Burr Pond Park Walk, 3/8/20

Torrington, Connecticut

After nearly a year I'm reviving the "Park Walks" series here at WPII. These pictures came from an hour and a half circling Burr pond last Sunday. Harsher light than I usually like for in-the-woods pictures, but there was just enough haze and cloud to take an edge off the contrast while still keeping the light strongly directional.

Park Walks: Steep Rock Preserve, 4/8/19. Part Two

Washington Depot, Connecticut

Second and final set of pictures from Monday morning.

Park Walks: Steep Rock Preserve, 4/8/19. Part One.

Washington Depot, Connecticut

Monday morning was wet and foggy. I decided to go up to Steep Rock to work on a set of color pictures. Usually I think in monochrome for "in the woods" pictures whether I'm working with film or digital capture but this time I wanted to think in color and see what happens. The beautiful conditions lasted long enough for me to hike around the preserve for nearly three hours.

You can click on any of the pictures for larger, better view.

Park Walks: Spring Morning Rain

Washington, Connecticut

A rainy morning walk at Macricostas Preserve, a part of Steep Rock.

Park Walks: Ice and Snow at Steep Rock Preserve

Washington, Connecticut

Last Wednesday we'd had a couple inches of cold dry snow overnight, after a week of unusually cold weather. As soon as I'd cleared the driveway I headed up to Steep Rock Preserve for more winter pictures. I expected ice forms on some of the rock faces along the hiking trails as well as a nice coating of snow on the trees.

Conditions were just what I'd hoped for, except that in places the snow concealed rock-hard slabs of ice. Powder snow on top of flat ice equals no traction whatsoever. I had a couple slips but carefully got to the sections of the park I wanted to photograph. Spots that I'd gotten good pictures from this past fall and want to revisit in all four seasons.

Things went well until I'd gotten back to within a couple hundred yards of the parking area where I stepped on snow that covered a small river of ice crossing the path—and down I went. Luckily I didn't break a hip, or the cameras. Once I managed to get upright again, which wasn't easy in that spot, I got back to the car without further incident and drove back to the house and a hot shower. At least I got some nice results for my efforts.