Dave Thompsen Photography

Author: dpthompsen

  • Zakim Bridge

    Zakim Bridge

    A artistic photograph of the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge with the Boston Garden in the background.
    Zakim Bridge

    The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge is a wide cable-stayed bridge connecting Boston and Charlestown, Massachusetts over the Charles River. Part of interstate 93, it was built as part of Boston’s “big dig” project. The bridge was named after the civil rights activist Lenny Zakim and the American colonists who fought the British in the Battle of Bunker Hill.

    From this vantage point, one of the towers with it’s cabling that supports the roadway can be seen. The massive Boston Garden, home of the Boston Celtics basketball team and Boston Bruins hockey team can be seen at the end of the bridge. The image was captured from the North Bank Pedestrian Bridge which connects a ribbon of parklands running along the Charles from North Point Park in Cambridge to Paul Revere Park in Charlestown. That bridge, an interesting structure itself, is a 12-foot wide, 700-ft long, steel sinusoidal bridge so named because the side supports twist in a sine wave shape.

    Part of my portfolio of photographs, this image uses an artistic software filter to impart a painterly appearance. Prints are available from my Pixels shop.

  • Portland Head Light

    Portland Head Light

    A photograph of Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
    Portland Head Lighthouse

    Portland Head Light overlooks Casco Bay at Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Surrounded by beautiful grounds of Fort Williams Park, it is often the site of weddings and attracts lighthouse-lovers, sightseers, and harbor cruise boats. First lit in 1791, it is the oldest lighthouse in Maine. It stands 101 feet tall and its fourth order Fresnel lens has a range of 24 nautical miles. I captured this image while on a cruise of Casco Bay out of Portland.

    Part of my portfolio of photographs, this image uses an artistic software filter to impart a painterly appearance. Prints are available from my Pixels shop.

  • 1969 Chris-Craft

    1969 Chris-Craft

    A photograph of boaters in conversation next to a classic wooden 1969 Chris-Craft runabout boat on the pier in Alton Bay, NH.
    1969 Chris-Craft

    This image of a 1969 Chris-Craft Sportsman antique power boat was taken during the New Hampshire Boat Museum annual vintage wooden boat show, held on the docks in Alton Bay, New Hampshire, a small village at the southern end of Lake Winnipesaukee. This gleaming 22′ boat is amply powered by a 283 Chevy V-8 inboard engine.

    Part of my portfolio of photographs, this image uses an artistic software filter to impart a painterly appearance. Prints are available from my Pixels shop.

  • Working Waterfront

    Working Waterfront

    A photograph of the fishing boats at Peirce Island in Portsmouth, NH.
    Working Waterfront

    One of my favorite places to walk is Peirce Island in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It offers interesting views of the the harbor, including Prescott Park and the Fish Pier with its working boats. This scene shows the fishing boats docked at the pier on an early June day, with the steeple of North Church and the historic Sheafe Warehouse (c. 1740) in the background. The viewpoint is from Four Tree Island, a picnic area connected to Peirce Island by a short pedestrian causeway.

    Part of my portfolio of photographs, this image uses an artistic software filter to impart a painterly appearance. Prints are available from my Pixels shop.

  • Boston from Fan Pier

    Boston from Fan Pier

    A photograph of the Boston skyline taken from Fan Pier.
    Boston from Fan Pier

    This image of the Boston skyline is taken from Fan Pier Park in a revitalized neighborhood of the city along Boston Harbor. Part of the Harborwalk, a 43-mile linear park along Boston’s shoreline, this area is perfect for a stroll with tremendous views, grassy areas, and park benches for relaxing, and plenty of restaurants and cafe’s in the area. The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) is located here. The Boston Tea Party Museum is a short walk across Fort Point Channel.

    Part of my portfolio of photographs, this image uses High-Dynamic Range (HDR) technique and an artistic software filter to impart a painterly appearance. Prints are available from my Etsy shop.

  • The Joseph Conrad

    The Joseph Conrad

    An artistic photograph of the Joseph Conrad tall ship berthed at Mystic Seaport, Connecticut.
    The Joseph Conrad
    Image of Connecticut Statehood US postage stamp
    Connecticut Statehood US postage stamp

    Inspired by the Connecticut Statehood stamp, I traveled to Mystic Seaport in 2012 to capture a photograph of the Charles W. Morgan, the subject of that stamp. Unfortunately it was being restored at the time so it was surrounded by scaffolding inside a large shipyard building. Getting a nice image proved difficult, so I opted to photograph the Joseph Conrad, another ship in the Mystic Seaport collection.

    The Joseph Conrad was built in 1882, in Copenhagen, as a training ship. It was originally named the George Stage, after the son of a prominent ship owner, Frederik Stage. In 1934, after 52 years of service and about to be retired, British Captain Alan Villiers bought and renamed her after Joseph Conrad, the author of popular seafaring novels. Two years and fifty eight thousand miles around the world later, George Huntington Hartford II bought and modernized the Joseph Conrad as a private yacht, sailed and raced her until 1939 at which point ownership was transferred to the US Maritime Commission and used once again as a training ship. Acquired in 1947, The Joseph Conrad now finds its home at Mystic Seaport as an exhibit and training vessel for the Mystic Mariner Program.

    Part of my portfolio of photographs, this image uses an artistic software filter to impart a painterly appearance; prints are available from my Pixels shop.

  • Tugboat Independence

    Tugboat Independence

    An artistic photograph of the tugboat Independence moored at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
    Tugboat Independence

    The tugboat Independence moored in the Cape Cod Canal. Buildings and the training ship of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy are seen in the background.

    The Independence was built in 2009 by the Derektor Shipyards in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It measures 127′ long and generates 5,400 horsepower from its twin sixteen-cylinder diesel engines. For safety, tugboats generally have two of everything.

    Approximately 15,000 vessels use the 7-mile long canal annually. It takes and hour and a half to transit, a much shorter journey than going around the tip of Cape Cod. The majority of the cargo is petroleum products like gasoline and fuel oil carried in long barges that are towed or pushed through the canal, with the assistance of a second tugboat to ensure safe passage.

    Part of my portfolio of photographs, this image uses an artistic software filter to impart a painterly appearance. I also processed the image to remove the color in all parts of the image except for the tugboat and water, making it stand out more clearly among the dense array of shapes of the academy buildings and ship in the background. Prints are available from my Pixels shop.

  • Dinghy at Wentworth-Coolidge

    Dinghy at Wentworth-Coolidge

    A photograph of a dinghy moored in the shimmering waters off the historic Wentworth-Coolidge mansion property in Portsmouth, NH.
    Dinghy at Wentworth-Coolidge

    The Wentworth-Coolidge historic site is located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on the shores of Little Harbor. This was the home of Benning Wentworth, the first royal governor of New Hampshire. The Coolidge family owned the property from 1886 to 1954, developing it as a summertime artist community. The Wentworth-Coolidge Commission continues this tradition of sponsoring arts and music events on the site, which includes a short walking trail and is open for house tours.

    I’ve taken many photographs of this site, but particularly like the image with the dinghy in the foreground, taken from the Heritage  cruise ship operated by Portsmouth Harbor Cruises.

    Part of my portfolio of photographs, this image uses High-Dynamic Range (HDR) technique and an artistic software filter to impart a painterly appearance. Available from my Etsy shop.

  • Wood Island

    Wood Island

    A photograph of the old Wood Island life-saving station in Portsmouth Harbor, NH.
    Wood Island

    Wood Island lies in the channel of the Piscataqua River at the mouth of Portsmouth Harbor in Kittery, Maine. This life-saving station, part of a network of facilities built along the east coast to assist sailors in distress (a precursor to the Coast Guard), was built in 1907. Seen here in 2012, the building shows signs of age. Now, the Wood Island Life Saving Station Association has restored the building and is in the process of creating a maritime museum there.

    Part of my portfolio of photographs, this image uses an artistic software filter to impart a painterly appearance. Prints are available from my Etsy shop.

  • First on the Beach

    First on the Beach

    A photograph of a solitary soul, umbrella at the ready, sitting on Hampton Beach (NH) as the sun rises on a summer day.
    First on the Beach

    First on the Beach captures a beach-goer who arrived to view the beautiful sunrise over the Atlantic, beach umbrella at the ready at Hampton Beach, a barrier beach along the New Hampshire coastline. It’s noted very clean waters and is very popular for swimming and boogie-boarding in the summer.

    The Hampton Beach Village District website lists the many concerts and events held on the beach in the summer, including nightly concerts, weekly fireworks displays, and annual sand sculpture competitions. Their live webcam gives you a glimpse of the activity on the beach.

    Part of my portfolio of photographs, this image uses High-Dynamic Range (HDR) technique and an artistic software filter to impart a painterly appearance. Prints are available from my Etsy shop.