Life Through My Lens: Morning in Camden, ME

It finally stopped raining!!!  Yesterday we did not go anywhere, and we worked in the lab on making master prints.  We edited our photos from the day before, learning how to selectively sharpen, use color profiles, and make beautiful prints.  By the time I dropped into bed last night at 11:00, I realized I had not done a blog entry.  Having no photos for the day, I decided to forgo the blog entry.  It's a good thing I am not on my one year daily commitment again!

This morning we met at 5:30 and drove to Camden, hoping for a bit of sunrise.  Although there was no sun, there was plenty to photograph in the town and in the harbor.  The rest of today has again been spent in the lab, working on preparing files for a slide show for tomorrow night and again creating more prints.

Tonight will be an early turn-in, because we will meet at 3:30 a.m. for a trip to Pemaquid for sunrise.

It's a good thing we're a small class.  We certainly have had a lot of great instruction from Michael, the photographer and Jim, the print master.  Worth every penny!

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Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com

Email:  cam.miller@comcast.net

Life Through My Lens: Foggy Morning in Rockport

Fog set in this morning, just as I hoped it would.  It rained off and on all day, but the fog is still hanging around.  I went down to the harbor this morning to see what I could find, and then went to find the Belted Galloways at Aldermere Farms.

We spent some time in the classroom this morning going over calibration issues, then headed out after lunch to do a little studio shooting and went to an antiques place.

Gotta run to dinner, then off to a lecture.  Enjoy the morning shots!

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Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com

Email:  cam.miller@comcast.net

Life Through My Lens: Beauchamp Pt, Rockport, ME

Today was spent mostly in class, but we did get outdoors this afternoon.  We drove to a nearby location called Beauchamp Point, where it was fairly rocky, but it looked out over the water with some moored boats nearby.  There were several people sitting in chairs on the rocks, enjoying the beautiful afternoon.

I was glad to have my walking stick, since I still feel unsure on rocky outcroppings that sometimes require good balance and climbing, especially while carrying camera gear.  I got down to the edge of the rocks, where there were small snails and barnacles clinging to the rocks, many feeding on the kelp.

At one point, I ventured back up to the top of the rocks and there were some shoes and a t shirt.  Suddenly I heard a loud splash!  A young man had jumped into the water and was swimming down below.  I stayed near the top, when suddenly he appeared before me.  The shoes and the swimmer and the man emerging from the sea made for a nice trio of shots.


It's off to dinner now.  Tonight is a lecture at the Union Hall by the harbor, on portraits.

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Email:  cam.miller@comcast.net

Life Through My Lens: Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Daisy Shadow

Camera Swipe

I spent a good part of the morning at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens near Boothbay.  They are strictly an outdoor garden, with no conservatory, but there are many paths and types of gardens, with lots of great walking opportunities.  There is even a kitchen garden sponsored by Burpee Seeds, where vegetables and edible flowers are grown.

Multiple Exposures

Bug!

Dragon Fly

I recently bought a new little macro lens, so I decided to take only it into the gardens.  It was quite windy, making it difficult to focus on bees or centers of flowers, so I opted to try some camera swipes.  To do that, you can shoot in aperture priority, but close the aperture down to F22, which will slow down the shutter speed.  Then stand in front of a cluster of bright colors, focus, and as you press the shutter, swipe hard to the side, or up or down.  The faster the better.  The resulting blur should give you soft, dreamy lines of color that look like watered silk.

The gardens were beautiful.  Everything is so lush and green here.  Along the roadsides are riots of day lilies and white daisies.  There are even a few dogwoods and some mountain laurel still in bloom.  My favorite Maine flower are the wild pink salt spray roses that grow on the coast.  They have a heavenly fragrance and make beautiful rose hips when the blooms are spent.  I'm sure I'll find some of those this week.

I'm all checked in at the dorm here at Maine Media Workshops.  I'll meet the instructor and my classmates tonight and tomorrow the fun continues!

Experiment with camera swipes.  You can get some very interesting results!

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Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com

Email:  cam.miller@comcast.net

Life Through My Lens -- Boothbay, Maine

You'd know where I was even if
I didn't tell you!

Maine is loaded with old cars and trucks

I got up a little later than I intended this morning, because I had drawn the blackout curtains in my hotel room. Therefore, sunlight did not wake me up, and my eyes popped open at 8:45. I must have needed the sleep!

Alfred's iconic white church.

Boothbay Harbor

I got on the road and headed for Concord, NH. I remembered stopping there once with my friend Joan, where we had a nice lunch, and I wanted to stop there again. I arrived around 11 a.m. and found a farmer's market right downtown. I saw a selection of baked goods and found wonderful gluten free products. I bought a whoopie pie, a lemon bar, and a blueberry muffin. The whoopee pie was breakfast! I also got coffee from a vendor selling his own roast – it was rich and delicious.

My morning walk was done up and down Main Street, enjoying the various shops and the people who were out on this beautiful Saturday morning. Leaving Concord, I headed for Sanford, Maine, wanting to stay away from the coast for now. I drove on interior roads until I got to Alfred, where I stopped for lunch. I continued on 202 to Gray, when I headed south for Freeport. In Freeport I got on Rt. 1 and drove north, through Wiscasset, then south on 27 to Boothbay.

Evening Entertainment

My home for the night is the White Anchor Inn. I unloaded stuff in my room, then went to Boothbay Harbor. It was quite crowded with tourists tonight, but I found ice cream for dinner and walked around. Then I drove down the scenic 96 loop, finding beautiful hamlets tucked into small coves – and very little parking anywhere to enjoy the water views. Maybe in the morning there will be fewer cars and I can catch the sunrise.

I need to swat the mosquito in this room before I turn off the lights – goodnight, all!

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Email:  cam.miller@comcast.net

Life Through My Lens -- Keene, NH

This was the only moose I saw in VT

Day two of my road trip was excellent.  After leaving Honesdale this morning in clear, 61 degree weather, I headed for Monticello, NY, and then on to Saugerties.  In Saugerties I met my friend Connie, and we had coffee and studied the maps.  She advised me to take 9W north to the Rip Van Winkle Bridge over the Hudson River in Catskill, NY.

Neatly kept homes are everywhere

Once over the Hudson, I continued on NY 23 to Hillsdale, where the small town was so inviting, I just had to stop for lunch.  There were gift shops, a high end general store, an old inn, and more.  I continued east to Great Barrington, MA, where I picked up Rt. 7 and traveled north to Bennington, VT.  Along the way I drove through small towns and beautiful countryside, with only occasional road work to slow me down.

View from the Camera Bag

At Bennington, I traveled through the mountains along Rt. 9, where the turns were many and the hills were numerous -- just the kind of road my Audi likes!  Climbing from the valley to the summit, the temperature dropped from 78 to 71 in less than 30 minutes.  I was almost tempted to pull over and put on my jacket, but I toughed it out <grin>.  The sky was pure blue, the clouds were puffy white, and there was not a drop of humidity anywhere.

Lipstick on a pig!

I got to Keene around 6 p.m. and chose a downtown hotel so I could walk around and window shop and find dinner.  What did I find but a camera store!  I did not leave empty handed, of course.  I did a nice walk and had dinner, then walked back looking for the full moon.  It was over the hills in the distance, so I had fun playing with lining it up with the street light.

The White Church in Keene

Moonlight over Keene

These cars are everywhere!

It was a great day.  Tomorrow, on to Boothbay, Maine!

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Email:  cam.miller@comcast.net

Life Through My Lens: In Honesdale, PA

Not much has changed here
in Honesdale

I am on vacation!  I am going to absorb myself in photography as much as I can every day on this trip.  After an inauspicious start this morning, when I had to turn around an hour and ten minutes into my trip and return home for my driver's license (left on the scanner for a job I had to do), I hit the road again and arrived uneventfully in Honesdale, PA.

Watch Your Step

I'm driving my new car, loving named "The Camera Bag," since once the camera gear is loaded in, there is not much room left for anything else.  My suitcase did not fit in the trunk, because that is where the top goes when it is down on the car, so I stuffed clothing into squishable bags and jammed it into nooks and crannies.  I will certainly not be a fashion plate on this trip!

Colorful Ventilation with Birdseed

I got to Honesdale around 6:30 p.m. and hit the streets with my camera.  I needed to get in a walk, after many hours in the car.  I used my little camera to photograph whatever caught my eye.  I am going to have fun on this trip, and make no apologies about what I post as far as photos go.  They are just going to be fun ones!  There will be plenty of time for serious ones in the course I am taking in Maine.

I Will Always Love You

My goal for this trip is to resume this daily photo walk for the next couple of weeks.  So here it is, Installment 1, Day 1.  Enjoy!

Love Letters?

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Email:  cam.miller@comcast.net