The first week of July was mostly warm and sunny with only one day of overcast, wind, and threatening storms that mostly did not materialize. At 6 AM July 1st, the sun was already bright over a small harbor on Lake Sunapee.
And the fog on Lake Massasecum helped highlight a lone fisherman.
Many years ago I took the photo below of a fisherman on Lake Massasecum in early fog from a kayak on slide film. The light that day was even more golden. I titled the image, “Foggy Fisherman”.
NH Fish and Game licensed this image for a one-time use. Then later they licensed it again for another one-time use. After this was repeated several times, they decided it might be wise to ask about a perpetual license.
I had hoped to get to Beard Brook in Hillsborough before the sun reached Gleason Falls, but I was much too late. So I settled for some smaller falls and rapids that were still in the shade.
I found the forest and forest floor in this area fascinating.
You can click on the images below to get to a site where you can zoom way in then pan around. When you get there, click the double arrow above the image on the right to see it full frame. Please wait for the resolution to download. You can use the + and – keys to zoom and the arrow keys to scroll. Or use the scroll wheel to zoom and the left mouse to drag.
For some reason, after finishing with Beard Brook, I checked my email and found one from a friend telling me about an osprey nest in Nashua. I considered the longish drive, but I was half way there. I hadn’t been to the Nashua area for many years and would not likely get there anytime soon, so I went. There were lots of clear shots available, but I felt the best shots were through trees. I only had an hour to spare and during that time the pair of chicks did not emerge and the osprey barely moved.
On the way back north I stopped at Gile Pond to enjoy the lunch I had packed for the day.
On July 2nd, I arrived at one of my favorite series of falls in Newport before the sun came out, so I was able to get some moving water images of the Sugar River.
The village of Marlow across the pond is a classic (cliche’) photo in fall. The light was good and the foreground nice, so I decided it was worth a summer photo.
I must have seen the Gilsum Stone Arch Bridge before, but I don’t recall ever photographing it. I tried various spots. Below are the best I could do without wading in the Ashuelot River.
This bridge, constructed in 1862-63, has an arch 36.5 feet above the river and has the highest vault of any dry-laid bridge in NH. A vault, in architecture, is an arch-shaped structure used to support a ceiling, roof, or, in this case, a road.
Heading back north on Route 10, I found the juxtaposition of solar greenhouses and wind turbines interesting.
On July 3rd, Jann and I took a short hike to Clark Lookout in New London. I liked the lines and patterns of a water skier far below.
Also that day, Jann and I discovered a pair of newly-hatched loon chicks on Lake Sunapee. I returned July 4th, 5th, and 7th to drift with them and take more photos. Here are a half dozen. You can see many more if you CLICK HERE.
In addition to the loons, the main photos I took the last two days of the first week of July featured the sky — a sunset and the Milky Way.
