h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

White Mountains, New Hampshire – 7 October, 2006

The autumn colors here in the New Hampshire White Mountains are coming on strong. The vivid reds, yellows, pinks and oranges are strongly psychedelic when the sunshine hits the leaves.

The pictures were looking washed out compared with what was really there. Google has a free image editing program called Picassa. A few clicks on “color temperature… fill light… shadows… highlights” made dramatic differences in the images. Mrs. Phred registers her shock and dismay that I’m touching up the digital pictures, but I explain I’m making them look more real, not better than real. She asks if I can touch her up a bit. I tell her she look fine.

We plan to stay here a little longer then follow the colors south to the palm trees. There’s a municipal tennis court in the village nearby. The town theatre shows a movie every day at 7:30 PM. We hiked six miles though the White National forest today, mostly either uphill or downhill. There are big rocks in the paths here. At one time, I could have jogged the whole thing in an hour. There is a section of the Appalachian Train entering Vermont that we want to try today.

Here are some “enhanced” pictures of New England in autumn.
http://community.webshots.com/slideshow?ID=554630397

“Would you mind a reflecting sign
Just let it shine
within your mind
and show you, the colors
that are real”
-Blood, Sweat and Tears, “Spinning Wheel

Faa-aa-aa-aancy colors!
(also BS&T)

Good enhancements, although some appear slightly overdone. The last five are postcard quality (Be sure to send Billy his royalty checks!), and I was struck particularly by the nineteenth. There's a nice composite of balances in that image.

Yeah, I think #19 would be an excellent jigsaw puzzle.

I'm a sucker for a sugar maple in a graveyard...

I liked 19 too, but my hands down favorite is Number 10, the red leaf on the rocks w/ grass sprig. And while I was watching the slides of the waterfall w/ color I could absolutely feel my blood pressure drop and my heartbeat slow in the aura of peace projected there.

Thank you Phred.

You're right, HMH, the effect is sublime.

To the folks in #19: Thanks for posing for the photo, I can tell you're all quite thrilled to be resting in such a beautiful place...

Gravestones are easier to shoot than wild turkeys...we flushed two on our hike but all I saw was the south end of the birds moving north...still looking for the perfect tree...

Stunning photos, as always. A friend was admiring them over my shoulder and wonders what the building in the first picture is.

It is a huge very nice old lodge near Mt. Washington...very fancy..Golf, tennis, near the ski lifts...made me want to learn to ski and golf...

Snow skiing looks like fun. I've always wanted to try it. Took a stab at water skiing a few times but wasn't any good at it.

Snowmobiles look like fun, too.

The New Hampshire campground we stayed at last week had tons of snowmobiles covered in tarps...people pay $750 to stay there all winter...they leave their trailers and come up on weekends to ski and snowmobile...water is turned off after the first freeze and they have to get five-gallon cans from the office...they give you a bunch of firewood for $5 there.

Both kids have snow skied (?) and loved it. I have no desire to partake in the activity since I am allergic to winter and snow. We aren't too far from some of the resorts in Colorado, but it just isn't my thing.
I waterskied when I was younger and enjoyed it. I'm sure I would "break" something if I tried it now.