Christmas in New Hampshire is wonderful. The cold crisp air and snow covered landscape remind me of the winters of my childhood. I am spending time at Heron Pond Farm, enjoying family and the beautiful rolling hills of southern New Hampshire. There is talk up here that Winters aren't what they used to be. There should be more snow, and in fact the locals have childhood memories of snowy Thanksgivings.

I have spent a significant amount of time here over the decades visiting this national treasure. Here in southern New Hampshire I make it a point to get off the beaten track. I love driving the curving two lane back roads. The scene changes as you travel from heavily wooded, to rolling farmland. Arriving at a junction where two roads meet, a small clutch of classic white clapboard homes is gathered together, accompanied by a church, maybe a firehouse, and of course the luncheonette. I enjoy going into these gathering places, where locals talk of their daily concerns. It is not long after you've began sipping your coffee that you'll be up to speed with everything that is going on. There are local construction projects, church business, road repairs, maybe a local fire, and talk of who is sick and not working. Sometimes the waitress does not even have to ask what a particular customer wants to eat. An unspoken agreement happens automatically. Food starts to arrive, without the benefit of a menu or even much talk. Conversation is easy here. Much easier than in the city where I'm from. In a room full of regulars, I stand out easily. A short discussion soon reveals I'm staying with family at Heron Pond Farm. A smile covers their face as they leave wish me well.

After a snowfall, the next day is full of sunshine. Bare trees form wonderful patterns and lines up against the snow covered fields. The cold air warms up just a bit around mid-day so it feels comfortable if you are dressed for it. Buy the way, the weather determins the dress code, there is a different fashion esthetic that is based on warmth. Under the right conditions, a dark clear blue sky accents white snow covered farmland, with a New England farmhouse tucked into a group of trees. These are the landscapes that have so often been photographed and painted that they reside in our collective memories of even us city dwellers.

These days, it is possible to get fresh grown vegetables even in Winter. The Greenhouses are working their magic, through the hard work of an ever increasing number of year round farmers. An increasing number of locals enjoy fresh greens and root crops, local artisan cheese, pure maple syrup, and a surprising variety of products. Winter is not what it used to be. Here the recent mantra is about supporting local agriculture. The connection between community and food production is visable and encouraged.

All this happens surprisingly close to major cities like Portsmouth and Boston, which have great places to eat and enjoy a varied offering of food, and cultural events. In the warm months you can sit in a coffee shop have and great cup of coffee, along with some pastry, and live music. If you are a Photographer like me a wide choice of subject matter is available within reletively short distances. There is the beauty of Franconia Notch, with its rushing streams and mountain trails. If you like the New England seacoast, then there is a rich history available to your camera lens. In towns that dot the landscape local artists exhibit their artwork for a population that enjoys supporting them with their purchases.

New Hampshire offers a very wide selection of subject matter for the photographer. The time tested obvious shots can still be found. The challenge here would be to photograph these recognizable places in a unique way to make it your own. When the light co-operates wonderful landscapes reveal themselves to the trained eye. The older cities offer architecture of great form and character. The seacoast is a particular challenge, in that it is well photographed and recognized. You'll have to work a little harder to put your own stamp on this rich but familiar subject. One of my favorite places for a refreshing walk and good photographs is Franconia Notch, where the rocks, moss, waterfalls, and textures offer a great pallet of color. If you travel to New Hampshire in Winter, the proper outdoor clothing is a necessity.

There are many ways in which people protect and store their family photograhs.  Some of us are very organized and methodical, others less so.  No matter where you are on the scale, a disaster like Hurricane Sandy gets your attention.  It takes no time at all, and a scrolling inventory is running through your head even if you do not suffer damage.  We think of what might have happened and what we could have lost.  First on the list is the health and safety of the people we love.  Once everyone is safe and accounted for, a damage assessment is next.  Most of us start a list in our heads that contain two catagories, replaceable and irreplaceable. If we've spent time going through the complicated and painful process of getting adequate insurance coverage, then the loss of our replaceable possessions will be minimal, and immediate sense of relief the result.

We humans collect lots of things that define our lifestyle.  Many of these things have great value, and add to our wealth. There are things we own that have very little market value, but are of great personal importance.  Our family photographic archive falls in this catagory.  There is a strong urge we humans harbor to be significant and stake out a sense of place.  Our family tree is one place where this is most visable, and our personal photographic collection is where our ancestors reside. This is where you introduce Great Grandpa and his 1936 Chevy Coupe' to a wide eyed child full of questions.  You gather every once in a while around a table to laugh and cry at photos that somehow still seem magical.  If you could only make these pictures talk! You shuffle through your history taking a trip back in time.  We really are part of a tree, that these paper treasures make real. 

The New York, New Jersey metropolitan area is slowly working its way back from Hurricane Sandy, the most powerful Hurricane in my memory.  As of this writting people are collecting lost photographs that are scattered due to the storm.  Some wash up on whats left of our beaches.  They are attempting to put their lives back together and their snapshot collection is part of the healing.  All of us know the value of these personal treasures.  They are Irreplaceable to whomever owned them.  We regret not taking more steps to keep them safe.  Our lives can be a hyperactive jumble of schedule, appointments, work, and leisure activities.  Its easy not to think about that box of family snapshots on the closet shelf. They were for the most part created on the spur of the moment by people with various levels of camera skills. However, its not the skill of the person who made the photograph that creates its value, its the content within the frame.  If I had to evacuate what would I quickly take with me?  My personal photo archive would be high on the list, right after the family go box. 

It is really important that you begin the process of finding from within your collection the few photographs that will represent your history tree.  You do not need to make this a major project.  It can start with just a small collection.  Some photographs in your collection will have become damaged.  Most damage can be repaired and photos restored.  The most difficult damage to repair is that which exsists on the face of the subject. I can restore a photograph that has faded areas, cracks and folds, missing areas, and print it in a warm antique tone on archival paper.  You could decide on a collection that has more photos but smaller, maybe 5 X 7's, or a wall with a few larger photos.  This project can be stretched out over time and thought of as an ongoing project.  It is less expensive than you think, and more valueable than you can imagine.  Give this type of project some serious thought.  Contact me and we can beging a dialog about your project.

Over the years, since the early 1990's to be exact, I have attended the Photo Expo at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.  I have been witness to a gradual change from a chemical/film based industry to digital capture.  On openning day, while waiting for the doors to open, I found myself thinking about how different the show is these days.  My recollection is that the Kodak booth was the largest in the hall.  Fujifilm being their biggest competitor had a booth that nearly matched Kodak.  There was Canon, Nikon, Hasselblad, Leica, Pentax, and all the major filter producers were represented.  You could browse Photographic paper companies, check out the latest in enlargers and so on down the line.  In fact I remember being facinated by a horizontal 8 X 10 enlarger with a liquid negative carrier.  What a great piece of engineering.

This years show ran from October 25, 2012 to October 27, 2012.  Sitting right in front of the main entrance was a booth as large as a small house, Nikon.  That was my first stop, since I use Nikon gear exclusively, I looked at the newest offerings.  While there I also listened to a professional photographer deconstruct an on location photo shoot.  He touched on all the preparation and planning that is necessary for success.  How to avoid potiential trouble and increase the ratio of "keepers".  It was then time to move on, so I visited the Zenfolio booth.  This is the company that hosts my web site.  I had an enjoyable conversation, and it was great to put a face on the company my web site is dependant upon.  A short walk brought me to the MPix booth.  They are a professional quality photo production company.  They will produce everything you might need in the way of photographs, from small prints to gallery wraps, to metal prints.  Their sales staff was very knowledgeable and a big help for me. While walking to another booth I wanted to see, I stumbled upon Carry Speed.  This firm makes what in my opinion is the best camera sling/strap in the industry for professionals or serious amateurs.  It prices out at $70.00 and is worth every penny.  A short demonstration covered all its benefits.  It is comfortable, strong, and quick to get the camera into any postition you might need.  This booth was very crowded.  Do yourself a favor and navigate to; www.carryspeed.com and give this product serious consideration.  The link will be posted on my links page.   

Next on my list was print media.  There were two booths on my check list.  I wanted to see up close the Epson Velvet Fine Art Paper.  It is beautiful, with no surface reflections at all and is rich looking.  I plan to get a sample pack and test it for myself.  I also wanted to see the paper being manufactured by Hahnemuhle.  This is very beautiful fine art paper.  I picked up a media sampler, and checked out where it is distributed, they do not sell direct.  I will give this paper some of my time and make some test runs.

Many things need to be combined in just the right way to produce a professional quality photograph.  Education, equipment, software, testing new materials, travel time, supplies, and lots of smaller things that never end.  Like any other business professional photographers factor these costs into their product.  While that is not surprising, every once in a while potiential customers question the cost of a photograph.  Some even hint that the camera is responsible for the quality work.  Those of us that work at a professional level are always aware of what it takes to produce our unique view or vision in the form of a quality photograph.  Spending a few hours at the pdn Photo Plus Expo brings home the knowledge of our production cost.  Being able to look at all the various componants that go together all in one place is enlightening.  There are many things that are packed into that piece of paper with the image on it.