The Scenic Calendar for 2013

The following are the photos we used to create our Scenic calendar for 2012. Each one has a story. Please click the photos to see a larger version.

The Cover
Taken on H St NW in Washington DC. We were chasing down Capital Q BBQ joint for 2012 Smoke Chasing Tour.  The colors on the entranceway is quite visually stimulating to me. I debated a long time with myself to remove the guy crossing the street, but decided he was part of the scene and had to stay.

Ocean Rd in Narragansett RI heading for Port Judith Lighthouse. I had just gotten my Nikon and decided to head for Crazy Burger that was on Diners, Dives and Drive-In, capture some historic places while we were there and just have a drive around on a sunny February day. Helps relieve PMS (parked motorcycle syndrome) and cabin fever, the drive that is.

This is right in my back yard in Uxbridge, MA. Part of the Blackstone Canal at Rice City Pond. Out playing around with the Nikon and experimenting with HDR photos. Taken in September 2012.

Paterson Great Falls in New Jersey. This is our newest National Park. We stopped here to grab INK for our IBA National Park Tour. This is a great place to visit. I did have a small argument with the volunteer guide about whether Paterson, NJ or Uxbridge, MA was the center of the Industrial Revolution in the US. I think both towns can probably claim the title.

Congaree National Park in South Carolina. Part of your National Park Tour. Congaree is the the largest tract of  old growth bottomland hardwood forest left in the United States.

Old Sheldon Church Ruins just outside Sheldon, South Carolina. This was a targeted stop while we wandered thru the south. The Church was built between 1745 and 1753. It was burned down during the Revolutionary War to be rebuilt and then burned down again by William Tecumseh Sherman in 1865. Shermy had a thing about matches, the earth and buildings.

Kingsley Plantation in the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve in Jacksonville, FL. This is looking out over the Fort George River. Another stop on our National Park Tour and captured the Silver Certificate for the IBA. This plantation was very much different than most of the plantations in the south. Many of the slaves gained their freedom thru working the farm. Each slave was given a task to do for the day. When they finished their work they were free to do as they wanted.

Salem Maritime National Historic Site in Salem, MA. This was simply a filler trip for the National Park Tour. We have been here multiple and times and it is always a fun visit. The ship is the Friendship of Salem, built as a replica of 1797 East Indiaman. The ship was built in 2000.

Bucksport, Maine overlooking the Penebscot River. Taken in the morning in August as we headed out to capture a bunch of BBQ joints and Maine Tour of Honor sites. If you can imagine turning to the right you will see Fort Knox National Historic Landmark and the Penebscot bridge.

Taken on West Hartford Ave in Uxbridge, MA right around Bagma's Dairy Farm. I specifically headed to this area to try to capture a HDR sunset. Taken right around 7pm in early September.

Taken at Rice City Pond in Uxbridge. The fuzzyiness in the background is actually steam rising from the Blackstone River / Rice City Pond. I created bracketed photos with one photo as if I had taken 5 photos using the autobracketing feature of the camera. While this may look like a HDR photo in is in fact a LDR photo using a fusion process.

I pass this place everyday on my way to work. It is the driveway for a residence. There is just something very peaceful about the road. I don't know if it is the gentle bends in the road, the color of the gravel on the road and / or the color, lighting of the plants and trees. This photo was taken in mid September around 4:45pm.

This was taken on the way to work on Rt 16 in Mendon, MA by Alicante's Mediterranean Grille. By purchasing the Nikon, I forced my self to get out of using it simply as a very expensive point and shot camera. From my reading, looking at other photos, my drive to work has been filled with looking at the lighting on trees, shadows on the buildings and reflections on lake. It sure makes the drive to work more fun. This was a hand held auto bracketed sequence of 3 shots.

 

 

These photos have been incorporated into a 17X11 calendar, which you can order at Cafe Press. If you would like to order one, drop me an email at nomadwillie@yahoo.com with 2012 Scenic Calendar in the subject line and I will provide you a link. I don't make a dime off these calendars (I am sure Cafe Press does). My payment comes from knowing some people enjoyed the photos enough to have them hanging someplace. For now I will keep my day job.