From Erica’s Drone: Fall Foliage Flight

This past Fall I woke up early on a Saturday morning in November to catch the leaves at their peak colors here on Long Island. I visited Sunken Meadow State Park and Nissequogue River State Park.

I honestly did not expect it to look as incredible as it did. So many shades of oranges and reds at Sunken Meadow and gorgeous yellow and gold tones at Nissequogue. Each park had their own unique features that made me love these photos even more.

The original spot where I wanted to fly at Sunken Meadow was blocked off because of a race that was taking place the morning (just my luck!). But it forced me to find a different location to fly from and although I knew of this spot before, I may not have necessarily gone there that day! So happy I did.

Sunken Meadow State Park

Nissequogue River State Park

After my last flight I had to grab my camera and capture this:

Thank you! Hope you enjoyed!

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Frozen Sunrise

Temperatures plummeted last week and provided the perfect opportunity to capture ice forming in the Great South Bay. The last chance I had before the weather got warmer was Saturday morning. I set my alarm for 6AM and caught a gorgeous sunrise at Captree State Park. The 15ºF temperatures kept many people home and I had the park all the myself for a peaceful morning.

 

Summer Throwback

Hope everyone is staying warm as the temperatures approach below freezing this week! Thinking of warmer days so I wanted to share these images from a sunset back in August at Robert Moses State Park.

 

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Black Friday Print Sale!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

I am offering special sale prices on prints through my website www.ericamengouchian.com

Thank you and happy shopping 🙂

Prints available for purchase:

Happy Fall!

Fall is here and I couldn’t be more excited for my favorite season to begin. The weather’s been a little warm so I am anxiously awaiting the cooler weather I love.

If you would like to book a Fall shoot please email me at info@ericamengouchian.com for details and pricing!

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Alexandra | Portraits in the Park

I had a lovely portrait session with my good friend and makeup artist Alex at Blydenburgh Park last week! It was a cool summer evening at the docks with some interesting lighting from the sky. She was so much fun to work with and we will definitely be planning a fall shoot in the next few months. Check out Alex’s Instagram and Youtube for her awesome makeup tutorials.

If you’d like to book a portrait session please feel free to email me at info@ericamengouchian.com.

The Milky Way Captured

Back in January I wrote a post about my photography goals for 2017. It is with great excitement that I can say I have accomplished one of these goals – I photographed the Milky Way.

Along with last week’s solar eclipse came a new moon. A perfect window of a few days with extremely dark skies. I decided it was finally time to try and make this happen. Last Wednesday night my boyfriend and I got our cameras ready and drove down to Robert Moses State Park around 9pm and heading to field 2, which is open for stargazing. For anyone who isn’t familiar, Robert Moses is a beach on the south shore of Long Island, New York and a favorite spot of mine.

I had done tons of research to make sure I would be able to see and capture this beautiful sight. The odds are against us here in New York, with NYC’s lights brightening the sky from miles away. At this time of year the Milky Way is usually visible fairly early after sunset in the southern part of the sky. This was perfect because the beach is on the south shore of Long Island, which would place the Milky Way towards the water, over the darkest parts of the sky over the Atlantic Ocean.

We made it down to the beach and it was incredibly dark, even eerie being there at night. I stepped out of the car and I’m pretty sure I teared up a little. With the naked eye the Milky Way was faint but clearly visible in the sky. I couldn’t believe what I’ve wanted to see and photograph for so long was a short drive from home, being at the right place at the right time. I set up my tripod and camera along with my wide angle lens and experimented with multiple settings adjusting exposure time and ISO. I took tons of photos and have shared my favorites below. I hope everyone can someday experience seeing the Milky Way and its wonders.

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Suburban Stars

Last night I took advantage of the new moon to experiment with some night sky shots right in my backyard. Living on Long Island does have its limits with light pollution, but I was still surprised at the amount of stars I was able to capture.

Next I am hoping to finally capture the Milky Way. Enjoy the photos and remember to look up and take in the beauty of the night sky.

Lavender is Bliss

Far east on the North Fork of Long Island is a beautiful lavender farm called Lavender by the Bay. My visit here has been two years in the making. I had heard about it 2 summers ago but didn’t have the chance to get out there. Last year, I finally had the chance to go but was disappointed to see on their website that all of the blooms had JUST been harvested. Finally, this year I made it!

It’s tricky because the main lavender bloom only spans about 2 weeks- an extremely short window to go enjoy the open fields. If you plan to go, check their website regularly for updates on blooming times.

I stepped out of the car and was immediately surrounded by the incredible aroma of the lavender flowers. It’s an $8 fee to enter the fields which include rows upon rows of lavender. There were a lot more bees than I expected but didn’t have a single issue. They were just minding their own business focusing on the flowers.

Of course I brought my camera along and also included 2 photos of myself below (thanks to my boyfriend!) because I just love how they came out. We spent some time in the fields and then purchased fresh bouquets of lavender to bring home. And yes, the car smelled AMAZING.

Luke & Sam | Engagement Shoot

My close friends Luke & Sam asked me to take engagement photos for them and I couldn’t be more excited. I was even more excited when they brought lightsabers so we could take some Star Wars-themed photos at the end of the shoot.

After much deliberation on where to do the photos, Avalon Park in Stony Brook ended up being an excellent choice. The golden hour sunlight was really beautiful that day and the trees served as a beautiful bokeh backdrop for a lot of the shots.

We had a ton of laughs and it was a pleasure shooting with them. Half the time I didn’t even need to pose them or tell them what to do. Enjoy the photos and please let me know what you think!

Congratulations Luke & Sam and thank you for letting me photograph you! ❤