Tuesday, July 30, 2013

A Fading Memory One Summer Morning...

Photography Prints


A Fading Memory One Summer Morning

Recently, I headed out to Dutchess County, New York State to see an airshow of old vintage aircraft. The show was scheduled for Sunday afternoon, but I had left my home at about 3:30 in the morning because I wanted to venture about the area and see what the early morning light would reveal.

I had made my way up and as I turned off a road into an area near Rhinebeck called Red Hook, I saw this old abandoned (seemingly, you never know) house nestled in the woods. It was one of those moments when your stop breathing, your holding your breath in a sort of state of anxiety I suppose. For me, I feel like a kid in a candy store when I come upon these mysterious and wonderfully intriguing sights. Abandoned places seem to give me that thrill.  What's the story here?  Why would a beautiful home like this, in an amazing location be left to be reclaimed by the woods?

The location was absolutely quiet with barely a rustle of a leaf in the wind. The buzzing from the pesky mosquitos I had to deal with were pretty much the only sounds I heard.

I shot this scene from various angles so as to have a selection to choose from when I viewed them later on the computer. I find its always best, especially if you have the time to give yourself many different angles and compositions to later choose from.  I shot this with a 70-200mm 2.8L IS Canon lens at a 70mm focal length. F11, 1/8th  at 125 iso.

The airshow at the Aerodrome was great that afternoon, and I have some pics in the workings that I'll post later but I think my favorite time of the whole day was the early morning venture.

A quiet beautiful morning with a scene like this in front of me, cup of black coffee in hand and my camera gear set up.  Life is nice.

2 comments:

Victoria Bennett Beyer said...

Hi Gary! I was just visiting your site the other day and was so blown away by this shot that I didn't even know what to say. It is both inspirational and jealousy-inducing!

I was so disappointed that I didn't get a great shot like this during my Champlain trip. I had no idea upstate NY had so many beautiful old structures. I can't wait to go back, perhaps with a lighter schedule, so I can be up early to shoot. I also had no idea how vacationing with a young child would totally zap me of energy and motivation. It is so hard to both live in the moment and focus on being at the right place at the right time for the right shot. I rarely let this bother me, as I know Wyle will be in school too soon as it is, but this shot reminded me of all the promise I saw in the area we were staying in and the frustration I felt at not capturing it.

Anyway, sorry to unload, but you really had me thinking. This is such a gorgeous image, and really, everything you have posted lately is just knocking my socks off. Keep up the fantastic work, my friend.

gh said...

Hey Victoria, traveling with a two year old is tough. Not much time for anything but the young'un.

I am always frustrated that I never seem to have an opportunity to get away for more than a day.

Yeah, NY state has so many great gems hiding around to be discovered. I usually just drive around all the small and sometimes hidden back roads and get totally lost. the GPS always gets me back when the time comes.

let me know whenever you hit NY again, i'll see if I can remember some good spots for you to start with.
btw, love what you have been doing lately too. Lots a great work on your blog... and your profile pic is awesome.