A Actual Winter – Benjamin Williamson Pictures

Maine, and the remainder of New England, have been experiencing probably the most sustained chilly winters in reminiscence. My buddy Kurt advised me he’s getting a bit uninterested in the entire sub-zero temperatures at his residence in Vermont. How are you feeling the place you might be?

I hope that you just’ve made one of the best of the guts of winter, wherever you might be and no matter your proclivities and views in the direction of the season! If which means curling up and studying books by the hearth, so be it. You know me, I find it irresistible, and I’ve been out in it nearly each minute I can! What follows are a complete bunch of photos I’ve been sitting on over the past month, together with many from the Winter in Acadia workshops I simply wrapped with John Putnam.

A journey to Camden on New Year’s Day introduced this picture of the f/v Becca and Megan with the Camden waterfront within the background, obscured by heavy snow.

As a lot as I appreciated the pink painted boat in the entire white snow, this extra plain boat allowed for a barely stronger composition with a vertical body with out the dock in entrance of it. I constructed each photos across the interaction between the boats and church steeple, and the nearer relationship on this picture is why I feel it’s a bit stronger.

Onwards to a completely totally different type of Maine working boat. Clammers use these canoes within the hotter months, however right here they’re drawn up on the snowy shoreline of Maquoit Bay in Brunswick. I acquired out and x-c skied throughout the frozen ocean to a small island from Simpson’s Point, close by, on one other day this winter. It was wild!

A winter hike with some buddies introduced me up Mount Moriah in New Hampshire. The views by way of rime-coated bushes and mist of Carter Dome had been very nice. These environments are a few of my favourite in winter, particularly when it’s boring down beneath. This winter, I haven’t been climbing as a lot as a result of we’ve got loads of ice and snow in decrease elevations!

Arctic Sea Smoke rose from the water round these small islands on the head of New Harbor on December twenty sixth. Although it has been very chilly, and was this morning, we haven’t had the acute chilly obligatory for a very epic show of sea smoke, normally seen at -15F and colder.

One of probably the most awe-inspiring sights this winter had been the northern lights on January twentieth. I witnessed them simply after photographing this sundown with a tiny sliver of the brand new moon at one among my favourite places, Pemaquid Point. I’ll by no means tire of seeing the aurora borealis.

They had been surprisingly shiny sufficient to be seen even in twilight. But as soon as it acquired darkish, the present actually commenced!

Another favourite place introduced a stupendous dawn and a few sea smoke a number of days later. This is Five Islands in Georgetown. It was superior to run into a number of different photographers right here on this morning. The camaraderie in our neighborhood could be very actual, particularly in difficult situations like this!

The finish of the month of January noticed me returning to Acadia for a double-header of Winter in Acadia workshops with JK Putnam. It was superior being right here with great teams of scholars, 10 every session, experiencing the chilly and snow that we hoped to indicate them! It’s by no means a assure, however this yr mom nature fortunately supplied.

I turned my consideration to extra pure particulars for these journeys, as I’ve been extra impressed to discover these topics with a digital camera.

I’ve all the time cherished stuff like this, however haven’t made many such photos since they don’t excite me the best way climate and environment and cultural tales usually do. That appears to be altering, although. I’m actually feeling the facility of those scenes.

All three above photos are particulars of ice, which there was a variety of due to all of the chilly.

Perhaps probably the most fascinating ice formations we noticed had been these faucet-like icicles on Jordan Stream.

These had been my 8-year-old daughter’s favourite pictures from the journey.

My private favourite was this seize above of some strands of seashore grass protruding of a snowdrift on the southern aspect of a dune at Sand Beach. Pastel colours within the sundown sky actually made this picture sing.

This distinctive tree on Ocean Drive caught my consideration when strolling previous it to fulfill up with a special group of scholars at dawn.

On one other morning, I spied these small shrubs peeking out of a snowdrift after the ‘best light’ had handed. I cherished the sparkles within the snow and shadows solid within the robust backlight.

This picture required a variety of endurance to time the proper wave coming in. I used an ND filter to get a sluggish shutter and clean out the water. The energy of this composition is simple, even when it’s a bit cliché.

A much less cliché composition was discovered on a transparent morning taking a look at Otter Cliffs from a vantage level aside from Boulder Beach! This is a bit bit additional down the coast, the place the rocks are much more jumbled and chaotic. Thankfully a heavy coat of ice supplied a bit aid from the truth that this foreground lacked the robust shapes that I normally search for.

A rocking, vivid sundown was witnessed on the primary evening of the primary workshop. We took the scholars all the best way over to the Schoodic Penisula and had been handled to this unbelievable foreground in part of the park that I had by no means photographed earlier than.

There was some nice snow on the final day of the final workshop, and I made this picture trying throughout Eagle Lake on the layers of land the place it begins rising into Pemetic Mountain.

Here’s one other snowscape of the treetops across the lake. My daughter thought this regarded like a portray. I agree!

I used to be type of obsessive about these view of the forest zoomed in by way of the heavy snow. There’s undoubtedly a painterly high quality to them, and know that there was no heavy digital manipulation required to realize these outcomes, simply benefiting from the situations!

Speaking of fine situations, the wind sculpted the snow into these wonderful ridges and supplied the proper foreground for this well-known view of the Bubbles from Jordan Pond. We had been all fairly chilly, however very completely happy, after standing out within the wind for this shoot.

I’ll go away you with one other view of the ice we discovered at one of many rocky seashores on Mount Desert Island. These patterns jogged my memory of the rice terraces of southeast Asia. I’d like to see these sometime.

I’m very blessed to run these workshops with John and the entire great college students that be part of us. I’m so impressed by them!

If you’d like to hitch us subsequent yr, we’ve simply introduced dates for February 2027. You can be taught extra and enroll HERE. We offered out two workshops this yr and had a ready checklist, so don’t miss your likelihood to beat the winter blues and are available out for some superior images and winter journey with us.

You gained’t remorse it! I promise.