Above The Great Marsh

Today’s self assignment:

The Great Marsh is a long, continuous saltmarsh in eastern New England extending from Cape Ann in northeastern Massachusetts to the southeastern coast of New Hampshire. It includes roughly 20,000-30,000 acres of saltwater marsh, mudflats, islands, sandy beaches, dunes, rivers, and other water bodies.

The great marsh

Tugboat Tour

In the early 1980’s I was a freelance shooter or “stringer” first for UPI and later for the Associated Press. Lacking hard-core experience as a photojournalist I had. to come up with most stories on my own. On occasion I would get paged to shoot a fire, a politician, or a grieving mother, but most of my shots they put out on the wire I researched and shot.

After repeated attempts to talk a fishing boat skipper into taking me out for half a day, I got the go-ahead from the captain of a tug in Boston harbor. In the 8 hours we spent motoring around the harbor the tug got only one call to assist a freighter enter the harbor. It was quite a show, with several tugs coordinating and communicating with coded “toots” from their whistles.

This deckhand maneuvered the massive “hawser” with great skill and strength. I believe this is the shot that ran as a “feature.”

Back to the farm.

If you follow my work on this and other web sites you know I have a strong connection to the Appleton Farms & Grass Rides property in Ipswich and Hamilton, MA. Managed by The Trustees of Reservations it is said to be the oldest continuously used farm in America — established 1638. Closed to the public for a few months due to Clovid-19, Molly and I were happy to return to the re-opened farm. Photos made with new iPhone SE, processed in Adobe Lightroom.

Teenaged girl approaches newly planted tulip poplars which replace a row of Norway maples – invasive species
Old riding trail at the Appleton Farms & Grass Rides property
The Great Pasture at Appleton Farms may still look as it did when the farm was established in 1638.

Glaciers I have known

“Hidden Lake” below Logan Pass, Glacier National Park, Montana

I’ve been thinking about a solo trip I took to Glacier National Park about 10 years ago. There were no more than 25 glaciers to see and identify; a small fraction of the 150 or so glaciers estimated to have inhabited the park about 100 years ago Some scientists are predicting that the number of measurable glaciers in the park will be zero within our lifetimes. To deny the existence of global warming is criminal. Government and business leaders who ignore the warming planet should leave their posts, willingly or not.

From the Archives

The Boston Symphony Orchestra was a frequent client for me in the early 80’s when I was first testing the waters of professional photography. I made this shot from a little window in the stage door, just large enough to position a 300mm lens. Absolute silence was required.

Harry Ellis Dickson was named Associate Conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra in January 1980, and he was also founder, Artistic Director, and Conductor of the Boston Symphony Youth Concerts, as well as a member of the Boston Symphony’s Orchestra’s first violin section.

Plum Island — Fall afternoon

I’ve been visiting the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Newbury, MA since 1980. It’s always the same and different each time. The receding tide is magical. As always, these photographs are available as licensed images for commercial usa, and as custom archival prints for display.

Plum Island tide
Patterns in the receding tide at day’s end at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, Newbury, MA
Sunset reflections in the outgoing tide, Plum Island, Newburyport, MA