Earlier today, I was riding my bike after thunderstorms moved through our area. As I got about halfway through the ride I came upon this field. It’s one of those quintessential New England hay fields. Behind it was the thundercloud that had created the storm earlier. It reminded me of the wonderful photos of thunderclouds that Ansel Adams made. Thunderclouds are great subjects for photos because of the size and shape and the power they represent. Though I only had my iPhone with me for a camera, I stopped to make this image which I processed later using a Photoshop App.

Below is a photograph by Ansel Adams… the master. This was made at Half Dome in Yosemite NP.

A sign on Frye’s Measure Mill in Wilton, NH. This historic mill makes wooden boxes, including Shaker wooden boxes. Information about the mill can be found here.

I mentioned last week that I spent time on Cape Cod with my parents and 10-year-old niece. I asked my niece if she enjoyed photography and if she wanted to learn to use a camera besides her phone. She did, so we brought two cameras with us on our outings. I showed her different aspects of photography as opportunities presented themselves.

At this spot, we worked on composition. We played with the rule of thirds and using leading lines. My shot above uses leading lines and her shot below uses the rule of thirds. When we were on our bikes, I taught her about shutter speed. I had her take photos of me speeding past her while she used various shutter speeds. She could see how the faster shutter speeds made crisp images and slower speeds created a blurred image of me riding by her. When we took photos of some flowers, I taught her how to create a shallow depth of field so the flower is in focus and the background is blurred.

Has she mastered these concepts? Not really. It was an introduction. But as any photographer will tell you, it takes time and repetition to learn to use these aspects of photography. And tons of practice. But it was an introduction that has spurred her interest.

Eel Pond is a common name along the coast here. This particular Eel Pond is in Woods Hole, MA. This seemingly small village in Falmouth is a busy place, especially in summer. It is where you can take the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard and is also home to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and the Marine Biology Lab. Eel Pond has a protected marina and boats enter by way of a drawbridge.

This past week, I spent a couple of days at my parents home in Falmouth. It just so happened that my ten-year-old niece was also staying with them. My niece and I rode bikes along a bike path to reach Woods Hole and had lunch at Woods Hole Market & Provisions. You can get freshly made sandwiches there and eat them overlooking the pond. (You can actually see the dining area in this image.) The draw is that things live in this pond and you can drop bits of food and they will come and dine with you. On this day, we dropped bits of our crust and potato chips for a family of ducks. We also saw two huge horseshoe crabs walking (crawling) past us underwater. I’m told that if you drop some sandwich meat, an eel will come and feast off of it.

Last summer, I made my first trip to Revere Beach, five miles north of Boston. It seems odd that it took so long for me to go there, but I was born in Dorchester which is to the south. Growing up, we went to beaches in South Boston or along the South Shore and Cape Cod. It found it impressive that the old style pavilion and bandstand remain. I made a mental note to come back here for an early morning photo shoot.

Boston’s Trinity Church stands next to the modern Hancock Tower.