The sand dunes along Race Point beach at the tip of Cape Cod are beautiful, with green dune grasses separated by sandy depressions. Here footsteps lead up the dune face. An expansive view of the Atlantic Ocean spreads out from this vantage point.
This image uses an artistic software filter to impart a painterly appearance. Prints are available from my Pixels shop.
Sandy Point State Reservation lies at the southern end of Plum Island, a classic barrier island along the Atlantic coast in Newbury, Massachusetts. Access to the 77-acre site is from the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge access road. Together with the refuge, This whole area, spanning a little under 5,000 acres, preserves both key salt marsh and barrier beach habitats.
The photograph, enhanced using High Dynamic Range techniques, was captured while I strolled the beach on an unusually warm October day. The time was close to sunset and the clouds provided an interesting sky to contrast with the rough sand and stone beach on the tip of the island.
Prints are available from my Pixels shop.
I was hiking on a short path (the Farley trail) at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm when this vista unfolded. This is the Little River, a short tidal inlet formed from the Merriland River and Branch Brook in Wells Maine. The meander of the river reaches out to the Atlantic Ocean (technically the Gulf of Maine here) and it’s bankful state at high tide nicely reflects the clouds that floated by on this summer day.
I used bracketed exposures processed with High Dynamic Range (HDR) software to add luminosity to the scene.
The reserve is part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, a collaborative program designed to protect these vital natural resources.
Also nearby is the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, providing additional views of the extensive salt marshes in this area.
This image was captured at Odiorne Point State Park in Rye, New Hampshire. It was early in the morning on a warm June day. I was walking on the sandy beach area in the northern area of the park looking out toward Little Harbor as the sun was rising. Trees in silhouette usually add interest to early morning scenes – this one didn’t disappoint.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Dave Thompsen Photography 