Somesville, Maine, a quick drive by

Heading south on 102 towards Bass Harbor we had the fortune of driving through Somesville (link to this splendid town). It has to be one of the prettiest towns on the Mount Desert Island. The time, effort, and money spent on the homes and flowers are obvious at a glance.

Although I tried to capture a portion of the town with my camera I don't feel my photos really do it justice. If you've ever driving down main street then you understand.

Such a dreamy front porch. 

There's something about large ferns and wicker white that lend themselves to romance and true relaxation.

The Selectman's building is certainly the town jewel, photographed day in and day out

The flowers in the box are looking a little sad at the moment but after all it is the end of summer. Since we were there a week ago surely autumn hardy flowers have been planted. Better images of the bridge can be viewed online here or the link I posted up above. 

Looking at the photos online it's easy to see why this particular bridge is photographed so often throughout all four seasons.

The best part about this shot? The little hand written note on the sign ... 

'Pay here 

 Thank you!'

It shows there are still people who believe in the honesty of a complete stranger.

The perfect end

Sunsets ... something we haven't seen very much of lately due to all the miserable rain here in New Hampshire. I shot the evening sky on June 19th with my Samsung Galaxy s4. To me the clarity is amazing and comes close to capturing just how beautiful it actually was that evening. 

Here's to many more gorgeous sunsets before the summer ends!

The good life

If you lived here I would definitely consider it 'the good life'. Even just being able to enjoy the day in such a beautiful place was good. Very good indeed.

These images were shot on a recent afternoon in Cape Porpoise, Maine from a small connector bridge on Pier Road.

If you're in the area head on over to the island and have lunch at the Cape Pier Chowder House. It's very fair priced with an excellent view and delicious food! Parking is sketchy though. We were just lucky to snag a spot on the side of road. The island is small so parking is at an absolute premium! 

As you can see the tide was quite low.  It looks like a real zen moment for the gentleman out there by himself. Being a person who cherishes those moments of solitude it's almost like I can hear his thoughts.

Turning around this is the view from the other side of the bridge: a family out on the water for the day. Grandparents, children, and grandchildren. The two smaller boats were being towed by the power boat. Love the little dog wearing a life vest! I should have zoomed in on that!

Unlike the images above this sailboat shot was taken in Kennebunkport, just down the road from George Bush Sr's home. 

Have you ever been to the area? Judging by the amount of people in Kennebunkport I'm guess you were there the same day as me! LOL!

Queen Annes Lace

As you'll notice all of these images are quite different. I was playing with different lights and varied edits. Personally I find photographing Queen Annes Lace to be one of the most fun flowers there is! I love all the white and how it works against the background colors.

See the plentiful bokeh in the photo above? It's all created from shooting first thing in the morning when the sun is shining on the sparkling dew of a hundred other QAL flowers in the background. First I set my camera on Macro or Super Macro, then squat down and focus on the flower. I continue to move around a bit until the sparkle begins to show itself. Click, click, click. Then I hope for something beautiful!

A little Queen Annes cup of dew!

Mixing a little pink and white is always nice. 

Lately I notice many of the QAL are turning brown. A sure sign August is waning. However, the fresh white flowers are still plentiful. 

It seems my summers are never quite as exciting as I think they'll be, including this one. I start out with grand plans but somehow the days just seem to slip through my fingers. Does that happen to you?

No matter how many times I photographed Queen Annes Lace this summer it would be one to few.

Flowers in the field

There's a wonderful farm stand just down the street from me that always grows the most luscious flowers. This is the second year in a row I've photograph them first thing in the morning, because as you know there is nothing like that early light!

Verbena Bonariensis

It's such a nice feeling to go out shooting on a dewy, warm summers morning. Concentrating on how to shoot the flowers, where the light is best, what's in the background. So much comes into play but it feels good to lose myself for a while. 

And then I come home just hoping to find something good on my memory card. Sometimes I get the feeling I really captured a nice view. Other times it's just 'eh'. I liked this set of images. They convey the colors I prefer. Why can't summer last a little longer in New England?

Cosmos

 Have you ever grown them? I would like to but always feel they need high places to stretch their leggy blossoms. Space I can't really offer them. So many beautiful flowers but only so much room in the garden *sigh*

Dianthus

Have you ever dreamed of having a garden just for cut flowers? 

Summer is slipping by oh so quickly! Before I know it the school busses will be driving through the neighborhood in preparation for their new routes. The birds have grown quieter and the crickets sing a bit louder. There's a hush, a smell, a rattle of the Cicada, or heat bugs as we've always called them. The dog days of summer are upon us. 

It's the time of year my girls used to go to camp, but no more. They are both to old now. Life certainly seems to have it's cycles. All we can do is roll with it. I'll be enjoying every last drop of summer sunshine!

The music of a summers evening

I wanted to share with you a few images from an outing I took on Tuesday evening. The Exeter Brass Band was playing at the bandstand and it was high time I made time to go see them! After all, it's been a tradition in Exeter, NH since 1847 so you know they've got to be doing something right. Wonderful old traditions and New England go hand in hand.



You can't tell from my photo but there was a good crowd filled with people of all ages. The weather was perfect for an evening of outside entertainment.

A fellow reveler of the entertainment

The band was wrapping things up when I decided to stroll around in hopes of getting a few decent sunset images. As I wandered over String bridge I couldn't help but notice the sunset on the river. Purples, pinks, yellows, and golds all meshed together to form the perfect palette.










Then I turned around to look up river but was not expecting to see this . . .



It was a most delightful evening : )

Divine pink!

I keep trying to photograph roses, though I can't say I've shot nearly enough. 

We only have 4 rose bushes of our own but my husband seems to think that should cover us. Me, not so much. I want more!

The following images were taken in early June at a friends home. She has the most lovely gardens.

And this is the family dog, Daisy. One of the sweetest, silliest Golden doodles you would ever want to meet. She looks lovely resting in front of the roses.


Like most of the country we're headed for a heat wave in the next few days. After all the rain the northeast has experienced a little sunshine is much appreciated. At this point it's looking like I may end up replanting my window boxes, as all the flowers appear to be in need of some critical care, in an area where they won't be visible to general public. And to think a little more than week ago they were so glorious.


I hope your week-end is a good one : )

First day of Summer 2012

As most of you know it was a very hot day here in the northeast today. It's the first time we've had a day in the 90's since last summer I would guess. Needless to say the local beaches were quite busy.

The house I'm currently working has a beach front property. Just watching everyone out there, sweating and burning, was enough for me! I must be getting old. lol!

See the young lady in the with the dark sunglasses sitting under the beach umbrella? If I were to go to the beach on a day like today, that would be me : )

Keep cool!

Little Compton, RI

These images were taken in late May 2011, on a trip to Rhode Island. I have to say, the area I stayed in has to be one of the pretties places I've ever seen. Little Compton personifies the true, down home, old time beauty you can still view in a New England town. 

United Congregational Church is located on the commons, as well as the cemetery. Just around the corner from the church is the Art Gallery. The perfect place to stop for a cup of coffee, a snack, and some unique shopping.

The wisteria was so much larger and more prolific than I see here in NH. As were the amazing brilliantly colored azaleas. I'll have to look and see if I have any photos of those. 

My goal was to arrive in Rhode Island while the sun was still up, and luckily I accomplished that goal because the next day was non-stop busy with an overcast sky. I'll always be grateful for the photos I captured when the sun illuminated the local beauty. Lately I just keep thinking about going back. Next time I'd like to go a bit more south to view some of the mansions in Newport.

I hope you enjoy the view!

Glory be!

What a week! So many signs of spring all at once. 

* Last saturday we awoke to a foot of snow on the ground.  Totally unexpected and apparently our town seemed to hit the jackpot with everyone around us getting less. The weather forecast called for up to two inches of snow but that's about it. Instead we got a FOOT!!! Luckily the temps shot up and most of it had melted by the afternoon.

* By Monday we had temperatures in the low 70's, our first thunderstorm, and . . . PEEPERS! Two weeks early no less. Oh Joy! Nothing says spring like the sound of thousands of little frogs singing their hearts out to the heat of a warm spring day.

 * Wednesday morning for the first time the Robins started singing, loudly. I think my heart is singing too! 

photo available in both my Society6 and Red bubble shops

Instead of publishing photos I've recently shot I decided to seek out some summertime shots. They just make me feel so good. Warm and sunny are the words they bring to mind. Lets face it, enough of the cold weather. In local gardens I see plants rising from flower beds about to burst forth all the goodness they've been storing this past winter. Even my clematis is budding!


And I'll be darned if allergy season hasn't begun! 

Isn't the image above beautiful?! It's a seed catalog cover and is available at the Smithsonian Institution Library. Their selection of old seed catalog covers, and backs, are amazing to look at! Just the art alone is incredible. Permission for their images states: 'Smithsonian Libraries provides free and open access to its digital images and the images may be freely downloaded for personal, research and study purposes only'


That said I plan on printing two of them out and framing them for my kitchen. The above cover is one of my favorites! I'm sure if you go looking you'll find a favorite too. And if not you'll love browsing through them just for the history.


Lastly, if you didn't know, and are interested, Kim Klassen (love her blog and photography style) is hosting a FREE Photoshop Skinny-mini eCourse. It's a 10 part course to help you learn a bit more about Photoshop CS or PSE. I signed up, will you? After all if there's one thing I love about blogging it's that we can always learn something new. To register go here. The course starts tomorrow so you better hurry! Don't forget, it's FREE!!!


As always thank-you for visiting! Sending good wishes for a wonderful week : )

Instagram love

Oh Instagram, how I love thee

* individual 4"x4" photos above were purchased on the Postalpix app

Lately my photography passion seems to be falling more and more on my iPhone 4. Everywhere I go I have to take pictures. My daughter and I actually did a little photo shoot outside of Macys at their employee picnic table with my iPhone and her photo came out adorable!




Below are a few random shots from this summer. Back before I discovered some awesome photo apps.

Awesome apps that I love: Photoforge 2 (buy the Pop!Cam app inside of it too), MagicHour, and Photo Frame.

I'm desperately craving the iPhone 4s for the 8mp camera!