Tag: Photo Challenge

A Short Walk on the Stonebridge Trails

Yesterday I walked the Stonebrodge Trails with Bhavana. I've hiked or walked many of the trails in the area around Hopewell, Princeton, Hillsborough, and Montgomery including Van Horne Park Trail, Devil's Half Acre, Autumn Hill Reserve,Institute Woods Trails, D&R Canal Park Trail, Griggstown Native Grassland Preserve Trail, St. Michaels Farm Preserve, etc. Most of the trails in Montgomery Township were cleared and created by the Montgomery Friends of Open Space (MFOS) and D&R Greenway Land Trust.

Stonebridge Trails, Montgomery Township, Skillman, New Jersey —FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (16 mm, 0.025 sec at f/5.6, ISO400), © Khürt L. Williams
Stonebridge Trails, Montgomery Township, Skillman, New Jersey —FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (16 mm, 0.001 sec at f/5.6, ISO400), © Khürt L. Williams

Bhavna has had problems with a heel spur in her right foot. She's been in pain for several weeks, but she wanted to get out of the house. I wanted to capture trail images for Frank's weekly challenge. I remembered that Stonebridge Trails were mostly flat terrain that could be easy on her foot. She was hesitant but agreed to come with me. Neither one of us has walked the trail.

The trail wraps around the Stonebridge at Montgomery senior living community. We parked in the lot next to the Montgomery 1860's house. We did not find the trailhead, which we later discovered was near the entrance to the 1860's property but found a way onto the trail from behind the red barn.

Stonebridge Trails, Montgomery Township, Skillman, New Jersey —FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (16 mm, 0.001 sec at f/5.6, ISO400), © Khürt L. Williams
Stonebridge Trails, Montgomery Township, Skillman, New Jersey —FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (16 mm, 0.005 sec at f/5.6, ISO200), © Khürt L. Williams

We took a wrong turn at the fork in the trail, and I think, ended up going southeast toward the D& R Canal toward Rocky Hill. The trail was muddy. We turned around and returned to the fork to go the other direction.

Stonebridge Trails, Montgomery Township, Skillman, New Jersey —FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (16 mm, 0.014 sec at f/5.6, ISO400), © Khürt L. Williams
Stonebridge Trails, Montgomery Township, Skillman, New Jersey —FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (55 mm, 0.001 sec at f/5.6, ISO400), © Khürt L. Williams

Some of the trails are part of a paved loop walkway which I think was built for Stonebridge. It's early summer, and most of the spring wildflowers have since disappeared. However, I did find small islands of colour among the ocean of green.

Bhavna's pain threshold was breached 30 minutes into the walk, so we took the abbreviate trail and headed back to the car.

Stonebridge Trails, Montgomery Township, Skillman, New Jersey —FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (55 mm, 0.000 sec at f/5.6, ISO400), © Khürt L. Williams
Stonebridge Trails, Montgomery Township, Skillman, New Jersey —FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (16 mm, 0.001 sec at f/5.6, ISO400), © Khürt L. Williams
Stonebridge Trails, Montgomery Township, Skillman, New Jersey —FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (55 mm, 0.001 sec at f/5.6, ISO400), © Khürt L. Williams
Stonebridge Trails, Montgomery Township, Skillman, New Jersey —FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (55 mm, 0.006 sec at f/5.6, ISO400), © Khürt L. Williams
Stonebridge Trails, Montgomery Township, Skillman, New Jersey —FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (16 mm, 0.001 sec at f/5.6, ISO400), © Khürt L. Williams
Stonebridge Trails, Montgomery Township, Skillman, New Jersey —FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (36.5 mm, 0.001 sec at f/5.6, ISO400), © Khürt L. Williams

October Morning on Blue Spring Road

My initial plan was to photograph the New Jersey side of the Lincoln Tunnel, using a long exposure to create exciting light trails of the vehicles entering and exiting the tunnel. The heavily congested area with a spectacular nighttime view of the New York City cityscape is called “The Lincoln Tunnel Helix”.

I wanted to capture something visually exciting for this week's challenge. But the logistics of that plan overwhelmed me. Light trails are the best capture after dark, and we are in early summer in New Jersey, which means the sun goes down much later in the day. A late-night trip to that part of Weehawken would be challenging given that street parking is minimal and the entrance to the “Helix” can only be seen from one corner at the end of the block on one street in this residential neighbourhood. I set the Lincoln Tunnel project aside for another time.

My backup plan was to find and shoot a scene along one of the historic roads in the area. But as I drove around this morning working through my mental list of interesting roads, I realised that this wouldn’t work either. All of the roads in this area are narrow one-lane county roads with ditches on either side and no shoulder to pull over, and this being New Jersey, the most densely populated state in the USA, even at 7 AM on a Saturday there is traffic on these narrow small town country roads.

I sat at the computer, disappointed and looking through my Adobe Lightroom Catalogue, hoping to spark more ideas. None came. I consoled myself with pulling a few images from the catalogue.

This capture of the tree-lined Blue Spring Road was taken in the fall of 2018, a few weeks after the leaves of the trees started changing colour. I was out for a walk and noticed the light coming over the hill was hitting the tops of the trees. The trees looked like they were on fire. The only camera I had on me was my iPhone.

The second image below was captured a year later, almost to the day, on my Fujifilm X-T2.

Blue Spring Road, Montgomery Township, Fall, Maple
Blue Spring Road · October 26, 2018 · FujiFilm X-T2 · XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR

Steeple

It is my second time photographing the First Reformed Church of Rocky Hill before.

A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals, and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure. They may be stand-alone structures or incorporated into the entrance or centre of the building.Wikipedia

The challenge with photographing this church steeple tower is that the buildings are located at the edge of the property on a street corner. The Fujinon XF16-55 F2.8 LM WR R is not wide enough to capture the steeple and the building. I opted to shoot several images and merge them in Adobe Photoshop to create a panorama.

First Reformed Church of Rocky Hill —FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (16 mm, 0.001 sec at f/5.6, ISO200), © Khürt L. Williams