Itera Turns Twenty in Style!

Jan1

Our last commercial shoot of 2012 was certainly a grand event! A few years ago, we had the pleasure of shooting Sergei & Kristina’s beautiful wedding at Epping Forest. So, when the company he works for, Itera, was planning a 20th anniversary gala, Sergei gave us a call and booked our services for this opulent evening. Hosted at the venerable Mussallem Galleries, Itera invited many long time friends and employees to celebrate the many achievements of the past two decades. It was certainly a memorable event filled with fine food, talented musicians and an ambiance like no other!

Below are some of our favorite shots from the evening – enjoy!

Freebie HD Wallpaper – Washington & The Smithsonian!

Jan12

Well, all good things must come to an end. Unfortunately, that’s true for fine art photo adventures as well. On our way back from our time in New England, we took a half day to do a whirlwind tour of DC. In the 5 hours we were there, we visited the Capitol, Civil War Memorial, Air and Space Museum, and the Museum of Natural History. Here’s a selection of our favorite photos from the trip!

Above is a photo of some bird (I have a really good memory). Despite being perched on a branch, it is actually no longer living. To the right is a really cool piece of history for a guy that loves both photography and aviation. This is the actual camera used to photograph the Wright Brothers’ first flight. All those famous pictures you’ve seen of those first flights were taken with this very camera! Pretty cool stuff.

Below is one more photo from the session. In focus is the legendary Bell X-1, the first aircraft to exceed the speed of sound (in level flight) way back in 1950. In the foreground is the North American X-15, This plane still holds the record for the fastest speed ever reached by a manned rocket-powered aircraft. Enjoy the photos!

TO DOWNLOAD PHOTOS: simply click on the photo you like from the gallery below. On the bottom right, click permalink. Right above the photo is a link to the full resolution image (1280×720 is usually what it says). Simply right click that link and save it to your preferred folder.

Freebie HD Wallpaper – New England Winter Part 4: Snow?

Jan6

Well, here it is – the last installment from our New England fine art trip. Today’s theme is focused on snow. Finally, at the end of our wither trip, we managed to see snow – about 1/4 of an inch of snow. Not exactly the stuff of dreams, but snow all the same. However, by the time the sun set, it was all gone with balmy temperatures in the high 30s. Enjoy the photos!

Freebie HD Wallpaper – New England Winter Part 3: Fog

Jan4

Welcome to part 3 of our New England adventure. Today’s theme is fog – and there was lots of it during this predawn shoot. You don’t normally associate fog with winter, but a few times a season, you’ll find the perfect conditions for fog along the banks of the Piscatiqua. This day was no exception – it was the coldest day of the season and the resulting difference in the temperature of the open water as compared to the air produced this frigid fog over the river. It sure made for some pretty unique photography conditions – and with the 15kt wind and 5F temperatures, it also reminded me of the value of gloves (which I neglected to bring).

The photo above was not taken on Halloween, is not from Europe, and does not depict a castle. Shocking, I know. In fact, this is the old prison located on the eastern tip of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Known in its time as the “Alcatraz of the East”, this turn of the century prison housed a wide variety of military prisoners (including U-boat crews) until it was decommissioned in 1974. You can read more about this fascinating structure here.

If you’ve been following our blog recently, you may recognize the lighthouse above. This is Whaleback Light – a granite block lighthouse constructed in 1829. About three years ago, I took a similar sunrise trip to this location under very similar conditions, and took a series of photos as the sun rose over the fog bank. That photo is one of two that National Geographic selected for their prestigious stock photography site. We’ll see how these do! Of course, there’s a nice selection of all my favorite shots from this shoot below. Enjoy!

Freebie HD Wallpaper – New England Winter Part 2: Coastal NH

Jan3

Here’s part 2 from our New England fine art excursion. Today’s theme is Coastal New Hampshire. On this shoot, I spent a few hours along the coast of Rye and New Castle, as the sun set and the stars begun to shine.

The photo above is of Rye Harbor – a tiny little natural harbor that hosts a tight-knit community, made up mostly of lobstermen. As the sun set between a few layers of thin winter clouds, it would peek through with vibrant beams that tinted the entire scene.

The seawall at the end of Rye Harbor provided a great natural frame for the Isles of Shoals, located 8 miles off the coast of NH. The photo above is of Star Island. On its rocky shores you can see the Oceanic Hotel, one of only a few remaining great resorts from the Victorian Era, as well as Gosport Church and a monument to Pastor John Tucke.

As day gave way to night, I traveled a bit further up the coast to New Castle, NH – a small town located on a collection of rocky islands along the south bank of the Piscatiqua River. The photo below features Whaleback Light – one of my favorite subjects in the area. Though the moon was out, the clear skies and low humidity allowed me to capture a generous collection of stars to the east.

Enjoy the photos!