Thursday
Let me tell you about this past Thursday.
Note: There will be a few posts on this one topic. This is a project that combines aerial photographs with ground-based imagery.
While Texas was bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Harvey and Donald Trump was about to pardon former sheriff Joe Arpaio I was in Vermont photographing the Connecticut River. Far less newsworthy I admit but nevertheless big in my world. It was quite a day with two distinct parts to it.
Warning: the pictures shown here simply aren't going to do anything for you by seeing them on your phone. I make pictures that are way up there in terms of resolution, sharpness, tonal range and color rendition. When you do get to see them on a good color display you can click on an image and it will expand to a larger rendering.
Part 1
Photographing The River is a project that has crept up on me. There was no thunderbolt of inspiration, no big epiphany here, just the quiet realization that every time I drove over it, or kayaked down it I was fascinated with what it showed me on its banks and what went on behind them.
This harkens back to my project called Tom's Neck from a few years ago. Very often on a shore or embankment on a river, stands a row of trees, acting as a wall or a barrier to what is behind them.
So this summer I've been photographing the river, usually from one shore pointing across at the opposite one, although sometimes from a bridge. Thursday I went up in a plane to get at it from above, starting at RT 2 in Turner's Falls, MA and flying up to Bellows Falls, VT and back.
My day started here:
at the little airstrip at Turner's Falls.
The day was perfect.
Right away the river opened up to reveal its secrets. Of course, it was magnificent:
The Connecticut River is an "old" river along southern Vermont and northern Massachusetts. No rapids or fast water and usually quite wide, with a few islands along the way. The river valley through here is heavy-duty farming country, with large crops of hay and corn but also squash, tomatoes, melons and even hops for beer:
In late August it all comes to fruition. The corn is high and they're practically giving tomatoes away.
As the pilot and I skimmed along at about 800 feet above the water in a high winged Cessna it was easy to follow the river as it meandered north. Since I was in the right seat, I pointed out the open window with my camera at the eastern bank on the way up and the western bank on the way down.
As we approached Brattleboro the river widened out into marshes:
Next up? More aerial photographs of the river and then on to part two of my day. My trip in the excursion boat the Lady Bea with a group from a nursing home.
Turf Farm near Greenfield, MA
Related series
Spring & Fall, MV
These are pictures made of Martha's Vineyard Island in Massachusetts in May, 2103.
They combine aerial photographs of the island with those made on the ground of the same area and also pair color with black and white images in the same series.
I have written about the new series while in process on my blog: New Way and New Way 2.
And an explanation of the final series and why I chose the title is here : Spring & Fall
The 22 prints are 18 x 12 inches on 22 x 17 inch archival inkjet paper.
And this as well, from a long term project of Steve's of New England Churches:
The Hancock Tower in Boston by Peter Vanderwarker:
and a house on Martha's Vineyard (
This one and the next are by Nick Wheeler, who's been working on a long term project photographing the Badlands in South Dakota:
I am honored to be able to teach with these three men.
