Fred Weyman Photography

In early November 2007 the western edge of clouds from hurricane Noel, which was heading north off the New Jersey coast, was over the West Chester PA area as sunset approached. A thin cloud layer like this with no clouds to the west is ideal for producing a colorful sunset, so I headed out to the Stroud Preserve, one of my favorite hiking areas, and was rewarded with this sunset.

Lucky Hill Farm

I?ve had my eye on Lucky Hill Farm for quite a while, but the surrounding scene, although pleasant, was not very interesting. In late fall when the woods become more transparent, displaying both their final colors and stark bare branches, I kept my eye out between 10:30 and 2:00 (no shadows on the buildings) for the dramatic, broken, gray-bottomed, clouds that often occur the day after a cold front moves through. When the conditions were right, even the horses found a spot that complemented the composition as patches of light and shadow moved across the scene.

Big Elk Creek

Big Elk Creek begins its journey to the Chesapeake near Cochranville in southwestern Chester County PA. About one mile into Maryland, in Fair Hill Natural Resource Management Area, the creek passes some bluffs with several steep rock outcrops. In early spring, just before new leaves restrict visibility, I was fortunate to catch the late afternoon sun as it filtered through the woods onto the cluster of beech trees in the foreground.

Cold Frosty Morning

An early frost and late fall colors on a Red Maple created this scene at the Stroud Preserve near West Chester PA.

McKnight's Gap Storm

The stone house that I grew up in outside of Reading has been one of my favorite subjects throughout the seasons and years. The combinations of warm/ cool colors, natural/ artificial light sources, and moving /still subjects make this one special. But at the time I was very glad when the sunset had faded enough so I could finally take the photo and get back into the warm house before all the 'unnecessary' lights were discovered.

Farm at State Hill

I saw the lines in this photo while driving by one afternoon and returned at sunrise when the light would be better. Even though this appears to be a calm and quiet scene it is easily the most nerve-racking photo I've ever taken thanks to two loudly barking Dobermans running freely behind a flimsy fence about 20 feet behind me.

McKnight's Gap

The two old Sour Gum (Tupelo) trees, silhouetted in the right foreground and in front of the house, add to the cold/warm contrasting natural and artificial light, at my childhood home outside of Reading.

Farm at Reber's Bridge

The arrangement of the buildings' lines and subtle Christmas decor are what caught my eye at this Berks County farm.

Pennsylvania Dutch Farmland

Kittatinny Ridge is the most prominent ridge in eastern Pennsylvania. It catches southward migrating hawks and channels them on to the famous North Lookout at Hawk Mountains. This view from just south of the lookout shows the patchwork farmland of northern Berks County and Kittatinny's south-facing, thermal generating slope that birds use to gain altitude on sunny fall days.

Black Bridge Road

Fair Hill Natural Resource Management Area is a scenic 9 square-mile park in the northeastern corner of Maryland on the Mason-Dixon Line and near the Delaware border. Black Bridge Road is one of the few roads that crosses through the park. I chose a day during the peak of fall colors when the weather satellite showed a thin layer of high clouds that would produce warm, even light without deep shadows or bright highlights.

Church Street in West Chester

Azaleas and other spring colors on North Church Street in West Chester.

Sycamore on the Brandwine

Sycamores grow in a variety of shapes ranging from tall and straight to awkwardly sprawling, or leaning almost horizontal over a stream. At the Stroud Preserve near West Chester PA, this sycamore, just a few feet from the Brandywine River frames the neighboring farm. In late fall, with the light constantly changing due to a fast moving set of scattered clouds, I waited for just the right combination of clouds and lighting.

Twin Tulip Poplars

Tall, straight, Tulip Poplar trunks are often used for telephone poles. Peak fall colors in this open woods at the H. E. Myreck Conservation Center near West Chester PA created a colorful atmosphere that even changed the color of the dark trunks.

Copse of Maples, Stroud Preserve

This group of maples on the Stroud Preserve, whose combined shapes forms the symmetrical shape of a single tree, has fascinated me for a while, but it was never quite interesting enough to photograph. Its deer-cleared understory and isolation from the surrounding woods added to its appeal. Many visits later, I found it in the transition between vivid fall colors and barren winter branches. Clouds blocked the sun at sunrise, but when it emerged directly behind me it created a luminous golden glow.

Black Locusts

In the transition between fall and winter, the final colors, undiluted by green leaves, and revealed by many already bare branches, provided a setting for a farm that I?ve often admired but passed on the opportunity to photograph. I first saw this composition in the evening and realized morning light would be better. I liked everything except the shadows across center black locust. I was hoping for some interesting clouds but they never arrived before the red leaves dropped; maybe next year.

Fall Spring House at Myrick

This old springhouse at the H.E. Myrick Conservation Center sits next to a striking giant oak tree. I?ve tried to find a photo that includes both of them but couldn?t find a composition that pleased me. In late fall, while approaching the building from a different angle, I liked the way it blended into the surrounding trees in a way that it almost appeared to be a doorway into the woodland.

Sycamore at Stroud Preserve

Sycamore trees typically grow along streams or other low, moist areas, but occasionally they grow in upland areas also such as this hillside on the Stroud Preserve near West Chester PA. Like other light-barked trees such as some birches and beech trees, the sycamore changes colors depending on the ambient light. This one reflects the warm ambient colors of a late spring sunrise.

Old Man on Deer Path Hill

A rotting stump on Deer Path Hill, northeast of Reading.

Linden Road Farm

I returned to this scene at sunset as a malicious line of clouds moved across the Brandywine Valley close to the spot where 8,000 British troops crossed the West Branch of Brandywine Creek to outflank Washington's troops in the Battle of the Brandywine. With the wind blasting, I felt the first drops of rain as I took the photo and 15 seconds later the deluge began as I retreated into the car.

Ridley Creek

Young beech trees on Ridley Creek in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. I chose an autumn day during peak leaf color with a consistent thin cloud cover so that the light was warm and shadowless.