Author: Bridgette Mathews

This photo of a skiff docked at Bearskin Neck is a little how I’m feeling today. It’s Thursday…a beautiful Thursday at that…and I’m stuck in my office wishing I was outside. Just waiting for the clock to hit 5pm on Friday to get outside and float up north to NH for a couple days. Anyone else feeling “docked” today?

My neighbors were so nice to drop by some yellow tulips for easter!   I’m enjoying these beauties as they were basking in the sun on my table and couldn’t resist a quick snapshot of them.  We have the best neighbors!  Pretty soon we will have some popping up outside too!

Here’s a little calm, peaceful, sway of the ocean to get us through this Monday.  (This was taken by slowing down my shutter speed and slowly panning the camera which was on a tripod).   Happy Monday all!!

It seems like everyone I know is painting this spring and apparently the “in” color is grey. Grey seems like such an simple color to pick out right? Well it’s considerably harder than anticipated. I personally was looking for a grey that would be kind of warm and in my travels I’ve been told that what I’m looking for is a “greige”…yup that’s a word. It means a grey/beige a grey with warm tones. Last week my neighbor had this same conversation on Facebook except she was looking for a grey with blue tones. This all started because we bought a TV. Yes, we bought a TV and had to buy a new console for it, which lead to a new leather sectional, then the coffee table and now the painting of the whole first floor cause we can’t just paint the living room, we have an open concept, so we have to paint the dining room, kitchen and hallway…oh and we might as well go up the stairs and paint that hallway. My suggestion is…don’t by a TV! Anyway I have my paint samples in hand (from Ben’s Wallpaper & Paint cause we need to shop local when we can!) and the grey decision making has begun.  I also have to pick out a white for my trim….and I thought grey was tough, yikes!

I’ve been missing the sunrises with all the rain we’ve been having so today just a simple sunrise from Eastern Point Light to warm up the day a little!    Have a great Friday!

In my humble opinion…Willow Rest has THE best breakfast sandwich around!  It might take a few extra minutes than a rubbery drive-thru sandwich, but it’s totally worth it because it’s made with fresh ingredients, exactly how you want it.  This is usually a treat for me, but this morning I got a fried egg, cheddar, bacon on fresh wheat toast…perfection!

They not only have great food but you can grab some fresh produce, cheeses, flowers and unique gift finds!

Happy Puppy Day to the two pups in my life….my puggle Gracey and my grand-puggle Lena.   Best little puggles around! ❤

Don’t come-a-knockin’!  A couple summers ago I came across these two on a Cape Cod Beach while photographing a sunrise with cousin Wendy and friend Helen.   We thought wow, we’ve never seen horseshoe crabs on land and what a beautiful pattern they are making and so I began to photograph them.   We speculated a bit on what they may be doing (maybe one is hurt and it’s friend is helping it back to water?) but confirmed our suspicions after GTS’ing it (googling that sh&$) on our return.  Anyone ever witness this before?  It doesn’t matter what their little crawl of shame was…it was still a cool thing to see.   I guess I need to get out more!

One of my favorite kayaking routes is from Corliss landing past Periwinkle Lane, under the A. Piatt Andrew bridge and down through Little River.   Although it can be a crazy route in the summer, early morning it can be fairly peaceful.   This view is from Periwinkle Lane…most summer days there are a few kayaks and skiffs tied up in the damp marsh just waiting for the tide to come in.  Looking forward to paddling again soon!

There are so many awesome, creative people out there it’s hard to find a different point of view of the places we have all seen photographed a zillion times. Sometimes it’s getting there during unique weather or lighting, but I’ve learned from some great photog friends that changing your own perspective by getting down low or up high can make a unique photograph as well. This is one of my favorite shots of Eastern Point Light, taken lying flat down on the granite (you might need knee pads for this one!) with my camera flat on the ground shooting into the puddle that was probably no more than a foot wide. So find a puddle from all these rain showers we’ve had and start shooting!

…of seeing this truck, with a rainbow on St. Patrick’s Day!  This was taken by my cousin Wendy Murrin on her way home from work today on Route 1 North…couldn’t get any luckier than that!

Sunflower Field, Buttonwood Farm, Griswold, CT

Don’t miss all the beautiful colors of the rainbow, searching for that pot of gold!

Looking forward to the warm days and the sounds of the kids jumping off this bridge into the cool waters, until then we will enjoy the peacefulness of a foggy, rainy day!

So many people ask me “what camera and lens do you use?” or “What settings did you use on that photo?”.   I’m always happy to tell everyone I use a Nikon D610 full frame camera and my everyday lens is a 28-300, but telling people what you use is like a carpenter telling someone I used a stanley hammer and nails.   The equipment doesn’t get you very far if you don’t hone your craft.   A carpenter becomes a craftsman after absorbing and practicing as much as he can about the art of carpentry.    Same goes for Photography.  Whether you want to take up photography as a business or just as a “photo hobbyist ” (as I like to call myself), you need to put the time in behind the camera until everything about that camera becomes second nature to you.   When I got my first camera I stopped at Hunts in Melrose at their annual camera show and spoke to a very enthusiastic Don Toothaker.  Don and Robert Ring of New England Photo Workshops run some awesome Photography Workshops all over New England.  If you want to hone your skills of photography, they are the guys to do it with.   I’ve had some great experiences with Bob and Don, visiting places around New England that I probably wouldn’t venture to on my own.   They love what they do and willing to share their vast experience, whether you’ve just taken the camera out of the box or have been shooting for years, they have a wealth of knowledge for all skill levels.   The above photo was taken on Cape Ann a few years back on Half Moon Beach in Gloucester at on one of their Workshops.  Why would I take a Workshop on Cape Ann since I live here?  You’d be surprised what you aren’t “seeing” when you look through a lens.   I used to just look at the beach as a whole…now I look at the flow of the water, the shadows of the sand, the uniqueness of the scene.   That’s something you can’t get with buying the best equipment.   Bob and Don at NEPW happen to be running another one-day Cape Ann Workshop next month and have many other awesome Workshops lined up this year, so check them out if you are looking to hone your craft!

I’m no Sista Felicia but I do love to bake.  This morning I was up early making some treats for St. Joseph Novena coffee time on Sunday.   A few months ago I ordered some Russian piping tips that seem to be all the rage in the baking world.  I swear I’ve been obsessing about giving them a try.  So my creation this morning was lemon cupcakes filled with pastry cream and topped with lemon mascarpone frosting.   I only had time to try one of the tips which looks like a tulip but it does a quick job of making them look pretty!   Now off to enjoy this beautiful day!!