I’m pretty much a landscape/seascape photographer with only an occasional departure from my comfort zone. There have been some of these moments recently and I thought I’d share them. The first was in Philadelphia in December. In looking around, this crazy-mirror image of city hall caught my eye. Were I a pigeon I think I’d also prefer a flat ledge.
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On that same day I experimented with street photography. The idea is to capture people in their reality, hopefully showing some emotion-inducing aspect of their lives. I’m not a street-photographer. It’s intimidating; I feel as though I’m intruding into the subjects’ lives, and that it could prove embarrassing. It’s anomalous that I’m reluctant because most of my early exposure (beginning in high school years) was to the work of great street photographers such as Cartier-Bresson, Eugene W. Smith, Edward Weston, Dorothy Lange, etc. on the pages of Popular Photography magazine. I saw myself in the future as a Weegee (Arthur Fellig) or a “Casey, Crime Photographer” chasing the grit of New York with my Speed Graphic.
My effort that day in Philadelphia was because I had to have entries for the Street Photography competition category at the camera club. Later I found that the category was only for prints rather than for projected digital images which is my preferred category. Anyway, here’s one of the results that day:
I offer no comment on the image other than that I felt sorry for him, and there is sadness and need in this world.
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After the stress of Christmas I always like to get away for a few days. This has typically been to Williamsburg and a return home through Chincoteague but this year I wanted something different. I went instead to Harpers Ferry just across the border between Maryland and West Virginia. I can well imagine your excitement at this news. 🙂
Well, once again, the family had visited there, probably in the late 60’s and I remembered a certain charm. It lies between the Potomac and the Shenandoah rivers which converge at the tip of the town from which the surviving Potomac continues on its way to Washington and thence to Chesapeake Bay. Because of its strategic location, the train lines and bridges, it was occupied by both Confederates and the Union, the ownership shifting several times during the Civil War.

Potomac left and ahead
The train tracks seen above coming thru a tunnel in Maryland Heights are for Amtrak on the left, and CSX on the right. I didn’t have to wait long to enjoy this thundering freight train headed west.
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Sometime in the recent past, on a visit to the Forsythe Refuge I photographed a flight of snow geese. The result was as confusing as a flight of birds can be but as I studied it I saw the picture within the picture seen here. I loved the composition but….it was fuzzy because of their motion and having been cropped out of the original. So, I applied Topaz’s Glow with a pleasing result. So, here’s an image cropped out of a larger one and then further obscured with some software artistry. I like what’s left.
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It’s Monday which is always a downer for me, and it’s raining. Fortunately, there’s some color in the house.
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Last week I received an email from a friend here on the campus, telling me that there was a white flower blooming outside her apartment. What!?! How could anything be blooming in this nasty cold weather? I walked over and found it, a Hellebore or Christmas Rose, an evergreen perennial flowering plant in the ranunculus family. I was on my tummy to capture it, and pleased that I could get up without calling campus security. I didn’t stay long because in witchcraft it is believed to have ties with summoning demons.
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Finally for this post, last Saturday found us at a familiar site overlooking the East Point (of the Maurice River) Lighthouse. I keep returning here and I’ve never been disappointed. This visit’s view was made dramatic by the ice and the shadows created by the low hanging sun. Beautiful, but oh, with a sharp wind from the northwest, it was colddddd.
Many of us photographers present a year-end post of our best shots from the previous year, and I’ll be doing that for 2014.
Looking back in 2015, however, I think the above lighthouse scene is my best shot of the year. 😉
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January 13, 2015 at 8:25 am
Interesting photos, Ralph. I enjoyed reading about the various subjects. Now, I want to go to East Point to capture the lighthouse.
January 13, 2015 at 8:32 am
Thanks, Ken. There’s probably some pixels left down there.
January 13, 2015 at 12:09 pm
Very nice. Almost makes winter worthwhile!
January 13, 2015 at 2:46 pm
Thanks Bonnie. C’ya next week.
January 13, 2015 at 1:46 pm
Ralph, you are one gifted, creative photographer, even when out of your comfort zone…….thank you for sharing!
January 13, 2015 at 2:46 pm
Thank you very much, Jay. Hope you and Lynn are enjoying the winter in a warm place.
January 13, 2015 at 2:29 pm
Ralph, I was more interested to see your photo of Harpers Ferry than you might have imagined. We frequently stop there going to or returning from Williamsburg. My parents and grandparents are all buried in the old Harper Cemetery atop the hill which is now a part of the National Historic Park. I remember climbing on Jefferson (Thomas) Rock as a child. One correction: The second river is the Shenandoah not the Susquehanna.
January 13, 2015 at 2:45 pm
Wow, Mary, what a connection. Thanks for sharing, and thanks for the correction. Duhhhh. I knew that. Where did Susquehanna come from??? Probably because they both start with an S and both have four syllables?
January 13, 2015 at 4:54 pm
What an interesting, fabulous and diverse representation of your art. Have you ever considered gathering your favorite works and comments into a book? Think about it! And, hank you for sharing this with me. I’ll revisit his site was there’s a lot to try to take in at one viewing. Elaine Barton
January 14, 2015 at 10:21 am
Thanks Elaine. The book thing crops up once in a while. Maybe….
January 13, 2015 at 10:54 pm
Ralph, Thanks for once again expanding my vision. It is inspirational to see you fearlessly trying new things and sharing the results.
We are in Maine , picking up a new rowing shell.The plan is to keep it in BH and stop carting one down from CT each summer. So our thoughts are in warm weather and our bodies are very cold.
Stay warm,
Jo Ann
January 14, 2015 at 10:23 am
Thanks, Jo Ann. Biddle in his shell on Liberty Thorofare makes me think of summer which is a good thing as it’s 22 here.
January 14, 2015 at 9:09 pm
Ralph – It is a delight, as always to see your work, especially the flowers and Charleston – as I sit here in Colorado surrounded by snow. As much as I love it here too think we are getting old for so much snow. I will have to put some winter photos on my blog. Just gathered some images to present to the Down the Shore Calendar, so I am in the mood. I look forward to your next posting. Have a good winter, Sally
January 17, 2015 at 11:25 am
Thanks, Sally. Congrats on having your images selected for the calendar but I’m not surprised. I just took a look at your blog. I thought I had signed on as a follower but apparently not as I had missed your New England bike tour. I enjoyed revisiting many of the sites that I visited in August. It’s a great area. I also enjoyed the gingerbread houses of Oak Bluff. Some 25 years ago we cruised our yacht from Chesapeake Bay to Nantucket and stopped at Oak Bluffs. Enjoyed the visit.
January 16, 2015 at 4:13 pm
Another gift and always interesting. Now I want to see Harper’s Ferry. Thanks, Bob
January 17, 2015 at 11:26 am
Thanks, Bob. I understand you’ve been having some cold weather at Charleston. Not really!
January 19, 2015 at 1:27 pm
Well it sure took you many places with a different vision in each place visited. I always have a plan and seem to deviate from it each time I plan a shoot… must be my CADD (camera attention deficit disorder). I like how open and creative you are with your photography and processing!!!