A dawn flight from Palm Springs to Los Angeles (long story) passed over land that looked like potting soil—so muddy and fertile.
Author: adohertyh
Curved Room Windows
Design matters, and thus details matter, in making a place feel warm and inviting. Comfy chairs arrayed facing this curved bank of windows offer more than a place to sit while waiting for dinner at Mohonk Mountain House—they produce a sense of place and belonging.
Waiting for Work
This sequence of three images, captured over the course of a morning (dawn to rush hour), paints an oddly small-town-ish picture of citizens waiting for the San Diego Trolley.
Suburbs Up to the Wall
An early-morning flight out of Palm Springs airport paints gentle hues onto the massive wall that is Mt. San Jacinto. The orderly, be-palm-tree’d grid of the valley floor runs so sharply into the mountainside that I was immediately reminded that a sea once occupied the valley.
Mohonk Boat Dock
When breakfast is done, a panoply of watercraft are ready to carry me onto the reflective surface of Lake Mohonk. I have to admit, I’ve always preferred the canoes.
San Diego Runners
I last traveled to San Diego to present at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society—but while that meeting took place during the day, early morning was unaccounted-for time. I went exploring in the area around the San Diego Convention Center and found that most of my early-morning compatriots were runners.
In this quartet of images, I’ve captured a few of those runners in the dramatic early-morning California sunlight.
A Spring Saturday Morning in Salisbury, CT
As a child, I had this recurring dream of flying above my small Connecticut town. (Blame too many viewings of The Explorers.) The magic of actually rising above that town (with a drone) makes even the bare trees of early spring look romantic.
Kentucky Paddocks and the Sky Beyond
Smooth, gentle, green hills cover layers of limestone beneath; trees mark the grooves where creeks cut through the soft stone.
Pony Finals 2022 Day 3
After exploring the first two days of Pony Finals 2022, we’ve reached the last day of my coverage. The positive vibes are rolling…
But already, there are some sad faces as horses and ponies start to ship out.
The warm-up ring is filled no only with young equestrians pursuing its eponymous activity, but also trial rides for folks considering purchasing or leasing.
I really enjoy the “follow the leader” pattern of this image.
Over by the Rolex, a loner rider slowly walks back to the barn.
I love the energy of an excited rider, fresh out of the ring after a great ride. Hanging out by the Rolex’s in gate gives me the perfect opportunity to captures shots like these.
Overlooking the scene gives me some opportunity to make additions to a recent photographic trope I’ve favored: pictures of a grand scene with an obvious place from which a view can watch.
Can you see the pony jumping in the distance in each of these shots?
Breakfast on the Porch II
A perfect late-summer morning at Mohonk Mountain House holds the promise of a day spent outside. While this image may be a sequel to last week’s post, I think this other angle reveals a far different view of the possibilities a day can hold when experiencing vacation.
Too Many Ponies at Sunset
“Too many” may be an exaggeration, but a field full of ponies on a Kentucky evening sure feels like it’s pushing the limit.
Pony Finals 2022 Day 2
Continuing from our Day 1 post, we now move into the second day of Pony Finals 2022. Given the dust and debris blown around on any given day, I rarely swap lenses once I make my choice. Day 2 meant a lot of shooting with the 70-200 mm f/2.8 and its buttery bokeh.
The first step is, of course, getting to the ring. (It’s not really—lots of things come before.)
And what a ring it is! Pony Finals has been held in the Rolex for the past few years. In this flat class, the full extent of the space starts to become apparent.
Big classes mean a bit of a traffic jam getting in and out of the ring. This palomino circling while waiting provides a nice contrast: one forward face, while the rest face away.
Tom O’Mara, President of the US Equestrian Federation, was on hand.
A parade of riders matches the parade of sponsor boards and seats.
As with most horse shows, Pony Finals features a lot of “hurry up and wait.”
Lined up for the judges.
An exiting-the-ring parade.
What a proud face. The 70-200 mm’s bokeh is going to great use here.
I love alternate angles on posed shots.
A lot of young riders are learning to work hard at Pony Finals.
Though horses can’t compete during Pony Finals, there are still a few practicing around the Kentucky Horse Park.
The leaves really frame this rider well.
Back in the ring, we’ve reached the over-fences classes.
It takes a whole team to get a rider to the ring.
And sometimes some behind-the-scenes negotiations.
Breakfast on the Porch I
Mohonk Mountain House remains a place nestled into both the rocks of the Shawangunk Mountains and a pre-digital era. Nonetheless, delightful new traditions manage to merge into the setting. Breakfast in the open air of the expansive front porch came about during the Covid era but has remained—a just delightful way to start the day.
This image also further exhibits the trend I explored in another recent image, showing both a view and a space for the viewer.
Old and New Kentucky
While the Interstate system feels like an ingrained part of American culture at this point, its presence (in the Eastern U.S., anyway) is revealed as a late addition from a drone’s eye view: the original patterns of farms and country roads has this massive strip of highway laid atop it.
Considering Wilde
While most of Oscar Wilde’s family home in Dublin is of a fairly traditional architecture of the era, the bright solarium on the second floor seems like quite the outlier. I like the perspective lines converging to Piper, watching from the doorway.
Decaseconds 