Dam Overflow

New Brooklyn Lake

Winslow Township, NJ

Bill's photo of New Brooklyn Lake was taken in September of 1982. If you were to stop today there would be hardly any change.

Monarch and Milkweed

New Brooklyn Park

Winslow Township, NJ

There are plenty of places to walk at New Brooklyn. One day when the water was easy to cross we made our way onto this spot where milkweed and wildflower and butterflies lived. It was wonderful.

Eastern Pondhawk

New Brooklyn Park

Winslow Township, NJ

We were at New Brooklyn Park in Winslow Township, NJ. Bill would go off and find a place to take photographs and I would go to this little cove as I called it and watch for birds in the hope of getting a good shot of one perched in the trees. This old piece of pipe or scrap metal was at the edge of the stream that flowed nearby. A dragonfly landed and I grabbed a picture of an Eastern Pondhawk. I like the color of the rust against the blue of the dragonfly.

Early Morning Mist

New Brooklyn Lake

Winslow Township, NJ

I noticed how much harder it is to get up early and catch these great early morning shots. Many years ago Bill and I arrived early and he caught the mist as it rose up off the lake. Now we look for late afternoon shots when we travel.

Lush Woods

New Brooklyn Park

Winslow Township, NJ

One of my favorite images. There is an alcove where I would put my stool and watch for birds, butterflies and the sun as changed on the green leaves of summer. One day I sat across from this scene of moss, ferns and tree leaves. As I set my camera up to capture the picture to my right flying over the stream was a green heron. It was a great day, photography and birdwatching.

Eastern Bluebird

New Brooklyn Park

Winslow Township, NJ

Over the years I have taken a lot of bird photographs. I had hoped to become a bird photographer. But that is a tough business and you have to be really good to break in. This photo is one of my best. Bill and I have different approaches to bird photography. He likes action and tries to catch birds in flight. In the archive there is a photo Bill took of the great blue heron flying. I've been more of a portraitist. That's why this image is so special for me.

I set myself up with my Canon F1 and Canon 600mm plus 1.4x teleconverter about 30 feet from the nest box a couple springs ago. We had found which nestbox they were using and sat and watched. I was using Fuji's Sensia 200 and had the sun to my back. I had taken an earlier shot a 1/1000 of a second. I dropped it down to 1/500 at f5.6 and each time one of the bluebirds flew to the box I tried catching the bird flying into the hole. I was sure I had gotten at least one decent shot. This is the result. Since then I have other bluebird shots but none as nice.

I'm not sure we will make it this year. Circumstances have my bird photography taking a back seat. I know there will always be next year. I did get to stop and yes the bluebirds are nesting again.

Dunking

New Brooklyn Park

Winslow Township, NJ

Bill and I love walking around our county parks. Camden County in New Jersey has some really nice ones. The county has become more and more congested over the years. I appreciate it when we can find a nice park to visit. In Gloucester Township its Dramesi Park, Cherry Hill has Maria Greenwald Memorial Park (also called Pennypacker Park), Haddonfield has Hopkins Pond and Winslow has New Brooklyn Park. There are many more. A birder's paradise and a chance to photograph birds. This photo of three mallards dunking was taken as we walked around New Brooklyn Park. Some days I carry only a 300mm and 1.4x teleconverter. On other occasions I use a 600mm and 1.4x teleconverter. I've dubbed the 600mm "Big Bertha". This photo was taken with the 300mm set up. I thought it was cute the way all three dunked at the same time.

Mountain Laurel

New Brooklyn Park

Winslow, NJ

Bill once told me one is better than two and three is best to balance a picture. Here is has just about captured the third leaf of the Mountain Laurel. It's enough. With the help of contrast he has been able to remove the background so the dominate feature of the image are the leaves.

Music of the Lake

New Brooklyn Park

Winslow Township, NJ

When we first started this blog we were going to use it as an advertisement tool. Some of our earlier images were similar or the same ones that appear on our web site, www.NewWavePhotog.com. But, as both of us began working further with our scanned slides we began to push our artistic nature further. I think that is why I've done the abstracts. Although I could have taken abstracts with my camera, it was the computer that allowed me to move forward with my expressions and impressions. I can see Bill's work changing also. I really like his daffodil and fence picture. In this image called "Music of the Lake" I took a photo of the tall grasses in early spring that grow along the waters edge. By fall they turn a wheat color and are still there in early spring. I cropped the original image, darkened the back ground and lightened the highlights making everything appear golden and musical. They are like sounds moving across a page.

Eastern Bluebird On Fence Post

Winslow Township, NJ

Over the next few weeks we hope to go back down to New Brooklyn Park and watch the bluebirds. They will be selecting a nestbox to use now and if we are lucky we may catch more photos of the male and female at the nest. We try not to disturb them. I use a 600mm lense with a 1.4x extender. Bill uses a 400mm lense only. A few years ago he had picked a place to sit and watch the nest box and suddenly only a few feet away landed this male bluebird on a nearby fence post.

On Frozen Pond, Great Egg Harbor River

New Brooklyn Park, Winslow Township, NJ

There is a park in Winslow Township, NJ, called New Brooklyn Park. The Great Egg Harbor River runs throught it. We've been there in all seasons. Here the ice was just beginning to freeze where the river looks like a pond. Up river beaver had created a dam and the edge of the river overflowed. We have seen eastern bluebirds, American bald eagles, Baltimore orioles, woodchucks and at least one otter on the river. People play ball, fish and canoe. It's a nice place to go to and get away from our busy lives we lead.