Mixing Hiking and Photography When it is time to clear one's head or just find a little peace and quiet, the woods are the best place to be. Around here, that woods is the New Jersey Pine Barrens. After spending weeks preparing for my first solo exhibition of photographs from the Franklin Parker Preserve in the Pine Barrens, I felt a [...]
When Ordinary Becomes Beautiful Cold Winter Light by Richard Lewis 2017 It doesn't snow much in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, so when it does, it's time to head out to find something to photograph. This old bog in the Franklin Parker Preserve seemed like a nice place to look. Usually the stumps of these old cedar trees look like abstract designs, however [...]
The Struggle Between the Inner Artist and Inner Engineer Fading Winter Light by Richard Lewis 2017 I love going out on New Year's Day to hike to get a first photo of the year. This year the first photograph of 2017 was made on January 8. Why? Because I've been feverishly preparing for a solo exhibition of my New Jersey Pine [...]
Being on the top of that mountain taught me to experience sunrises and sunsets in a different way. I've always looked for that decisive moment when the light is at it's peak. Now I realize that a sunrise is a story that starts at first light and ends when the dawn colors fade.
Abandoned homes are always the saddest of all because they were places where people and families lived. Every square inch of this place has a memory created by occupants of a home that is over 100 years old.
Hiking the New Jersey Pinelands for Therapy and Art I had a knee injury from a bicycle accident a few months ago and have been walking as part of a physical therapy program. On a recent Saturday afternoon, I decided to do some therapy by hiking in the Franklin Parker Preserve, one of my favorite New Jersey Pinelands spots. It ended up being more of a spiritual [...]
Shop Local is Good, But is Photograph Local Better? Between commitments and our annual family reunion occurring during Thanksgiving, I decided to challenge myself and spend a week only creating photography in the New Jersey Pinelands. My self-imposed limits were to shoot within a 20 minute drive from my home and to hike no more than 1 mile after I got to a location. [...]
New Jersey's Pinelands Preserve It is not that the New Jersey wilderness known as the Pinelands is forgotten. It is the photographs posted here that are. I've made enough images of this place to have overlooked a few, so here they are. Morning in the Cedars by Richard Lewis 2014 Along the Mullica River by Richard Lewis 2014 Intimate Cedar [...]
Cloud Watching in the New Jersey Pine Barrens I have always been fascinated by clouds. As a kid I would stare at them and my imagination would run wild with images inspired by the cloud formations. My fascination has continued into adulthood where it never ceases to amaze me how clouds affect the quality of light, the color in the sky and ultimately the mood of [...]
Bird Photography from a Non-Bird Photographer A Bird Amongst The Berries by Richard Lewis 2015 Robin's Dance by Richard Lewis 2015 Robin's Portrait by Richard Lewis 2015 Sitting Pretty by Richard Lewis 2015 I recently attended a workshop on bird photography presented by Larry Lyons, a fellow local photographer. When describing how to photograph our [...]
More photography from the New Jersey Pine Barrens Fire in a Winter Sky by Richard Lewis 2015 I enjoy taking inspiration from landscape painters because they do not suffer from the limitations of photography. When art starts with a blank canvas and a creative mind, reality can be completely bent to an the artist's vision, style and skill. Landscape photographers, on the other hand, [...]
Three Cedars in the Morning Light by Richard 2014 In my last post, I mentioned how we photographers can learn something from those that went before us who were shooting film. Working with film is a slower and more methodical process. By practicing a more patient and careful approach to our own photography, we can strive to come back from [...]
Changing seasons in the New Jersey Pine Barrens Swamp Sunrise by Richard Lewis 2014 Sunrise in Brendan Byrne State Forest by Richard Lewis 2014 Dead Cedars in the Fall by Richard Lewis 2014 Fall in the Swamp by Richard Lewis 2014 Fall Morning by Richard Lewis 2014 View Towards Pakim Pond [...]
Can New Jersey Pinelands Swamp Compete With Alaskan Swamp? Alaska... Alaska Swamp by Richard Lewis 2014 vs. New Jersey Along the Wading River by Richard Lewis 2012 Dead In The Water 6 by Richard Lewis 2014 I've been told that I am a master of swamp photography. Is this a distinction that one should be proud [...]
Lunar Eclipse by Richard Lewis 2014 I thought it wold be nice to share with you how the recent lunar eclipse looked from the New Jersey Pine Barrens. This photograph was made just before the day broke and the eclipsed moon faded in the early morning light . Fortunately there were some clouds around to add a little drama to the scene. Enjoy [...]
We came for the Super Moon but won the Gold Golden Light in the Pine Barrens by Richard Lewis My friend Denise Bush reminded me of something special in her latest blog post. Before the August 2014 Super Moon in New Jersey, there was a moment where the golden light of the late day sun appeared against a darker background of clouds. While hiking [...]