big deal for those who know the sea. 

Another few minutes went by and then I, watching all of this from a rocky beach, was fully engulfed by fog. It was then time to walk back to the cabin, put on a sweater, and have another cup of coffee.

Below is a black and white version.  It’s the same photo, but converted to black and white in Adobe Lightroom. 

Photo Story: A Bluebird Day on the Slopes

I’m not sure how prevalent is the term “bluebird day”, nor do I know where it came from.  But it’s a phrase well known to skiers. I do wonder if it came about after the song “Bluebird of Happiness”, which was composed in 1934. I don’t know the lyrics, but I can say with all certainty that a blue bird day on the slopes makes me happy.  On bluebird days I will even chuckle excitedly to myself as I ski down the mountain.

Bluebird days just make a skier smile... or they should!  They are defined as days with a solid blue cloudless sky, made all the more remarkable by the contrast against a snowy landscape.  Polarized sunglasses help, too. (Note that a polarizer was not used in the image below.)

For many people, the above definition is complete.  But in my opinion, a bluebird day needs something more.  I am sure many western skiers would agree that a blue bird day in its highest form requires there to be a fresh thick coat of overnight powder.  Of course, here in New England we need to make some adjustments for our lighter snowfalls and the fact that so many ski areas these days have all-night crews rolling (i.e. packing) the snow.  Seen below, there’s about six inches of new natural snow, some of which has been rolled and some of which has not. Regardless, I was happy and smiling and chuckling all day!

Panasonic DMC-TS3 waterproof, shockproof, dustproof P&S camera

4.9mm focal length (28mm fffl)

1/160s

F10

ISO 100

Blue Bird Day at Mt. Sunapee

Photo Story: Old But Not Handicapped

Imagine the smile on my face when Laurie and I turned into a Dunkin’ Donuts in Searsport, Maine for a cup of coffee and saw these two parked “old timers”. The sky was so beautiful and the cars were so shiny!  They were the only cars in the parking area, so I knew I had to act fast.

Every year when we travel Maine's Route 1 coastal route, our routine is to stop in at the same Searsport Dunkin' Donuts behind the Sunoco station. There are plenty of quaint local coffee shops along the way, but every trip we nevertheless stop at the same Dunkin' Donuts for caffeine refueling. I think it is all about timing.  We seem to drive through Searsport at the same time every year, between something like 2-3 pm.

Before going inside to order coffee I quickly grabbed my camera to capture the scene before more cars pulled into the parking area or before the owners drove off.  I love the colors here.  The blue car and blue sky look so good together, and the red car provides a nice contrast. Everything is so bright and shiny. I liked the sky so much that I dropped to one knee to get this low-down angle that allowed me to capture the cars and a big patch of blue sky.  The 4:3 aspect ratio of my Olympus camera helped.

But there is also something about the two cars parked with the empty handicapped parking spot between them that made for a story... and gave me a title for the photo: Old But Not Handicapped.

Olympus EM-1

Olympus 14-54mm v.2

@14mm

1/200s

F8

ISO 200

Old But Not Handicapped

Photo Story: Mt. St. Helens Ground Squirrel

This is perhaps my favorite photo from our trip to Mt. St. Helens in June.  This surprises me because it is not exactly a big beautiful sweeping panorama (though I do have some of those too, here).  What I like about this photo, other than the cooperative ground squirrel, is the nature story that goes far beyond the squirrel.

Mt. St. Helens is a volcanic peak in western Washington that blew its stack in 1980.  The main blast resulted in the largest landslide in recorded history, causing the entire north face to slide away following an earthquake, and removing 1300 feet off the top of the mountain.  The debris avalanche that ensued traveled more than 13 miles at the speed of 110 to 155 miles per hour. The blast was followed by a volcanic eruption that spread ashes over a dozen states and sent a plume of ashes 15 miles into the atmosphere.  

The aerial photos I have seen taken afterward show denuded forests looking like boxes of matchsticks all stacked together, lying side by side in one direction.  No vegetation. No color. Just de-barked tree trucks.

I think with that information as a backdrop, this photo becomes very interesting.  From what I read at the visitor center, it was the burrowing animals, like the golden mantled ground squirrel, that were among the first to come back.  It was said that some did survive by the fact that they were underground. 

In the background of this photo you will see lots of colors.  These are wildflowers.  At the time of our visit wildflowers were everywhere.  Many of course are not species originally found in this area, but now that there is a different soil chemistry and there are no forests to block the sunlight, wildflowers are able to thrive.

I recently entered this image in a “contest” at my photo club.  The judge did not like the bleached wood in the foreground. He did not explain, but I suppose he found it a bit distracting. I guess I understand that. But I like it, as it is an important part of the story. This log was a standing live tree in 1980.  Huge swaths of the region are still covered with tree trunks lying in a direction leading away from the blast.  Old denuded and sun-bleached logs are part of the Mt. St. Helens story. Neither the judge nor the squirrel likely understand this.

Mount Saint Helens Ground Squirrel

A Nice Web Tool For Understanding Your Weather Forecast

My brother sent me a link to the National Weather Service website a couple of years ago.  Being a very visual person, as it seems are most photographers, I find it very helpful in planning my time outside with a camera. Actually, I look at it every morning because it gives me a sense of the flow of the weather throughout the day.

Being February in New England, I find the site valuable in planning my ski days.  I love to ski when the sky is blue and the cloud cover is 0%.  And I dislike driving while it is snowing. 

It is also nice to see what you will be up against or will have working in your favor when grabbing your camera for outdoor photography.  For example, when I visit our local botanic garden, I like  some cloud cover to diffuse the sunlight and I also examine the windspeed forecast.

Unfortunately, the government website is a bit cumbersome.  There is no app available with this same information, as far as I know.  So, what I have done on my iPad is to go to the site in Safari, then click on the “up” button, and then choose “add to favorites” to place a thumbnail on my home screen.  This way it appears in Safari on all my devises: iPad, iPhone and Mac Book Pro.

Here’s a link:

forecast.weather.gov

Once on the home page, type in your location.  On the next page view, if you cursor down the right side you will see a chart like  the one below.  Just click on it.  It is this final page that I have bookmarked as a favorite.

If this is hard to see on your monitor, click on it and it should give you a larger view.

Photo Story: Camden, Maine from Mt. Battie

Each year my wife and I take a couple of trips along the Maine coast.  Usually it is once in the summer and once in October.  The picture below is an October photo.

Camden is always a fun stop.  It’s an old town with a picturesque main street and the downtown area sits right up against Camden Harbor, home of many yachts and sailing vessels, including some old schooners and “Windjammers” that are available for day charters and longer trips.

Two miles north of the town is a park and campground called Camden Hills State Park.  There are trails to the top of Mt. Battie, but also an auto road.  The drive to the top takes about 5 minutes and if you are over 65 it’s $3 per car load for non-Maine residents. The elevation is only 780 feet but you get a sweeping view of Penobscot Bay and downtown Camden. 

Unfortunately, unless you are there in the afternoon, the sun will be shining toward the front element of your camera lens.  I’ve tried a polarizer to cut glare off the ocean but it’s hard to get the sky looking nice because the angle relative to the sun isn’t quite right.

EM-1, 14-54mm Olympus zoom at 25mm (50mm fffl), 1/1250s, F8, ISO 200.

Processed in Lightroom, I made ample use of the dehaze feature to clean up the shot.

First Nor' Easter This Year

Temperatures fell throughout the day and the wind has been significant, especially along the Massachusetts coast. I can hear the wind howling through the trees. And the snow is falling nearly horizontally. We're in the 14-18" snowfall band. Boston is reporting the first Blizzard in two years. 

I didn't even bother to go outside today. I spent the day looking through photos, staring out the window at the falling snow, and listening to my Neil Young station on Pandora. The snowblower is all gassed up, but overnight the wind-driven snow will just fill in the driveway again.  So I'll wait until tomorrow.

Just past our backyard is a forest of relatively young get maples. I'm guessing that the area was logged some 20 or 30 years ago.  I enjoy looking deep into this stand of maples on snowy days. I think the images I've captured work well when converted to black and white images. 

Here's one I took today, by standing sheltered in the doorway of our backyard screen porch. Taken at 1/100s you can see a bit of purposeful blur from the falling snow. The other settings were RAW, F8 and ISO 1250 on a mFT sensor (EM-1 and 12-100mm lens.) Processing was done in Lightroom using one of the included black and white presents.

The First Time I Skied Mt. Sunapee was 1963... and Hodge Podge Lodge

I’ve checked my math a few times now.  1963 was 54 years ago.  Right?  That’s incredible.  Over half a century ago.  That is such a long period of time, yet it seems like yesterday to me.  

Sunapee isn’t my favorite mountain.  It’s a big mountain, but it’s (still) a tame mountain. For a day trip, I’d much prefer Waterville or Cannon; however,  Sunapee is closer to home.  The drive home after a cold day on the slopes is always tiring, so I appreciate that it is only a 1 1/2 hour drive.  Getting home in time for a hot shower and dinner is oh so nice!  All of this is much aided by route 89, which didn’t exist in 1963, as far as I recall. But then, I wasn’t doing the driving back then.  

Nor was Sunapee a day trip for us back then.  As a family, we rented a big house with 8 or 9 other families from back home.  We called it Hodge Podge Lodge. I remember the season rental per family that first year was $250.  I also remember my first season pass.  As the “first junior” in the family, my pass cost my parents $60.  Today, this is about the price of a weekend day ticket!  My brother was the “second junior” and his pass was $40.  Day tickets for juniors were $6, so I pretty much made up my pass by skiing the school Christmas vacation. (We used the word Christmas back then.)

On my dad's 80th birthday twelve years ago we took a summer drive up to Sunapee.
Here we (dad, my brother, and me) are checking out the old place.
I thought it was cool that the street number is 64 and our first season
was the winter '63-'64.

Patches were quite fashionable back then.
HPL = Hodge Podge Lodge

I wish I had some photos of our Sunapee days from back then.  But we didn’t tote cameras around. 

The first picture below was taken this past week.  It’s just one turn below the top of the mountain and the trail is called Bonanza.  This particular area was called Bonanza Ledges back in the day. It looked a lot different. The trail was narrower and covered with rock formations.  There was no snow making and the grooming was primitive.  We had to pick our way through the ledges, using one or two goat paths. Timid skiers side-stepped through the mess, causing others to queue up above the ledges. My friends and I usually just went straight through without turning, hoping for enough loose snow at the bottom of the ledges to make a turn or two to slow down.

Years later the area was blasted and smoothed out.  My guess is that as uphill capacity was increased (seen here is a high speed quad which gets four people to the top in 6 minutes (I need to verify that) compared to a slow double chair that got two people to the top in 12 (or was it 20?) minutes), downhill capacity needed to be increased.  Trails were widened too so that snow making could be maximized, and traffic jams like what was created at Bonanza ledges had to be eliminated.

So easy now.  Here there used to be ledges to negotiate

Also a recent picture, this next image I call “Dad’s View”.  This was taken along one of his two favorite trails.  This one is called Skyway.  The other favorite is called Blast Off. My dad passed away a year ago at age 90.  I’m guessing he was 70 when I last skied this trail with him.  Of course, I think about him often when i ski Sunapee.  I have some great memories. Even though Sunapee is not my favorite ski mountain, it’s the ski area with the most meaning to me.

I’ve put together a small portfolio of Sunapee pictures on my website.  Nothing particularly special, just snapshots.  All were taken with a digital point and shoot camera.  The oldest snapshot of the bunch was taken in 2009.

peterfraileyphoto.com/sunapee