Hiking with friends

August 26th I climbed two more mountains on my journey to conquer the world...no jusk kidding. It was a beautiful day, I was up at 4:00am to start my way towards the Mountains of NH. The reason I was up so early was to capture some beauty in the sky that morning..I was hoping for the sunrise of a lifetime.

This is one shot I took...Its actually very dark out at this time but the camera captures light as it exposes the frame so the longer I set the exposure the brighter and more colors will be seen...Believe it or not even in the dead of night there is color in the sky...really...I'm not kiddig..hahaha

After this shot I headed to the Kangamangus Hwy to try to get the same type of shot but with the Swift river as my subject...I didn't capture the sun rise (I was to late)..but I managed a couple of cool shots...oh and hehe I took a FB shot of myself...I'm not Vain..I just needed something new.

I wasn't to meet my great new friends until 9, so I had allot of time to explore and shoot other landscapes such as these...it was so much fun and so early...Its my favorite time of day.

Places people meet…

I had been planning a hike with my good friend Jarod for some time now…actually it had been most of the summer. We finally settled on a day. August 7th. Our day started out a little rough. Its 3:30am and I get a call that Jarods car is not working very well and he might not make it. I was bummed but he did eventually show. So we started to load up all our gear into my truck and Jarod realizes he has his girlfriend’s keys (yep, house and car)….
Really I thought. Well I guess we will just get a late start this morning then. Jarod called his girlfriend and she said she had an extra set, so we were clear to go….Finally…

The drive up to Franconia or Lincoln was nice. We stopped a couple of times so I could take a picture or two. Met another couple and talked about hiking and the amazing experience it gives you. Plus then I said, you get to meet so many people along the way.

Finally we are at the trail head, I realize I don’t have any sunscreen and since I have no hair to protect my head, I had to find some…I spotted this man in the parking lot, so I went over to him and asked…hey bud, do you have any sunscreen? He couldn’t give me his fast enough…ya man sure he said. Hence my reasons people are nice on the trails…

Along the peaks that we were traveling across we met I would say 20 or so people, mostly just saying hello and have a nice day,...but like I was saying..what you notice is everyone is happy! Really, they actually look and put out there that they are happy. Why not seeing where we all are at that time. After the 2nd peak, I was enjoying a fantastic PBR and resting. Then here comes my new 3 friends..so I took my camera out and started to take their pictures. I had already been taking pictures of them along the way at different angles because I like how you can take a picture and put a person or persons in it and show the dramatic perspective of where we are. They just happened to be great examples.

Chance meeting with a Train

It took me 4 days to get this shot of the Downeaster Train...I was by chance actually walking the tracks to a bridge because it had some really cool Graffiti. Once I herd the train coming I was blown away by the power of this beast and how loud the horn was when the conductor used it to tell me to get the hell out of the way..

It was at that point that I realized I want to get this train going by me with the front of the train still and the rest showing motion or speed. So the next day I was further down the tracks all positioned to get the shot...oh boy the excitement I had once I could hear the train coming from a far...see it has to cross two intersections before it got to me so it really whales on the horn as it comes through...

Ok I'm now laying down next to the tracks. I would say about 5 feet away positioned, already having my focus point locked, switched to manual and I'm ready. "Game on Train"... bring it to me I thought...Well the conductor didn't see me at first I think cause I was lying down (first mistake) and when he did he hit the brake a bit, sparks flew, sirens blared, my camera fell over on the tripod from the wind of the train, and I crapped my pants.
Rats, I missed the shot I thought, but holy cow was that exciting!!! I couldn't wait to do it again. The next day I was in position again, this time I was not lying down next to the track, but my camera was on a tripod ready to go and I was off to the side with a remote....The train is coming...its coming...its here...the conductor sees me again, but doesn't get nervous this time as he hits the horn. The train goes by, I strike the remote with precision and grace :) and down my camera goes again from the wind of the train as it passes by...I got the shot but its as the camera is falling and a great shot of rocks and a train track iron nail..

Last chance I thought...Im not giving up, but I'm going to have to hold my camera for this shot..its the only way. Next day I do it all over again, you could have set your watch to the train as it is coming right on time...I'm sitting indian style tripod and camera in the middle of my legs and I'm holding on for dear life, but damn it I'm going to get this shot!! The train is coming I see when I want to shoot, I do in succsesion with multiple shots and as the train is going by the wind blows my hat off, the smell of diesel fuel is strong its loud and so exciting...I look up and the conductor is looking at me...he gets it..he hits the horn with several short blasts as if to say hey buddy....he is smiling and waves as he goes by...I got the shot, and an experience I'll never forget.