Welcome to the Essential Light Photography Blog By Jim Sabiston






Monday, April 19, 2010

Road Trip

Time to get away for a day. Too much going on at work, too much going on home. Time to grab the trophy wife and head for the door! With the camera gear loaded in the back of the Jeep, we hit the road.

It is actually a bit early in the season for touristy stuff as we found out when we checked with our first chosen destination: the Japanese Stroll Garden – not open til next week. So, east it was. I put together a quick itinerary of possible places of interst, starting with the Horton Point Lighthouse. As a former sailor, I have a particular fondness for lighthouses and will eventually have photographs of all the twenty four (!) lighthouses on or near Long Island. Today was not the day, however. Upon arriving at the lighthouse grounds after an hours drive, we found the lighthouse closed. Discretion being the better part of valor, combined with the observation of a truck parked behind the lighthouse, we decided to honor the 'Closed' sign and moved on.

Next on the exploration list was a spot that I'd been wondering about for many years. On the North Fork, in East Marion, the island pinches into a very narrow passage, with the Long Island Sound and Orient Harbor separated by a few hundred yards of mostly marshy flats. There is a small bay with some interesting rocks visible from the road, but with no clear access into the area. A study of satellite imagery had indicated a trail system, so I figured it would be worth a closer look and it was. An easily missed, tiny, unpaved driveway lead to the Dam Pond Maritime Preserve.

Dam Pond (click on images to enlarge)

A delightful little jewel of a preserve, Dam Pond offers some very unique features. Of particular interest to me were a series of rocks scattered around the small, enclosed bay. We followed the trail around the shoreline and set up a few quick shots. We were unable to cross a marsh without a messy bushwhack, so headed back to the Jeep. I will come back to this spot for some dawn light shots, as the orientation of the rocks and shoreline is just right for morning light. We next headed further east – Orient Point, next stop.

Part of the draw was just to reach the end of the North Fork,which we hadn't seen in several years. We found a ferry getting ready to depart for New London, Conneticut and I quickly set up and grabbed a few shots of this very purposeful looking working craft. We then walked east along the stone covered beach towards Orient Point and it's lighthouse. Switching to telephoto, I took a few shots and then sat in the sun with Nancy for a few minutes to enjoy the scenery.

Our last stop of the day would be the town of Greenport. In spite of the early season, the sunny, if brisk, weather had brought out quite a few visitors. We grabbed the last parking spot in the municipal lot and walked around town for a bit. Not too much had changed since our last visit, but there were some new shops and sights. The most notable, and obvious, was the Bounty. Built in 1960, this ship was built for the film “Mutiny on the Bounty” and it was also used in “Pirates of the Carribean”. The Bounty happened to be in Greenport for a few days. It was an excellent opportunity to shoot such a wonderful, complex craft. The sky was overcast and the light on the wrong side for the detail shots, but I took a series of images anyway. Even less than ideal conditions can give interesting results if a little imagination is applied in processing and opportunities should never be passed up.

The Bounty

We visited a few shops and stopped in the Terrence Joyce Gallery. Mr. Joyce was in the Gallery and we hit it off immediately. By the time we left the Gallery, I had been invited to display my work and details had been arranged. This was an unexpected development, but I am excited about the opportunity to show my work in a new market. We broke for a late lunch/earlydinner of fish 'n chips at Claudio's and finished by taking some photographs of “Morning Call”, the 9/11 Memorial in the form of a stunning wire sculpture of an osprey perched atop a recovered beam from the World Trade Center.

'Morning Call'

A full day, all-in-all, and just the mental break I needed after the crazy business of the last few months, topped off by the excitement of a new gallery for showing my work. Definitely a good day.

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