Cape Cod is a beloved vacation destination in the Northeast of the United States of America. Summers are buzzing with tourists from all over the world and locals alike. It is also one of my favorite photography locations in New England and never disappoints. There are plenty of photo subjects to choose, from seascape, landscape, lighthouse, flower photography to nautical images like buoys and dinghies, you name it, you will find it!
Bell’s Neck is a beautiful marsh area located off route 28 in Harwichport, MA. The marshland is divided by the Herring River which beautifully winds through the field of marsh grasses. It was one that I had on my Cape Cod photography bucket list for many years and made me stop there regularly throughout the past years. The location provides the nature photographer with unobstructed waterscape photography opportunities and it is also only minutes away from where I captured my award winning photography pictures Serene Cape Cod and Cape Cod Solitude.
On my last visit to Cape Cod I was finally rewarded with one of those exceptional New England lighting conditions combined with stunning summer storm cloud formations when the weather turned truly dramatic within minutes. Timing seemed to be everything and while driving along route 28 I knew I had not much time left. It is funny what goes through the photographer’s mind when he approaches his final photo location of the day; what lens to choose, what camera settings to pick, what composition to start with, will the weather hold up and will this be the day I waited so long for, will I become a feast for the mosquitoes like last time I visited here?
Cape Cod Summer Storm © Juergen Roth
This all became secondary when I arrived on the auto bridge. I parked the car on the site, quickly set up the Gitzo tripod and Canon camera, affixed with a 24-70 mm f/2.8L II USM wide angles lens and got cracking. I knew there was only limited time to capture this moment and because I was destined to capture this dramatic moment and envisioned a good amount of sky and clouds in the composition settled quickly on the 24 mm wide angle setting. Raindrops here and there, thunder and lightning going off behind my back and heavy wind made me feel a bit uneasy. Despite these obstacles I kept shooting while the light faded fast. Turned out that I only had about 10 minutes upon arrival to capture the beautiful storm sky across Cape Cod Bell’s Neck; I am glad I did not hesitate and finally can cross that one of my New England photography list.
The aperture in this photo image was set at f/11 providing a shutter speed of 1/4 second at ISO100. During digital post processing I removed dust spots, minimally adjusted contrast, lighting and color saturation before sharpening the final Cape Cod picture.
Good light and happy photo making!
Juergen
Photo Credits
All Photographs Are © Juergen Roth
Juergen Roth Photographer Bio
Juergen Roth was born and raised near Cologne, Germany. In 1988, he moved to Berlin West and following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 he enjoyed exploring the reunited city and the lost natural environment surrounding it. Since 2001 he has been living in Brookline, Massachusetts with his wife Helen and daughter Nina. He finds inspiration in Boston and its historic and modern architecture when not chasing the light at nearby Wildlife Sanctuaries and the beautiful landscapes and seascapes of New Englands’ National and State Parks/Forests. He has always regarded nature as the ultimate inspiration.
Juergen has been participated in many local art events and shows where his photography images achieved numerous honors. Most recently Serene Cape Cod was awarded Highly Commended by a panel of world famous judges in the 2014 U.S.A. Landscape Photographer of the Year photography contest. His award winning photography artwork has been published in books, calendars and magazines throughout the world.
“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.” – HENRY D. THOREAU
Website: Roth Galleries
Blog: Where in the World is Juergen
Image Licensing: Exploring the Light
Follow Juergen Roth on: Twitter | Facebook | Linkedin
Recent Guest Photographer Articles:
- Jack's Video Sports Bar
- From Landscape Photographer To Wedding Photographer
- New Johnson Street Bridge by Drone
- Living History: Lexington, Virginia
- Hells Canyon: The Cooler Side of Hades
Please Share Your Thoughts - Leave A Comment!