Spring at Bluff Point - photo essay

Last November, one of my posts featured photos taken at one of my favorite places near where we live - Bluff Point State Park - and can be seen here.  I like it because it's one of the few places with wide-open space, which of course, appeals to my aesthetic sensibilities.   It has interesting shorelines, marshes, inlets, wildlife and things that make neat reflections in the water.  

Like fall in New England, spring - at least as far as the trees are concerned - transformation happens very fast.  The deciduous forests spend about 6 months without leaves, so once the chance of ice and snow is well past, they waste no time getting busy gathering energy from the sun while they can.  Once leaf buds start to occur, the process is like an explosion, and is pretty much complete within 2 weeks.   The leaves rapidly change from pale yellow and acid green to a deeper, more mature mixture of greens as the chloroplasts maximize the production of chlorophyll and other photon-capturing pigments needed for photosynthesis.

About two weeks ago, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather + weekend, and take a walk and photo shoot out along Bluff Point.  It was mid-afternoon, so not optimal conditions for excellent photos.  However, I did manage to take a few that turned out well enough to post here.  Others have far more value as a starting point for a painting.

Red Canoe

Sitting along the cove side of the Brushy Pt. barrier beach, this canoe patiently waits for its next seafaring adventure.

 

Seaweed 

These pieces of seaweed form interesting abstract shapes against the sand in this shallow section of the cove.

Coming Together

Wakes from this delightful pair of ducks form a circle in the still waters of the inlet of the Poquonnock River.

Reflections of Early Spring

This small barrier island, located on the breaker side of Brushy Pt.,  shows off its assortment of trees.  In the clear, shallow water of the foreground, clumps of dark seaweed sway with the ebb and flow of the tide.

Towards the Marsh

A marshy inlet and peninnsula form the backdrop for these strands of marshgrass and bright green shrub.

Side note: regarding future posts, I will probably have to stick with existing material for at least the next few days; yesterday, while we were out on a drive and photo shoot up some of the side roads, I was climbing up a short, grass-covered slope to get a better view of a field, when I slipped.  My camera swung forward and the edge of the lens hit a clump of grass, not even that hard.  However, it was enough to do something to the internal workings of the zoom mechanism, reducing the lens to a fixed 55mm.  That would have been acceptable, and I managed to take a few photos after that.   But, either due to me fiddling with it, or taking photos in the jammed position, the iris (?) is now partially closed.  So, it's hosed.  A new lens is in order, but I'm not going to get the same 18-55mm that came with the camera.  Time to move up to something better...and more durable!

I may have to go back to my trusty old 3MP Olympus PnS to take photos of paintings I do in the meantime.