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.