I live in Arlington, MA, which is on the outskirts of Boston. Suburbia. Close by we have many lakes and ponds but there is one, Horn Pond, which seems to garner a lot of attention. Joggers in the morning, people taking elderly relatives out to see the ducks and geese and of course, photographers. Those joggers are a pain in the butt when you are waiting for a bird to move, holding a 400mm lens, and they fly away (bird, not jogger).
Anyway, I spent most of yesterday at Horn Pond on three separate visits. I dropped off the kids for school and made my way to the pond as it was pretty foggy but rising rapidly. I was surprised how quickly the trees had turned color there. It made for a couple of interesting shots but nothing National Geographic will be pining for. I don’t think I made the best use of the fog though! Oh, well it’s considered a hazard anyway.
After getting properly caffeinated I made my way out for an afternoon exploration. There’s nothing like bright sunlight for fine photography! The snakes love it though. This one kept its beady eye on me for some time.
It was also good for some fall reflections.
The shot I like best from the whole day was quite bizarre and not in keeping with the location. It was a hydrant getting purged. I had to set up the camera on the tripod and place the lens against a metal fence. Feeling like a voyeur I took shots of the scene. It is quite amazing how moving a few feet can dramatically alter the shot. For this I wanted the green door behind the hydrant to give the contrast. These were the 2 scenes. Only one really worked. The second provided the contrast I was hoping for the final image.
Which was this
After picking up the kids and preparing the food for dinner, I headed out for sunset at Horn pond. This time the TPE app was right. I had on my muck-boots, found a good spot in the water and waited. This was how it looked.
So with a whole day at one location there was a wide array of shots, some chance and some predicted, but overall a fun and productive day!
Now for dinner.