Tag: Mercer County

Kingston Lock at D & R Canal State Park

I've photographed the area around the Kingston Lock in the [Delaware & Raritan State Park])https://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/maps/KingstonTrailsMapFinalDraft.pdf_ many times in the past. The photos included here are nothing new in term of subject matter, and the composition varies slightly from previous captures. I chose to photograph using the Dramatic Classic Chrome Film Simulation Recipe created by Ritchie Roesch. I chose to do this in preparation for another project proposed by Ritchie. Except for cropping and perspective correction, all of these images are as-is from the camera.

A lock is an enclosed chamber in a canal, dam, etc., with gates at each end, for raising or lowering vessels from one level to another by admitting or releasing water.

My daughter, Kiran, thought that using the homonym, loch, was stretching things it a bit too far, given that loch means lake in Scottish Gaelic. I argued that the Kingston Lock Controls water flow through the Delaware & Raritan Canal which runs alongside Lake Carnegie, the common name for Loch Carnegie. I lost the argument.

The sky was overcast with 100% cloud cover. The Kingston Lock is about 4 kilometres from my home in Skillman. There were no shadows to be found, but the images have a great deal of contrast between light and dark areas. I parked in the empty parking lot, grabbed my tripod, slipped on my headphones and walked over the lock. I like to listen to music, one of several EDM playlist in iTunes, when I out on private photo walks by myself. The music calms me and helps me focus.

In the early 18th century, the Lenape Native Americans who lived in this part of what would eventually become New Jersey sold 4 km2 of land to Jediah Higgins, who established the town of Kingston. The small village is located on the Lenape Assunpink Trail, crossing the Millstone River at what would later be named the King's Highway. Kingston is the only area of New Jersey that exists within the borders of two counties, Middlesex County and Somerset County.

Its location on the main road, King's Highway, connecting the colonies made Kingston a major transit stop for stagecoaches and numerous inns and taverns were established. The Kingston Lock, which included a toll house that had one of the first telegraph offices in 1846, is number 8 of 14 built along the 73-kilometre D&R Canal, portions of which today are part of the D&R Canal State Park.

Eventually, after the paving of US Route 1 in the 1920s, commercial traffic moved further east, and the canal was closed in the early 1930s.

Kingston's historical importance is well recognised with entries on the State/National Register of Historic Places, including:
- Kingston Mill Historic District
- Kingston Village Historic District
- Lake Carnegie Historic District
- Princeton Nurseries Historic District
- Delaware and Raritan Canal
- Withington Estate/ Heathcote Farm,
- King's Highway (Upper Road/Lincoln Highway) Historic District
- Rockingham State Historic Site

Kingston Lock in the D&R Canal State Park, Kingston, Somerset County, New Jersey— FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 16 mm, 0.003 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400, ©Khürt L. Williams, Aug 16, 2019
Kingston Lock in the D&R Canal State Park, Kingston, Somerset County, New Jersey— FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 16 mm, 0.001 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400, ©Khürt L. Williams, Aug 16, 2019
Kingston Lock in the D&R Canal State Park, Kingston, Somerset County, New Jersey— FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 36.5 mm, 0.008 sec at f/5.6, ISO 800, ©Khürt L. Williams, Aug 16, 2019
Kingston Lock in the D&R Canal State Park, Kingston, Somerset County, New Jersey— FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 16 mm, 0.001 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400, ©Khürt L. Williams, Aug 16, 2019
Kingston Lock Bridgetender House, Delaware and Raritan Canal, Kingston, Somerset County, New Jersey— FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 16 mm, 0.004 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400, ©Khürt L. Williams, Aug 16, 2019
Kingston Lock in the D&R Canal State Park, Kingston, Somerset County, New Jersey— FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 27.4 mm, 0.002 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400, ©Khürt L. Williams, Aug 16, 2019
Kingston Lock Bridgetender House, Delaware and Raritan Canal, Kingston, Somerset County, New Jersey— FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 27.4 mm, 0.003 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400, ©Khürt L. Williams, Aug 16, 2019
Kingston Lock in the D&R Canal State Park, Kingston, Somerset County, New Jersey— FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 27.4 mm, 0.004 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400, ©Khürt L. Williams, Aug 16, 2019
Kingston Lock in the D&R Canal State Park, Kingston, Somerset County, New Jersey— FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 42.7 mm, 0.004 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400, ©Khürt L. Williams, Aug 16, 2019
Kingston Lock in the D&R Canal State Park, Kingston, Somerset County, New Jersey— FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 16 mm, 0.003 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400, ©Khürt L. Williams, Aug 16, 2019
Kingston Lock in the D&R Canal State Park, Kingston, Somerset County, New Jersey— FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 16 mm, 0.003 sec at f/2.8, ISO 400, ©Khürt L. Williams, Aug 16, 2019

Tractor

I saw the tractor this morning on my drive for breakfast at Aunt Chubby's.

I saw the tractor this morning on my drive for breakfast at Aunt Chubby's. It was parked in the gravel parking area at the trailhead for the St. Michaels Farm Preserve. I wanted to stop and capture some images, but I was hungry and wanted to get breakfast. On my way home, I stopped to grab a few photographs, but I think that the sun was too high in the sky by this time. The images are too backlit with too much contrast and shadow. I'll try again tomorrow for some early morning light.

Preserving Wildlife and Memories: A Field Trip to Institute Woods and Charles H. Rogers Wildlife Refuge in Honour of Fred Spar

This morning, I joined the Washington Crossing Audubon Society members and an excited group of birders on a field trip near the Institute Woods.

This morning I joined members of the Washington Crossing Audubon Society and an excited group of birders on a field trip in the Princeton Institute Woods hosted by Brad Merritt. The group met near the entrance to Charles H. Rogers Wildlife Refuge. The Washington Crossing Audubon Society hosts regular birding field trips around Central New Jersey, the Delaware Water Gap, Delaware Bay, the New Jersey shore, and eastern Pennsylvania.

About the Charles H. Rogers Wildlife Refuge:

The refuge is home to over 90 nesting bird species, with many others stopping by as they migrate. Throughout the years, a recorded 190 species have been seen here. It's an ideal location to observe warblers, with up to 30 different types spotted by some visitors and an average of 20-25 seen during the peak of spring migration, which occurs during the first three weeks of May. As a result, bird watchers and nature enthusiasts frequently visit the area during this time, including groups such as the Summit Nature Club, Trenton Naturalist Club, Montclair Nature Club, and Watchung Nature Club. The refuge is extensively covered during the Annual Christmas Bird Count and the Princeton Big Day Count.

FujiFilm X-T2 · XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR @ (100 mm, 0.008 sec at f/4.5, ISO400)
FujiFilm X-T2 · XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR @ (400 mm, 0.008 sec at f/5.6, ISO200)

Brad Merritt planned this morning's field trip in memory of Fred Spar, an avid birder and Princeton resident who passed away last year.

Fred Spar, a student-athlete from Brooklyn, NY, ran track at Midwood High School and Cornell University. His career had diverse phases, beginning as an elementary school science teacher and earning a PhD in Chinese history from Brown University in 1980. He spent a year at the Stanford Centre in Taipei, Taiwan, and later lectured at Keene State College. For the next 36 years, he worked as a communications consultant at Kekst & Company in Manhattan. Fred was a part of the 2010 class at Harvard University's Advanced Leadership Initiative. After that, he applied his vast experience, advising or serving on the boards of numerous environmental and education organisations. These organisations include the Watershed Institute, Friends of Princeton Open Space, New York City Audubon Society, Generation Schools, and City Year New York. He was also the chair of Friends of the Rogers Refuge, where he worked tirelessly on improving the wildlife habitat and accessibility for human visitors.

FujiFilm X-T2 · XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR @ (100 mm, 0.002 sec at f/5.6, ISO200)

I didn't know Fred Spar, but he accomplished much with his life. I joined the group on this field trip not to honour Fred but to learn more about the Rogers Wildlife Refuge and do a test run with the Fujinon XF100-400mm R LM OIS WR that I rented. I will be taking photographs of warblers with Ray Hennessey tomorrow afternoon.

FujiFilm X-T2 · XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR @ (100 mm, 0.006 sec at f/5.6, ISO200)

Photographing the birds in the Princeton Institute Woods was challenging for me. The birds kept to the high branches, which meant shooting with a bright blue sky as a background, which meant too much backlight casting a dark shadow on my subjects. I continued along the walk, shooting wildflowers and plants until we went to an area of marshland. Here, I could finally find some birds against a background that worked for photography.

FujiFilm X-T2 · XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR @ (386 mm, 0.003 sec at f/5.6, ISO200)

Inside the refuge, various signs highlight the significance of marshes and swamps. One of these signs emphasises their crucial role in acting as "safety valves" during heavy rainfalls, regulating our water table, providing habitats and food sources for aquatic life, birds, and other animals and serving as a natural collector for high-ground nutritional runoff. Preserving such habitats is vital since marshes are rapidly disappearing.

FujiFilm X-T2 · XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR @ (301.1 mm, 0.002 sec at f/5.6, ISO400)
Red-winged Blackbird —FujiFilm X-T2 · XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR @ (400 mm, 0.008 sec at f/5.6, ISO320)

I captured some photos of the Red-winged Blackbird that had landed on the tall grasses in the swamp. The images are not as sharp as I would like. These were captured at the far end of the zoom range for this lens.

On my walk back to the car, a song sparrow landed in a low branch of one of the trees immediately to my left. The Song Sparrow is adorned with a captivating blend of russet and grey feathers. A prominent feature of this bird is the striking streaks that embellish its white chest, adding a touch of boldness to its appearance.

Song Sparrow —FujiFilm X-T2 · XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR @ (252.1 mm, 0.008 sec at f/5.0, ISO200)

I then spotted a tree swallow. With deep-blue iridescent backs and clean white fronts, Tree Swallows are a familiar sight in the wetlands across New Jersey. Tree Swallows nest in tree cavities; they also readily take up residence in nest boxes. This habit has allowed scientists to study their breeding biology in detail.

Tree Swallow, Bird , Blue, Branch
Tree Swallow Tree Swallow · FujiFilm X-T2 · Fujinon XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR @ 400 mm at f/5.6 FujiFilm X-T2 · XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR @ (400 mm, 0.003 sec at f/5.6, ISO200), © Khürt L. Williams