Last Sunday morning I went down to Herricks Cove for some early morning photography. The cove is located on the Connecticut River at the confluence of the Williams River, just north of the town of Bellows Falls. Antique postcards I have show the cove as being prime farmland, but the construction of the hydropower dam in 1927 changed all this. The farmlands became partially submerged in the impoundment that developed upstream of the dam.
The dam and the hydro plant were part of the New England Power Company (NEPCO) for many decades. Recent business practices have led to the operation changing hands twice in the past seven or eight years, and I noticed the Trans Canada logo on the property this visit.
My guess is that in the 1960s or 1970s Herricks Cove was opened to the public for recreational use. There is a boat launch here, along with picnic tables and hibachis. Though one cannot say it is impeccably maintained, it is nonetheless a pretty place, and the fishing ain't bad either.
I feel that 800 pixels wide doesn't do justice to these shots, so the large image will open at 1024.
Taken from US Rt. 5 at 05:45 as the sun came up, the first body of water in this view, running horizontally across the frame is the Williams River. The marshlands and trees just beyond the river is Herricks cove. This was taken with an MD Rokkor f2.8 35mm lens.
Just before you get to Power Company property are fields on either side of the road. On the right is this location, a rather good spot for bullheads and beer on a hot summer's night. We are looking south towards the town of Bellow Falls. This shot was taken at 05:55 with an MC Rokkor-X f1.8 85mm lens.
Pretty much the same shot as above, but taken with an MD Rokkor-X f4.5 300mm lens.
The Connecticut river was very high due to the heavy rains that caused considerable damage in southern new Hampshire and Northern Massachusetts. The Connecticut stayed within its banks, as far as I know. We are looking east across the river and the forested hills on the other side are in New Hampshire.
With the sun behind me this is a view to the west of the Interstate 91 bridge over the Williams River. Taken with the 85mm lens.
Northbound tandem rig on the same bridge shot with a Rokkor-X 500mm f8 RF lens.
Ulterior motive-Who me? A southbound Sunday freight job on the New England Central Railraod running through Charlestown, New Hampshire on its way to Palmer, Massachusetts.
The green hills of New Hampshire as seen from Herricks cove.
Two immature bald eagles try their luck at fishing. This is a severe crop representing perhaps 25% of the negative, so they were pretty far away, even with the 500mm lens on the camera. Note the odd pattern that can be seen in the green trees to the rear. The well-known RF bokeh seems to be coming into play here.
It was a pleasant few hours. I have always liked the cove, though this is the first time I photographed it. All pictures were taken on Kodak Gold 100 with a Minolta SRT-201 SLR.
These are posted in the critiquing forum and comments would be appreciated.
Edit: Deleted paragraph about image quality that was not accurate.
