Next Delaware river town-Riegelsville

(Taken September, 2007)

Riegelsville, PA

An interesting Delaware city town, full of scenery and history. One of the northern-most towns of Bucks County, it's closer to Easton than Doylestown. Lining main street (Route 611) are a collection of large mansions, built by local industralists. They've been put to good use through the years, with some serving as town library, town hall, and a local restaurant (Villa Richard).

The character of the town driven by its proximity to the Delaware River and its canal. Used to transport coal and other materials from the northern regions of the state to the industrial centers, the canal had a life and culture of its own in its day.

Another famous landmark in town is the Riegelsville Roebling Bridge. Opened for service in 1904, its one of the few remaining multi-span, highway suspension bridges with continuous cables. Designed and built by the Roebling Brothers, the Roeblings are also credited with designing the Brooklyn and Golden Gate bridges, and the aqueduct at Lackawaxen where the Delaware & Hudson Canal crossed the Delaware River between Pennsylvania and New York.

A photographic journey of a town, made slightly difficult by the traffic of Rte 611! Also a trip down memory lane, as Riegelsville was the site

of my first house. Hasn't changed much since then, but I guess that's what historic towns are all about.

River towns of PA - New Hope

New Hope, Pennsylvania

I've decided to do a series of explorations of PA Delaware River towns. They have a unique character, and none has a character more unique than New Hope. A medly of eccentric, artistic, gastronomic, hippy, biker, and historic personalities, blended into a town that wants to have fun.

Main Street runs directly through the heart of town, although many unique side streets branch out to add wandering possibilities. Along Main, on a warm summer day, crowds of all varieties enjoy the mix of bars, shops, restaurants and sights. Brightly dyed hair isn't rare, nor are families, couples, or people out for a ride on their Harley. The shops cater to this diverse crowd, ranging from Grateful Dead and Tibeten goods to Positive Magic to custom made dog items.

The majority of town is sandwiched between the Delaware River on one side, and the Delaware River Canal on the other. The canal was used in the pre-railroad days to transport heavy goods down river by horse drawn barge. The river's many locks are still visible, including this lock and lock keepers house at the end of Main Street. The lock keepers house is open to the public, and has interesting artifacts and information on the history of the Delaware Canal system.

Parked outside the canal museum is one of New Hope's painted horses, set in a white picket fence flower garden.

Many of the houses in New Hope are historic, built in the early 18th century and still preserved. To the left is an example, the Perry Mansion. One of the founders and the first mayor of the town, the old stone construction and leaded windows are finely preserved by the New Hope Historical Society, who uses the building for a headquarters.



Capturing the essence of New Hope is like trying to distill a multi-colored masterpiece into monochrome. Beautiful, eccentric, historic, and wild, New Hope is a flavor to be experienced, tasted, and enjoyed.

Martha's Vineyard

Weekends in May, before Memorial Day, are a great time to visit the New England islands. The weather has turned warm (for our three days it didn't drop below 70), but the post-Memorial Day crowds have yet to arrive. The beaches are empty, probably because the water is colder than penguins like it. Restaurants and bars are generally open, yet reservations are not necessary.

Our base was in Edgartown, one of the main towns on the island. The town is situated right on a beautiful harbor, with a small lighthouse (shown left). The base of sand was actually deposited by a hurricane, reshaping the coastal area. It's now a spit of sand that juts out into the harbor, with docks for yachts and rowboats alike.

Bikes are a great way to see the island. The island is flat, and bikeways are generally available for anywhere you want to go. Rental companies are common, and rent nice equipment. We spent a day biking across the island, from Harbortown over to Vineyard Haven and then up to Oak Bluffs. About a 12 mile ride, enough to exercise the legs and make the photographs feel like they were earned!

The island has a great feeling of calm, peace, and seaside. Clapboard houses, whitewash, and long long stretches of beaches make you want to wander. Oak Bluffs is an old Methodist community, filled with beautiful Victorian architecture and gingerbreading. Circling the Methodist cathetedral is gingerbread village, with every house an extreme example of colors and ornate woodworking. An eerie calm permeates the village, it felt like we were invading as we silently biked around the houses.

The entire island is a blend of old-time whaling culture with modern class. Edgartown is full of galleries, shops, high end restaurants and bed & breakfasts, next door to an 18th century whaling captain's house, in original condition. Restaurants trace their roots back to shipping companies, and you can feel the history of sailors walking the cobblestones with their families.

This last image is a panorma of the main park in Oak Bluffs. To the left in the image is the beach, and surrounding the park are large, beautiful victorian houses. The park green had visitors flying kites, biking, or simply enjoying a day in the sun.

Spring at Longwood

A few weeks late posting this, spring blooms have passed now and the trees are in full green. But it's not too late to share our day at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. A gorgeous spring day in April, bright blue skies, temperatures finally creeping out of the 40's and into a respectable zone, and the flowering trees were in full bloom. A day like that calls for some wandering about Longwood's 1050 acres.

The property was once the former estate of Pierre S. du Pont. Apparently a fan of horticulture, he preserved the property, including the trees, and eventually opened it to the public. Fleets of gardeners now keep the site immacculate, full of blooms in each season.

This image, the lone orange tulip in a field of white tulips, is one of my favorites from that day. The white tulips captured the brilliant sun, the furry edges of the blooms are unique, and this rebellous flower is a symbol of individuality in the group.

No variety of tulip is sacred in this garden, and fields of purple, pink, blue, red, and striped orange are available for visitors to walk right up to and enjoy. Capturing the sharp colors in the soft breeze required some patience, but fortunately the crowds are used to photographers kneeling on the edge of a flower bed for long periods and have no problem flowing around them.

In addition to the outside gardens, Longwood also includes a huge and

beautiful conservatory. Room after room reveals unique and fabulous arrangements. One room devoted entirely to orchids. One with a wandering stream and waterfall. One for desert blooms, and one for rainforests. This bromeliad shows off the perfect conservational design of nature, shaped to collect water from the air into its base.

I think the final image shows the essence of Longwood Gardens. Yes, it could be fields of spring blooms, or row after row of flowering cherry trees, or one of the majestic Italian water gardens with jets of shooting water fountains. But this orchid growing from a tree says it for me. Unique blooms, growing symbotically, in an environment that would not be normally be accessible for most people. But they are here for all to see and enjoy. Thanks to Longwood Gardens and their staff!

Barnegat Sunset

In celebration of our fabulous Presidents of past, we found ourselves with the day off, and a clear, crisp 28' winter day. I had heard the legend of the frozen rain that had hit the Jersey shore earlier in the week, so we packed up the gear and drove over to the shore in search of the trees encased in ice. Alas, it had warmed up too much this weekend, and no ice was to be found. Instead, found ourselves far south on the Jersey shore, close to Barnegat lighthouse. As the sun was setting, we bee-lined for some shots of the lighthouse at sunset!

The Barnegat light sits all the way at the end of the Long Beach Island, a pretty famous summer hangout for those looking for summer parties. As the sun set, the light at the top is visible all the way from the bridge over to the island. In doing some post-shooting history, I found that it's the second tallest lighthouse in the United States, at 165 feet.

It was windy and cold along the trails out to the lighthouse, and certainly would have been easier to just park out front and shoot with the sunset to my back. But I had an image in mind, the lighthouse set against a brilliant orange sunset that was forming. Which required us to park on a back street and hike our way out along frozen sand, against the wind. It's amazing how hard sand gets when temperatures are below freezing all winter!

As the sun continued to set, the light in the sky grew deeper and deeper orange, and the colors of the lighthouse itself faded into black. I started shooting quicker, and we headed quickly over towards the lighthouse itself. To my pleasure, I found that the beach wandered far enough around the far side to allow me to line up the towering lighthouse with the setting sun. And even better, a long raised pier stretched out along the far end of the beach, giving me a nice raised platform, dark rocks, and blue ocean to add to the photo mix.

At times like this, after driving for 4 hours looking for somewhere to shoot, the magic of photography came to mind. A blend of finding the right subject, with the right light, at the right time, and having the right equipment. Driving around mid-day, with harsh overhead light, bright bright blue skies, and only run down NJ diners around you, photographic opportunities look dim. But after a little more planning, we had a target, and a challenge to get there by sunset.

Then came the challenge of recording this alignment of location and light onto "film" (digital, actually). Fortunately warm gloves, fleece lined pants, and a thick jacket made the winter cold and winds bearable! Thank you for enjoying the results with me.

Frozen Delaware

Taken February 11, 2007

For the past few weeks, the outside temperatures in Bucks County PA have been well below freezing. By some strange twist of atmospheric heating and cooling, this has created a beautiful display of frozen ice sheets on the Delaware River. Quarter inch thick sheets have moved, frozen, melted, broken against each other, and in general created a mosh-pit of ice that makes for site rarely seen. The small sheets were pushed around and against each other, making for a landscape of pinnacles and valleys, smooth expanses and rocky terrains.

This shot was taken in Yardley, on the PA shore of the river. The small patch of river was a reminder of the very cold water flowing underneath the ice!

Driving north in search of more ice flows, I find the strange fact that the further north I go, the more the ice breaks up. I could guess that it's due to the depth of the river in Yardley and below, or the sality content, or even the mid-river islands creating a lesser expanse of the ice to form against. Whatever the case, got all the way up to New Hope without finding more than a bunch of overpriced real-estate and tourists on Sunday drives.

Figured I need to u-turn it, and try my luck south. Ended up back in Yardley, further south from where I started. Found a great boat launch, more shots of unique river ice scultpures.

Below Trenton, found a great bridge with ice flows leading up to it and only a small section of river flowing. By now the sun was lowering, and the light growing towards the magic hour.

I managed to find myself on the other side of the river, now on the Jersey side, just south of Trenton. I knew there was river access close to the Trenton Thunder ballpark, and I got lucky. Just south of it, a perfect boat ramp that now faced west, into the setting sun. Magic hour was upon us, and I was at river level.

I was alone on the ramp, right on the edge of the river. Loud cracks and pops were echoing everywhere, some loud enough to make me think icebergs had broken loose, some just soft enough to merge into the background as a symphony of sorts. The sun was setting behind on the trees on the far side of the river, and this surreal ice-spiked landscaped was mine alone. As the sun set lower, the tips of the ice spikes glowed pink against their ice-blue bases.

Thank you for joining me today, it was another beautiful exploration of the world caught on digital!