Autumn Encore!

I’m sitting here waiting for the turkey to roast and decided to post the last of my Fall images. These images are local scenes … scenes outsiders wouldn’t recognize as being ‘New Jersey’. I always tell people I’m from ‘South Jersey’. There’s too much negative attention on the state, most of which comes from what happens in North Jersey. My world is nothing like that of the Sopranos or the Jersey Housewives! I’m thankful for where I live for many, many reasons. It’s nice to know that I can still venture out after living here for 40+ years and find subjects that interest me in new ways. The local Fall color was beautiful this year! As Fall ends and hints of Winter creep in, I look forward to each changing season in South Jersey.

'Red Vines & Stormy Clouds' © Denise Bush

'Woodland Bridge' © Denise Bush

'Hidden House' © Denise Bush

'Truck in Barn' © Denise Bush

' Indian Mills Lake' © Denise Bush

'Corn Maze' © Denise Bush

A Year of Waterfalls

I joked with a friend that I had photographed so many waterfalls this year I was going to publish a waterfall coffee table book. My seasonal trips to the Catskills, a Spring trip to Rickett’s Glen and Autumn trips to New Hampshire and the Poconos  provided me with a lot of opportunities to photograph various falls, cascades and babbling brooks in 2010. This was a lucky year for me in local juried photography exhibits winning 3 first place awards, one second place award and a merit award. I received my most recent award from Center for the Arts in Southern New Jersey (CFA) for a B&W waterfall image. I have included it here along with some images from the Poconos. When photographing waterfalls I like to explore the possibility of representing a ‘sense of place’ instead representing the waterfall alone. Being able to achieve this of course depends upon the scene and surroundings. I always use a tripod and slow shutter speed to capture the feeling of moving water. In my most successful images I sometimes think I can hear the water too!

'A Place Where the Water Falls' © Denise Bush

'Pocono Falls' © Denise Bush

'Babbling Brook' © Denise Bush

'Pocono Cascade' © Denise Bush

Catskill Experience

I have so many Catskill images to show I decided to include them all in one giant post. These were taken during a 3-day period … scouting locations on Friday, the actual Saturday tour and some group locations on Sunday. Shot in the Northern Catskills, this was my third time leading the tour. I’ve led one in the Spring, one in the Winter and this, my first Fall tour is by far my favorite. I think we hit the foliage just right. It was slightly past peak in some of the high locations, and before peak in some of the lower areas. Where the color was just right it was absolutely gorgeous!

'Willow by the Lake' © Denise Bush

'Clearing Storm Clouds' © Denise Bush

"Autumn Mountain Reflection' © Denise Bush (Available on istock!)

Rainbow Beyond the Birch Tree © Denise Bush

Olana's Bright Side' © Denise Bush

'Hudson View' © Denise Bush

'Distant Vineyard' © Denise Bush

'Bridge Over the Hudson River' © Denise Bush

'Twin Trees in Autumn' © Denise Bush

'Hay Bails in the Pasture' © Denise Bush

'Autumn Pagoda' © Denise Bush

'100 Arhats' © Denise Bush

'Bastion Falls II' © Denise Bush

'Bastion Falls I' © Denise Bush

'South Lake Sunset' © Denise Bush

'Red Tree in the Forest' © Denise Bush

'Above Platekill' © Denise Bush

'Catskill Cascade' © Denise Bush

'Artists Falls Footbridge' © Denise Bush

'Artists Falls' © Denise Bush

Catskill Raptors

Here are three of my favorite photos shot at the Raptor Center during the Catskills Fall Photographers Weekend that I led in the middle of October. I used my 100-400mm lens and was happy with its performance. The birds were so close that there were a few times I had to step back to achieve a focusing distance. Both the birds and handler were active so we still needed to be quick with the critical focus needed for this type of image. These were hand-held with image stabilization on.

'Red Tailed Hawk Profile' © Denise Bush

'Kestrel Perched' © Denise Bush

'Taking Flight' © Deniuse Bush

New Hampshire … Parting Shots

Here are a few last scenic images from my trip to New Hampshire. On our last day just before heading back to our hotel for the last time, we received a heart-warming gift … a rainbow over the distant Presidential Range. Winding around a curve on Bear Notch Road we were immediately struck with the rainbow before us. We spent some time there photographing the changing clouds and rainbow intensity. We had fun watching the other tourists make the same discovery, all slowing down and turning into the same overlook. ‘Oooohs’ and ‘ahhhhs’ floated through the wind as we watched the dark clouds bestowing rain and rainbow in the distance. What a great way to end the trip!

'Rainbow Over the Presidential Range' © Denise Bush

'Kancamagus Overlook' © Denise Bush

'Frankenstein Cliff' © Denise Bush

'Winter Prelude' © Denise Bush

New Hampshire Barns

No week-long photo trip in the country would be complete without at least a few barn images. So, here they are:  ‘Old Barn Door’ and ‘Barn with Cupola’ was the same barn I had captured on my trip back in 2003. The interesting old tow truck was no longer beside it so I chose to focus on the roof peak and a weathered old door I had not seen before. On the way back to the White Mountains from the North Country another barn caught my eye. This one, near the border of Vermont was one of many in what looked like rich farmland.

'Old Barn Door' © Denise Bush

'Barn with Cupola' © Denise Bush

'Old Yankee Barn' © Denise Bush

Woodland Friends

After a 2-week break I’m back to finish posting images from my trip to New Hampshire’s North Country and White Mountain regions. A few weeks ago I led a photo tour in the Northern Catskills and this past week was spent with my family from Florida. The family enjoyed the New Jersey foliage and so did I. Expect to see lots of Autumn images from both the Catskills and locally in upcoming posts.

In pursuit of our New Hampshire moose subjects we had the pleasure to make some other wildlife acquaintances. The first friend we met was a Ruffed Grouse crossing the road. My friend and I had a rather intellectual discussion coming to the assumption that grouse cross the road for the same reason chickens do. Shortly after, we met a pair of Gray Jays, cute and friendly they flew and perched close by to check us out as we snapped away. On our last day of moose hunting we met a beautiful, Red Fox. He hung around long enough for us to capture some nice portraits and admire his stunning beauty. His cooperation helped to lessen the disappointment of not getting the award-winning moose images we had imagined.

'Red Fox Profile' © Denise Bush

'Red Fox' © Denise Bush

'Alert Red Fox' © Denise Bush

'Let's Be Friends' © Denise Bush

'Gray Jay Perched' © Denise Bush

'Ruffed Grouse' © Denise Bush