Early on the first Saturday of the New Year I struck out with a friend for a day of making pictures. Our stated plan was to shoot Glen Ellis Falls and then see what else we could find of interest in Pinkham Notch. Nothing seemed all that inspiring. After all, in winter, waterfalls are frozen and currently there isn't even the drama of ice because of snow cover. My partner and I were of like minds to wander and see what might happen. We hatched a plan to head to the backside of the Presidential Range and get pictures of Mt. Washington from Bretton Woods.
This is home turf to me. I grew up on the northern slopes of the Presidential Range. The marquee side is south... North Conway, outlet shopping, Mt. Washington views and ski areas. But north, it's Berlin, shut-down paper mills, two prisons, French Canadians, people who work for a living and open space. And a better view of the Presidential Range in my humble opinion (for more on Berlin, see Joe's 6-20-10 post, "The Truth Behind Beautiful Ruins.").
We drove on to Gorham, but didn't stop, turning left on Route 2 to insanely beautiful Randolph. We made images of a couple of interesting summer homes and waited for the clouds to break. We were hoping for a view of Mounts Madison and Adams and the unique perspective of King Ravine you can only get from Randolph Hill, but it never materialized. Snow swirled all the while.
Back in the car, we headed west on Route 2. Mount Jefferson was interesting that day, but too shouded and gray to be worth a shot. I veered left on Valley Road in Jefferson, where my Boy Scout troop used to camp. Valley Road opened to Route 115 and the logical thing would have been to turn left again onto the trade route for retreating southbound tourists. I went straight across 115 almost instinctually on a road I had never driven called Israel River Road. We hit a wonderful open plain called Jefferson Meadows and there it was. In the shadow of finely pointed Cherry Mountain we found what we didn't even know we were looking for.
I love it when a plan comes together. Even when you don't have a plan.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree Kris!
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to another back road excursion. This barn kind of put me on a barn/abandoned building kick. In fact, I would like the set up the tripod to re-shoot through the hole in the barn some time.
ReplyDeleteGreat write-up of an excellent shooting trip.