Atwood's Other Site

Few More

2010-06-04T13:52:00.002-04:00

Junk in the Woods

2010-06-04T13:27:00.003-04:00

Here was one of the shafts and pulleys from an old overhead belt system. This was taken near an old factory that has long since converted to electricity. Taken with Leica M8.

Swamp on 63

2010-06-02T22:24:00.002-04:00

I'm a sucker for swamps. I saw a heron fly by when I visited this place today. It was being chased by two redwing blackbirds and croaking loudly. I'll have to go back with some big glass and see if I can bag some bird shots.

And Some More

2010-06-01T18:46:00.002-04:00

A Few Recent Shots

2010-06-01T18:39:00.002-04:00

New Stuff

2010-05-13T14:00:00.003-04:00

Train Monsters ala Lensbaby:

Cormorant looking for his next meal:

Tree

2010-04-27T21:30:00.002-04:00

I had posted this to Facebook but not here. Canon 5dmkii with Lensbaby Composer and pinhole optic.

Turtle Log

2010-04-25T17:39:00.002-04:00

Canon 7D with 500mm handheld

Doorway

2010-04-25T17:33:00.001-04:00

Lensbaby with soft focus optic, high ISO and post processing.

Spring Flowers

2010-04-23T17:08:00.003-04:00

All taken with the Canon 7D and 500mm. I swear, that lens will make anything look good!

The Threatening Sky

2010-04-06T10:26:00.003-04:00

I was almost expecting the finger of God to come through at any moment.

Leave it to Beaver

2010-04-02T21:00:00.004-04:00

I've been driving by this beaver swamp for years but finally stopped today and checked it out. The old G3 Lensbaby got a work out.

Big Waters

2010-04-01T20:53:00.002-04:00

These are probably Class 5 or 6 rapids right now. The Deerfield River at Shelburne Falls, MA today. We don't have any serious flooding around here that I know of but the rivers are certainly raging. I love the last two detail shots of frothing water.

Spring Landscapes

2010-03-18T18:49:00.002-04:00

A few shots from today. The Salmon Falls shot was taken with the Lensbaby Composer with soft focus optic but the rest were with a Canon 200mm 2.8 prime.

Golden Eyes

2010-02-17T13:51:00.002-05:00

A mating pair of golden eye ducks on the Turners Falls Canal.

Winter's Eternal Grasp

2010-02-17T13:42:00.002-05:00

I've had enough of it I can tell you but we still have a month and a half to go.

Gulls at the Park

2010-01-25T21:58:00.000-05:00

I'm still Around :)

2010-01-21T15:43:00.001-05:00

Just haven't had a lot of time for pictures lately. Here's a couple of recent Lensbaby shots...here's some recent random stuff.

Waterfowl

2009-12-28T21:51:00.000-05:00

Snow Yard

2009-12-28T21:48:00.002-05:00

Old Man Winter

2009-12-14T21:59:00.002-05:00

The Reader

2009-12-14T21:56:00.001-05:00

Shot with the Lensbaby at ISO 25,600 specifically for the grainy effect.

The Patch

2009-12-03T19:14:00.003-05:00

I went down to "The Patch" today to check out all the Canadian Geese. This section of the Turner Falls Industrial Canal widens into a long shallow pond before passing by the Silvio Conte Fish research station on it's way back to rejoining the CT River in Montague. It's a favorite stopover for Canadian Geese this time of year and also many kinds of ducks and gulls. Today was unusually warm, a balmy 65, and there were about 1000 geese on the canal. Also a few mallards and Golden Eyed ducks. When I left the house at noon I hadn't planned to hit the canal so I didn't have quite the right set up with me but still managed to get a few Lensbaby captures. The new circular polarizer made a big difference today. Those red lights in the third image are from some kind of lights at the electrical substation. There's a big hydro electric plant nearby as well.

More Fisheye Fun

2009-11-05T22:23:00.001-05:00

Maybe I'm just simple minded but I never get tired of these effects. :D

It's Only Natural

2009-10-30T22:12:00.002-04:00

A few shots from my Uncle Doug's land in the Berkshires of western MA. These were taken with the Lensbaby Composer with fisheye optic and soft focus optic.

What a Handsome Devil!

2009-10-25T11:04:00.005-04:00

I try not to post too many cliche pet shots but I thought this one that I took yesterday with my new Lensbaby soft focus optic came out very nice. I added a Sepia filter and a bunch of post processing for this image. Really digging the SF optic and will be trying it out on some portraits up the road.

The new LB Fisheye is also a swinging piece of kit! ;) Taken indoors obviously in some bad incandescent light but hey, it shows what the thing can do on FF.

What's Up Doc?

2009-10-14T14:44:00.005-04:00

From the past few days...

Bike Path

2009-10-05T07:42:00.002-04:00

Another Lensbaby composition.

Bridge Paint

2009-10-01T21:39:00.003-04:00

Why did I shoot this one at f32? Because I had left the aperture set to it from the day before...oh well. The 100mm Macro 2.8L IS is a stunning performer even handheld. :)

One from the 24L:

And Some More

2009-09-22T23:10:00.005-04:00

More from VT

2009-09-22T22:59:00.005-04:00

Few Shots from VT

2009-09-22T22:50:00.003-04:00

Went up to VT this weekend to my cousin Bonnie's wedding. It was very much a countercultural/hippie/bluegrass musician style event on a mountaintop farm and great fun was had by all. I was so happy to have a chance to shoot all kinds of people since I don't normally have many willing subjects around here. I brought the 85L and 135L and got some of the best people shots I've ever done. What a blast! Here's some samples.

Turners

2009-09-18T13:47:00.002-04:00

From the park looking towards the bridge and dam. And a Lensbaby detail shot of the painted ironwork on the bridge.

More from the Canal

2009-09-13T09:47:00.005-04:00

Few shots from the Turners Falls power canal complex this morning. They have drained the canal as part of the annual cleanup and repair efforts. So it's an interesting change of perspective for a few days and I will do some more shooting down there as time permits. First two shots are with normal lenses and then last three are Lensbaby.

Recent Shots

2009-09-07T10:15:00.002-04:00

Some nice light over the river in Turners Falls the other day. And a shallow depth of field shot of some turkey tail mushrooms in the woods yesterday. First one was testing the 50 f1.4 at f11 and the second one was testing the 85 f1.8 at f2.

The Autocar Cemetary

2009-09-01T20:21:00.002-04:00

These old heaps are parked on the front lawn of an excavating company in Northfield and are a familiar local landmark. Gotta love old trucks and steam shovels as they slowly turn into piles of rust and assimilate back into the earth. I used a variety of lenses on these including fisheye and Lensbaby Composer. It was a little bit bright though...I will go back another day when I have better light and shoot some more of these.

Sunset from Sugarloaf

2009-08-31T20:44:00.005-04:00

Couple of evening shots from Sugarloaf in South Deerfield. As the CT River snakes its way through the countryside we have a view of some of the most fertile farmland on the East coast of America. The CT River valley farmers grow onions, cucumbers, potatoes, pumpkins, corn, tobacco and nearly everything else you can think of in those rich alluvial soils.

We start off with a detail shot at 135mm, then a 35mm, then super wide 14mm then finally a fisheye view.

Hey You Two, Get a Room!

2009-08-18T06:26:00.000-04:00

Quick diversion to the garden...

High Point

2009-08-17T12:21:00.004-04:00

I was told not to bother going up on the roof of the Met because the building is not all that tall in comparison to many others in the city. So for skyline view shots it would be a let down. But I had read about a funky metal Dendroids sculpture that was on exhibit by artist Roxy Paine so I decided to check it out anyway.

Normally, I'm not a big fan of what I consider "art school" types of sculpture. The most commonly seen types of welded constructions consisting of rebar and rusty metal plates are so boring and unoriginal that it is plain that the artist has no real concept of the nature of the material with which they are working. Call me a snob but that is my opinion.

So I could take the attitude that this guy just slapped some stainless steel pipes together but I honestly ended up really liking it. The views turned out to be quite nice and the sculpture provided some interesting framing opportunities. Wish I could have spent a little longer up there but I still managed to get a few decent pics.

Incredible

2009-08-17T11:55:00.002-04:00

One of the most incredible pieces I saw on the whole tour:

More from the Met

2009-08-17T11:30:00.006-04:00

I failed to catch much detail on this Colt pistol but it was pretty incredible with tons of gold inlay. I did get some better shots of some intricate S&W revolvers though which I'll get to at some point. It's tough to shoot through glass and the lighting was very tricky...

Other cool shots of a statue in the big courtyard and a mosaic stained glass fountain.

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

2009-08-17T11:04:00.006-04:00

LOL, not really a vacation, more of a grueling day trip. I went down to NYC on Saturday and spent the morning at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met never fails to impress as it is of course one of the greatest museums in the world. I walked around in a state of total astonishment at the incredible objects and paintings on display. It's just an amazing place. I took tons of pictures but it's going to take awhile to get through them all. I'll only share some of the best ones as I get them sorted out.

Few shots from the armor room:

Morning Shot and Midday

2009-08-09T08:05:00.003-04:00

Two shots taken yesterday morning down the road from my house and then another from the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls.

Canal at Turners

2009-08-06T21:40:00.002-04:00

Ultra wide angle shots here:

2009-08-02T13:32:00.002-04:00

View of the Quabbin Reservoir from New Salem. The Quabbin is an enormous man made lake in the middle of MA which supplies water to the city of Boston.

Watch Shot

2009-07-30T07:13:00.004-04:00

My other hobby, watch collecting, has taken a back seat to photography since I got my new camera. Here's a quickie shot of my custom Doxa which I bead blasted this spring. Don't mind the dust...taken with the 24-105 with the Canon 500D closeup lens screwed on.

Bats!

2009-07-28T21:44:00.004-04:00

Man oh man, are these ever hard little guys to shoot! I took about 100 pictures of them swooping over our yard this evening and these were the three best shots. Taken with the 70-200 f2.8L IS on the 5DMKII. These are 100% crops and I fooled with the brightness and contrast just a little bit in Photoshop. Maybe I ought to try fill flash next time to see if I can catch more detail.

Antique Fire Engine

2009-07-28T16:25:00.003-04:00

This 1930's beauty has been parked outside an auto repair shop every day for a few weeks. I stopped today and snapped some quick shots with the Lensbaby.

Happy Sunset Baby

2009-07-27T21:13:00.003-04:00

Had some nice colors in the yard tonight. I wasn't going to go out tonight because I really worked my butt off today but when I saw the colors from my office window I had to grab the camera and a few lenses. Notice the bat flying around in the second pic.

North Leverett Sawmill

2009-07-26T16:54:00.005-04:00

This is a well known landmark in North Leverett on the road to the Leverett Coop and further on, Shutesbury. The sawmill which I'm sure dates to the early 1800's had been falling apart but in recent years there was a big effort to repair it and I believe it may be operational again although I think it is electrically powered now.

Pics shot with a Lensbaby Composer but with a normal aperture this time so the blurs are kept to a minimum. I'll go back there and shoot this spot one evening when I have better light and use my best wide angle lenses and a tripod.

And Just in Case....

2009-07-26T16:52:00.002-04:00

...you hadn't had enough. :D

Few More Shots

2009-07-26T16:49:00.002-04:00

A few more from Roaring Falls and the surrounding woods with the Lensbaby.

More Waterfall Action

2009-07-26T16:33:00.002-04:00

Went up to Mt Toby Reservation today which is not far from where I live. I had heard about this place some years ago but this was the first time I had hiked up to it. The terrain is extremely rugged, steep and slippery. There are gigantic boulders strewn about the hillsides and dramatic chasms in between. The forest is mixed with hardwoods and evergreens and owing to the wet summer the air was stifling and muggy. The bugs were relentless. It's kind of hard to get a sense of scale but the falls are probably a good 30-35 feet high.

The first few shots were all done straight up with 24-105 f4L zoom shooting about 400 ISO I think it was...then there are some wild Lensbaby Composer shots as well.

Lensbaby Versions

2009-07-25T10:13:00.004-04:00

Same place but I tried a couple of Lensbaby shots with a custom aperture. Kinda gives it a dreamy primordial forest feel.

Waterfall at Gunn Brook

2009-07-22T17:51:00.003-04:00

Well there is one bright spot to all the rain we have had this summer after all. What would normally be small brooks running low this time of year are instead raging torrents with spring-like run off. So all the ingredients are in place to make this a special year for waterfall photography.

Anyway, I did not know this place existed until I got a book on the waterfalls of MA. The pics in the book show a somewhat modest stream but I thought I'd better check it out anyway. I visited Gunn Brook Falls in Sunderland for a short time this morning and was quite amazed at the size of the thing. The falls occur over some large rock ledges and are split into two parts, an upper step and a lower step, each about 15 feet high. I will certainly have to go back and shoot the scene again when I have a little more time. I would imagine winter will make for some spectacular effects as well.

Southworth Papermill

2009-07-19T07:40:00.002-04:00

It was worth braving the hungry mosquitoes last night to catch this scene. :)

Dream State

2009-07-15T21:58:00.002-04:00

Just got a Lensbaby Muse. This is a really neat little piece of kit that is a flexible lens basically. It allows you to make images that are partially in focus and partially distorted which results in trippy, almost surreal scenes. Very fun stuff and I'm having a blast with it. :)

Surveying His Domain

2009-07-13T19:13:00.002-04:00

Experimental

2009-07-12T21:24:00.002-04:00

One experimental shot and one black and white. That's Brian hanging out in my shop having a beer today and talking knives.

Quickie Shot with 5D MKII

2009-07-11T11:40:00.003-04:00

I'll have to revisit this spot when I have better light. 10AM is just way too bright however I am flabbergasted with the image quality and potential of this machine.

Barton's Cove

2009-07-10T09:19:00.003-04:00

Misty morning view from the point at Barton's Cove.

The Old Gristmill in Gill

2009-07-10T09:16:00.005-04:00

This fast running sluiceway is all that remains at the site of what was once the gristmill in Gill, MA.

One More

2009-07-08T23:05:00.002-04:00

Sun Going Down over Turners

2009-07-08T21:05:00.002-04:00

Few More Rafters

2009-07-04T12:05:00.004-04:00

The looks on some of their faces are just priceless. :)

Ed the Wizard Runs Zoar Gap

2009-07-03T17:23:00.006-04:00

The kayakers didn't seem to be up to the challenge today but Ed the Wizard, a local entertainer and magician, and his family were having a ball on their whitewater raft.

Zoar Gap

2009-07-03T17:20:00.003-04:00

Haven't been up to Zoar Gap in Charlemont in a long time. Not sure what the class is of this white water run but I think it may be a class IV rapid. No kayakers brave enough to run it today while I was there...

Vacuum Cleaner Beater Brush?

2009-07-03T07:30:00.001-04:00

White-marked Tussock Moth (Orgyia leucostigma)

Lake Pleasant

2009-07-01T14:42:00.005-04:00

I took the shortcut on my way back from Amherst today and passed through the tiny village of Lake Pleasant. This is such a weird and energetically creepy place, full of rotting little camp houses and lake homes. It dates from the mid 1800's with origins as a New England spiritualist community and some of those traditions apparently continue to this day. Anyway, the Bridge of Names which overlooks the lake is a unique spot and certainly worthy of some quick shots. I believe the names on the boards were of people who were members of the community over the years.

Butterfly

2009-06-29T19:40:00.003-04:00

I'm not sure what kind this is but it sure was purty on the yellow Coreopsis. :) Shot with the 70-200 F/2.8L IS at close to 200mm, aperture 4.5.

Product Shot

2009-06-28T16:23:00.002-04:00

My new stainless steel Tippler Shot Glass in the backyard garden.

Pagoda Gardens

2009-06-28T10:35:00.004-04:00

Some shots of the views and the gardens at the Leverett Peace Pagoda.

Peace Pagoda

2009-06-28T09:21:00.003-04:00

It's been some years since I visited the Peace Pagoda in Leverett but last night before sundown I suddenly had the thought that I should go up there. This is a most unusual place, one of six such structures in the US. Located on a small mountaintop, it is a massive solid concrete structure built by a Japanese Buddhist group dedicated to world peace and it is meant to be a focus of contemplation. The setting is quite amazing with a beautiful Japanese water garden and lovely views to the south.

Couple More Water Shots

2009-06-27T15:22:00.002-04:00

Couple more shots down at the Turners Falls Dam. It's such a neat spot and the enormous quantity of flowing water is quite intense. I decided to see if I could get some better shots than last time and set up my tripod for these.

Playing with the 85L

2009-06-25T21:25:00.002-04:00

OMG, what an incredible piece of glass! :D Having a ball with this thing...

The Hosta that Ate Manhattan

2009-06-23T20:31:00.001-04:00

Man, we have a couple of monster hostas in the backyard.

Artifacts

2009-06-22T20:58:00.006-04:00

I really do love stuff from the 19th century. Here are a couple of livery buttons, one depicting a triumphant arm wielding a grappling hook and the other a majestic dragon. I find the images represented to be extremely interesting and have about two dozen different ones in my collection.

Also, check out this nifty pair of French made folding binoculars with compass and signal mirror. I've never seen anything quite like this early survival tool. The guy I bought it from speculated that it may be military in origin but I really do not know for sure. What is certain however is that it is cool as hell and I would think also very rare.

Bridge of Flowers

2009-06-20T20:56:00.001-04:00

Shelburne Falls is a cool local spot! It has many interesting scenes which I will attempt to document more of as time goes on. The Bridge of Flowers is one of the biggest and most colorful attractions in town. It used to be a trolley bridge long ago and back in the 1970's they decided to turn it into a flower garden. As you pass over the lovely Deerfield River your eyes are treated to fantastic colors and scenery everywhere you look.

Kathy's Gardens

2009-06-20T20:44:00.000-04:00

Last week we were invited to an open house with an amazing local gardening person. Kathy Puckett collects flowers like some people collect Atwood Tools. :) LOL, anyway, she had an incredible farm up in Colrain and I was all excited to do some shooting there. But typical newbie that I am I screwed up by not setting my aperture correctly on almost all the shots. I was so pissed. I should have just left the damn camera in automatic Landscape mode and I would have had a lot more keepers.

These irises came out OK though. I will do better next time this kind of opportunity comes up and CMA by thinking things through a little better.

Water

2009-06-20T20:38:00.000-04:00

I do love water. These were taken in May when I was really shooting in the dark so to speak. I'm getting better though. :)

See What I Mean?

2009-06-20T20:33:00.000-04:00

Man, the subject is scrumptious but you can see why the old point and shoot camera just wasn't making it anymore. This was taken last fall... I'll have to reshoot this scene next time the scallops are on sale! :D

Memorial Day

2009-06-20T20:30:00.001-04:00

Saw this a few weeks ago. Always makes me think as I pass by the Veterans Memorial in town on my way to the library.

Saturday Morning

2009-06-20T20:04:00.000-04:00

A coalcar in the foggy railyard and then berries from the Greenfield Farmer's Market. All images shot with the 24-105 F/4L, aperture priority mode.

Slick and Slimy

2009-06-20T20:00:00.000-04:00

Saw this enormous mollusk crossing the road up in Northfield yesterday. This is one form of wildlife that moves slow enough that you can actually get a clear shot. :D

Flowers

2009-06-20T19:54:00.000-04:00

Always with the flowers! :p I know, I can't help it. Between Jenny who loves her little gardens here at the house and all the other fantastic places in the area I just can't escape shooting flowers.

Shot from the Bridge

2009-06-20T19:45:00.001-04:00

We have had a lot of overcast days lately and mostly unsettled weather in general. It has made for some cool clouds on severaly days though. I couldn't pass up this wonderful scene on my way to the post office last week. Image captured with my Canon Digital Rebel 500D X1i DSLR with 10-22 UWA lens set at the widest angle, 10. Shot from the bridge in Turners in mid afternoon.

I'm Just a Newbie

2009-06-20T19:34:00.000-04:00

Yeah I said it, a newbie. As much as it pains me to say the truth is I barely know a damn thing about the fine art of making pictures. But luckily I am a quick study and I read a lot. More importantly I am pretty good at retaining details from what I read so that helps considerably...I hope! Because if there is one thing that this photgraphy gig is good for is an incredible amount of niggling details, many involving numbers and settings. :D Whether I can master it is another question but I'm going to do my best and most of all just have fun.

How Come I Made a New Blog When I Have Others?

2009-06-20T19:20:00.000-04:00

Well, I like to shoot a lot of different subjects, not just my stuff. So it seemed like inserting pictures of flowers and bugs just wouldn't be right in a place like Planet Pocket Tool or the Atwood Museum space. Those are devoted to my tools and cutlery pieces and my business side. I needed a spot for some play. Because you know the old saying, "All work and no play makes Peter a very unhappy monkey. " :P

So what will you see here? I'm partial to nature shots and landscapes but I also can't resist abstracts. I will also post random shots of virtually anything I run across in daily life. I live in a remarkable area with some amazing geographical features, interesting buildings and beautiful wildlife of all kinds. The little town of Turners Falls which is next door to my town of Gill has remarkable stuff like the Ct River, a huge bridge going over a large hydroelectric and flood control dam, an adjacent canal with crumbling old papermills and other factories and just tons of other weird and beautiful sights.

There was an eagle nest on a little island on the river, just two miles from my house. The folks at UMASS had rigged up a closed circuit TV camera to it and you could actually tune into a local public access channel and watch the nest from home. It was pretty cool. Unfortunately the tree that the nest was built in blew over in a big storm last year so I'm not sure what's going on with the eagles now. I will continue to keep my eye and lens out for them. There is no shortage of waterfowl however and they make for awesome shooting:

Howdy Folks!

2009-06-20T19:11:00.000-04:00

Alright, I needed a space for my hobby pursuits and the most interesting to me at the moment is photography. I've enjoyed taking product shots of my tools and knives for many years and I've upgraded cameras a few times, going through various point and shoots. But I've grown frustrated this past year in that the quality of my images has not been up to the level that I would like it to be. So I decided to bite the bullet and invest in a better camera setup and really spend some time learning the finer points of photography. I've wanted to do this for a long time anyway and right now seems like a good time to do this.

A recent pic of the BigShot cup: