Been There, Done That.
Now do it differently.
The world is full of iconic locations that have been photographed extensively, Mount Chocorua in New Hampshire, especially as seen from this bridge, is one of them.
The challenge for me was to come away with an image that wasn’t a cookie-cutter copy of many of the other images, including many of my own, taken at this scenic, very recognizable, and oh so often photographed place.
To do this required seeing differently.
How could I capture the essence of this beautiful view, ensureing the recognizability of one of New Hampshire’s most iconic scenic vistas? Composition, choice of aperture and focus point, thus affecting the depth of field and final image, were all questions I had to answer prior to pressing the shutter.
With this image I believe I’ve captured one of the most recognizable and most often photographed mountains in New Hampshire in unique way. Has a similar photo been made? I have no doubt there has. As the saying goes, “there’s nothing new in art.” My goal was not to reinvent the wheel, my goal was to see the mountain in a way I had never seen it before.
See the mountain, then, see it differently.
Below is are several ways I’ve seen the mountain in the past.
Jeff Sinon Photography 
I love them all, but there is something about the one with the tree branch that really draws me in, as if it’s telling me to follow it on towards an adventure :).
Thanks Cindy. I pulled out all the stops when composing this one 🙂
I also like the birch tree branch photo. A lot of classic landscape painting forms in use. It is a unique use of a classic “s curve” to guide the eye to the subject. The tree line on the right forms a triangle to push the eye to the mountain peak and also provide balance. A really unique composition. Great use of hyperfocal distance too!
Thank you Gary. While not a slave to any of the rules or suggested elements of composition, I try to effectively incorporate them where I can.
I love your commitment to making photographs that challenge the eye to see something in a different way. A most important goal, to me, in photography. I particularly like the image with the birch leading my eye to the mountain. All are well shot, Jeff.
Thank you Jane. I challenge myself to come up with unique ways of photographing the often photographed. When photographing at places such as this view of Mt. Chocorua or Nubble Light over in Maine, both places that have been photographed to death I do my best to avoid the “tripod hole” shots that everyone else has. Of course there’s nothing wrong with capturing those iconic shots, they’re iconic for a reason, I just want my photos to be mine as much as possible and not cookie cutter copies of what’s been done before.
Agree, wholeheartedly. I spent many summers in York Beach as a kid so the Nubble is close to my heart. Now, in SF, I am in love with photographing the Golden Gate, no matter if people think it’s “cliche”. I enjoy it. 🙂 Thanks for your response.
Cliche or not, one of these days I’d love to photograph the Golden Gate.