Wandering Granite Basin

I keep getting a few questions about photographing specific places.  Yesterday I heard the same two questions that seem to be on everyone’s mind.  Well, everyone who lives in this area.

When are you going to do a print of Granite Mountain?  When are you going to do a print of Thumb Butte.

Yesterday I took the time to address one of those questions.  I finally had an opportunity to swing by Granite Basin for a few photos.  And the day was perfect for shooting there.  Puffy clouds, good temperatures, pleasant breezes, the works!

My first stop was the “lake” beneath Granite Mountain.  I’m sorry to say to the folks around here, it isn’t a lake.  It’s a pond.  A very small pond.  Given the fact I can walk around the pond in mere moments, it’s definitely a pond.

The body of water my dad lives on is Manchaug Pond.  It’s a massive body of water, but in New England it’s still labeled a pond.

So, I took some photos from the boat launch beneath Granite Mountain.  And they turned out pretty good.  Several HDR attempts did not work out.  See, the clouds were SPEEDING across the sky.  Movement and HDR don’t work so well together, and in this case the ghosting that occurred went beyond repairable.

I was really glad to be back at Granite Basin.  Last year I stopped in often.  Andy & Brooke would meet me there and we’ve have an hour or two of fun climbing together.  I missed them yesterday.  Should have called to see if they wanted to walk out there too!

After spending my time waterside I decided to take a hike up to our regular bouldering spot in Granite Basin.  See, on the back side of the area a person can climb to the top of the formations without protection or climbing partners.  So I went around to that spot so I could get a different photographic take on Granite Basin.

The walk was easy and fun.  And a little nostalgic.  I sure need to get some climbing in!

From the top of the bouldering area I sure did get some cool views.  Large clouds ripping by, strong winds, and a few strange hornets made shooting the scene harder than I thought it would be.  I wanted to create 7 exposure HDRs, but there was no way to do it with the speed of the clouds.  So, the maximum that worked was 3 exposure HDRs.  Still, I wouldn’t trade the clouds for anything!

After wrapping up I returned home to “develop” the shots.  Happily, 5 winners in my mind.  You’re getting to see two of them today.  If you want to see the others you’ll need to stop by and pay a visit on October 18th.  😉

Oh, one more thing……  Yesterday I stopped by the Gallery to check on some new frames.  While there two customers asked me a quick set of questions…..

When are you going to do photos of Granite Mountain and Thumb Butte?

I was happy to tell them that I’d just finished shooting Granite Mountain.  Now if I could only find a good vantage point for Thumb Butte!