Showing posts with label autumn. Show all posts

Saturday, December 3, 2022

Bucks County, Pennsylvania in Autumn, 2022: Landscape Photographs

"Like a river that don't know where it's flowing,

I took a wrong turn and I just kept going."

Bruce Springsteen

Last week, my 98-year-old mom hosted Thanksgiving, and we were so fortunate to share it with family and friends. This was our first in-person Thanksgiving with the Friedman side of the family since before Covid, so being together was particularly special.

The holiday offers a chance to reflect on the many things for which I am grateful, including close relationships, health, meaningful work, a loving wife and two sons who make me proud every day, and many other things. Regarding my photography, I am fortunate to have a good camera, lenses, filters, and editing software. However, I believe photography is much more than equipment. It starts with pausing, noticing and appreciating those things in our surroundings that are beautiful or interesting. From an early age, I saw how my mom noticed little things in her surroundings, and how she approaches life with a sense of awe and curiosity. To this day, she appreciates the beauty of the trees which form a canopy over her back yard, the tulips which decorate the front of her house each spring, and the unique beauty offered by each season and each day. Quite often, she still goes to a local beach or marina evening to enjoy the day's setting sun. How lucky I am to have a role model who pauses to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us, and who has nurtured my own creativity!

In Bucks County, our historical sites and natural beauty are all enhanced by fall foliage, dense fog, or a hint of morning frost. What follows is collection of photographs that I took this autumn, between September 20th and November 29th. This includes some of my favorite local spots, such as the Delaware Canal and Towpath, Yardley's Lake Afton, New Hope, the Delaware River, and Patterson Farm.

I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving, and I hope my photos encourage you to pause to appreciate the unique beauty of each season and each moment.

Old Tree in Fog, River Road, Washington Crossing,
Pennsylvania, September 20, 2022.

Delaware Canal, Towpath and Footbridge in early morning
fog, Delaware CanalState Park, New Hope,
Pennsylvania, September 20, 2022.

View of New Hope Pennsylvania in early morning fog, as
seen across the Delaware River from Lambertville,
New Jersey, September 20, 2022.

Bowman's Hill, New Hope, Pennsylvania, October 8, 2022.

Delaware Canal, Washington Crossing,
Pennsylvania, October 18, 2022

Delaware Canal and Towpath, New Hope,
Pennsylvania, October 18, 2022.

Unknown Soldiers' Grave, Washington Crossing Historic Park
(North Section), New Hope, Pennsylvania, October 18, 2022.

Washington Crossing Historic Park (Southern Section),
Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, October 25, 2022.

Tree in Fog, Aquatong Road, New Hope,
Pennsylvania, October 25, 2022.

Delaware Canal and Towpath, Yardley, Pennsylvania, (view facing north from Black Rock Road), October 26, 2022.

Delaware Canal and Towpath, Yardley, Pennsylvania,
(View facing south, near Black Rock Road), October 26, 2022.

Delaware Canal and Towpath, New Hope, Pennsylvania,
(view facing north, taken a few minutes before sunrise,
in the northern section of Washington Crossing Historic Park), October 30, 2022.

Delaware Canal and Towpath, New Hope, Pennsylvania,
(Early morning fog, just after sunrise, a few miles north
of town), October 30, 2022.

Virginia Forrest Recreation Area, Delaware Canal State Park,
New Hope, Pennsylvania, October 30, 2022.

Lake Afton and the Old Library, Yardley,
Pennsylvania, October 31, 2022.

View across the Delaware River from the Centre Bridge section
of Solebury Township, Pennsylvania towards Stockton,
New Jersey, November 8, 2022.

Old Tree and Rising Sun, Yardley, Pennsylvania, (next to the ramp between Yardley Newtown Road and Route 295), November 12, 2022.

Washington Crossing Historic Park (south section), Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, November 12, 2022.

Lake Afton, Yardley, Pennsylvania, November 15, 2022.

Patterson Farm, Yardley, Pennsylvania, taken about 10
minutes before sunrise, November 19, 2022

Durham Boats on the Delaware River, Washington Crossing
Historic Park, Pennsylvania. (view facing south,
taken about 20 minutes before sunrise, in the south
section of the park), November 28, 2022.

Durham Boats on the Delaware River, Washington Crossing
Historic Park, Pennsylvania. This is the view facing north,
about 15 minutes before sunrise, in the south section of the
park, November 28, 2022.

Delaware Canal, Yardley, Pennsylvania. (Taken
at sunrise from the bridge on E. Afton
Avenue), November 29, 2022

Sunday, December 20, 2020

Bucks County in Autumn 2020 - Landscape Photographs

“This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.” - John Muir

As Bucks County is presently covered in snow, its easy to forget that winter does not officially start until tomorrow. This post includes many of the photographs that I have taken this autumn. It is the third of my 2020 Bucks County photograph collections, as I have previously posted WINTER INTO SPRING as well as SPRING INTO SUMMER. This batch includes several of my favorite local spots, including: bridges crossing the Delaware River; the Delaware Canal and Towpath, Lake Afton; Patterson Farm; Core Creek Park; Five Mile Woods; and Washington Crossing Historic Park.

An injury during an October photo excursion to MAINE forced me to take a three week break from photography, but fortunately I was able to get out shooting photos pretty quickly. My mini Bucks County excursions were a welcome chance for creativity, a change of scenery and a distraction from the fall's worsening Coronavirus pandemic, the election, and the subsequent political turmoil. I am better off when I start a day with pink skies, morning mist, the rising sun, and colorful fall foliage, rather than a divisive tweet or conspiracy theory. I hope that some of the following images allow you to celebrate the Bucks County version of what John Muir called the "grand show" of "eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn..."

The West Trenton Railroad Bridge crossing the Delaware River in dense
early morning fog, as seen from Yardley, Pennsylvania. 9/25/20.

Football field in dense early morning fog, at Macclesfield Park,
in Yardley, Pennsylvania. 9/25/20.

Delaware Canal, Towpath, and footbridge with the rising sun. Delaware Canal State Park, New Hope, Pennsylvania. 10/4/20.

The Queen Anne Creek, cutting through the "Five Mile Woods" nature preserve. Yardley, Pennsylvania. 10/31/20.

Delaware Canal and Towpath in early morning fog. Delaware
Canal State Park, Yardley, Pennsylvania. 11/5/20.

Adirondack chairs overlooking the Delaware River, in dense morning fog. Yardley, Pennsylvania. 11/5/20.

Lake Afton and the Old Library in morning fog,
with fall foliage. Yardley, Pennsylvania. 11/5/20.

Delaware Canal and Towpath with hot air balloon.
Delaware Canal State Park, New Hope, Pennsylvania. 11/7/20.

Lumberville–Raven Rock Bridge, Lumberville,
Pennsylvania. 11/5/20.

Sycamore Trees in morning fog, Washington Crossing
Historic Park, Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania. 11/10/20.

Fall foliage in Washington Crossing Historic Park,
Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania.

West Trenton Railroad Bridge in fog,
Yardley, Pennsylvania. 11/10/20.

Sunrise over the Delaware River, with the West Trenton
Railroad Bridge. Yardley, Pennsylvania. 11/15/20.

Patterson Farm with early morning reflections.
Yardley, Pennsylvania. 11/15/20.

New Hope-Lambertville Bridge with early morning light,
as seen from Lambertville, New Jersey. 11/21/20.

The Calhoun Street Bridge crossing the Delaware River,
just after sunrise. Morrisville, Pennsylvania. 12/6/20.

Old Library and the St. Andrew's Church reflected in the partially frozen Lake Afton, a few minutes before sunrise. Yardley, Pennsylvania. 12/11/20.

"Trenton Makes The World Takes" bridge (officially the "Lower Trenton" bridge) with blue letters for Hanukkah, a few minutes after sunset. 12/11/20.

The Delaware Canal, Towpath and footbridge with early morning mist and the rising sun. Delaware Canal State Park, New Hope, Pennsylvania. 12/13/20.

Route 32 South and Bowman's Hill Tower, with early morning mist. New Hope, Pennsylvania. 12/13/20.

The Delaware River with morning mist,
New Hope, Pennsylvania. 12/13/20.

Lake Luxembourg, in Core Creek Park, a few minutes after sunset.
Langhorne, Pennsylvania. 12/14/20.

Old Library and the St. Andrew's Church with fresh snow, reflected in the partially frozen Lake Afton. 12/17/20.

Monday, December 14, 2020

Acadia National Park in Autumn: Nature and Landscape Photographs

Back in October, I had a frustratingly shortened trip to Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor, Maine. It had been seven years since my last trip to Bar Harbor. On the recent trip, I intended to have five full days of photography, during peak fall foliage, and I had spent weeks carefully mapping out places to photograph, in different times of day and weather conditions.

However, before sunrise on the second morning, I had a bad fall on the rocky coast near the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. I immediately felt severe pain and no use of my left arm and shoulder. I drove myself with one hand to the the Emergency Room, back in Bar Harbor, about 40 minute away. At the ER, they put me in a sling, and I knew my time in Maine would come to a premature end. That same day, my wife, Cynthia, flew up from Pennsylvania, packed all my stuff into our car (I was not able to lift anything), and she drove me nine hours back home. You know that whole "sickness and health" part of wedding vows? Well, Cynthia went above and beyond. Several days later, after X-Rays, an MRI and a CT scan, I learned that I had broken my scapula (shoulder blade).

On the morning in which I got hurt, the photography gods played a cruel trick on me. Immediately after my fall, as I sat in excruciating pain on the rocks by the coast, the pre-dawn sky was a beautiful combination of pinks and blues, but I was unable to lift my left arm to take any photos. During the drive to the hospital, a beautiful mist rose up from the water, with the early morning sunlight shining through. My instinct was to pull over to take photos, but the reality was that I could not even lift my left arm enough to touch the bottom of the steering wheel. Photography was out of the question.

Prior to the injury, I had one evening and all of the next day for photography. What follows are the photos that I took in that time, in and around Acadia National Park. This included stops at Jordan Pond, a sunrise at Boulder Beach (with a great view of Otter Cliff), various views along Park Loop Road, Otter Cove, Bass Harbor Marsh, the picturesque Somesville Footbridge, and a late afternoon and evening at Eagle Lake.