Mesmerized by Meltwater
The Housatonic River at Bulls Bridge, Connecticut
The roar of the water - thunderous, the power of the water - formidable and the sheer volume of water - colossal. That was how the Housatonic River at Bulls Bridge greeted me earlier this week. All that snow had to go somewhere I guess!
I feel fortunate to have Bulls Bridge in Connecticut close to my home. It's a beautiful area despite being a blend of natural geological features with manmade hydroelectric structures.
To my eyes though, the Housatonic is a mountain river bounded by steep wooded hillsides, featuring fast flowing water over coarse and rocky river beds. The Appalachian Trail follows the path of the river partly along its western bank before climbing steeply up Shaghticoke Mountain to follow it from up high. There's also a covered bridge — it was the first one I'd ever seen when I first came to America and despite being a little unattractive I still feel the thrill of driving across every time we head from New York into Connecticut.
Since those early days I've been exploring and photographing this stretch of the Housatonic across all four seasons and have a full series of images which you can see by clickinghere.
Or you can read on because this week the river had something extra to say, and I went to listen!
The Housatonic River at Bulls Bridge, CT. March 2026
Listen to the roar of the meltwater. This is just a little upstream from the covered bridge and was the start of my photographic journey earlier this week.
You can see my initial camera position visible in the video above and I’ve inserted the first image that I took that day in order to set the scene. However I spent a long while just standing on that promontory looking at the river whilst the roar of the water provided an exciting soundtrack. There was so much water, many of the rocky features normally visible were hidden, so much movement and so much power.
Have a close look at the image and try to imagine that you are standing there, in my place. What do you see, what would you shoot if you were me?
In the end I decided my morning would be all about tone, line and slow shutter speed - trying to capture the churning mass of water, the lines of its flow, its power. And for the first time in years, I tried to think in monochrome.
A Bend in the River
The Housatonic River at Bulls Bridge, CT. March 2026
Nikon Z7-II : 20mm : f18 : ¼ Second : iso 64
Click on each of the 3 black and white images to see bigger. Can you see the location of each image on the larger colored image?
These three monochromatic images represent my attempt to take what I was seeing and render it down to its essentials.
My eye was initially drawn to the log snagged on a rock in the middle of the river, it gave me something solid to hold onto in all that frenetic water movement.
Then my attention was drawn over towards the far riverbank where I really liked the direction and speed of the water around the adjacent rocks. For this second shot I’ve slowed the shutter speed slightly in order to emphasize the paths taken by the water around those rocks.
For the third frame I decided to abandon any fixed point entirely, just photograph the water as it crashed over and around the submerged rocky riverbed. The shutter speed here was the shortest of the three - 1/10th second - I chose it because I still wanted to suggest movement but also needed to capture the spray as the water churned violently around the submerged rocks
I’d like to think that the monochromatic edit strips away everything the eye normally reaches for and leaves only what the river actually is - restless, powerful and indifferent to everything in its path.
What do you think, does the monochrome work, or should I have stuck to what I know and worked in color?
My second location of the day
After exhausting the possibilities up on the promontory I wanted to get closer to the river and moved on to a couple of spots that I know well. Both are right on the riverbank down amongst the rocks, where it can be quite bucolic when the water level is low, but in this case I had to be incredibly careful with the water rushing right by my feet. The high water level had one major drawback though - there was just too much water and not enough un submerged space on the riverbank to find the compositional variation that I desired.
I did come away with two images though that I really like
Spray
Nikon Z7-II : 84mm : f16 : 1/8th Second : iso 64
For this image I wanted to give a sense of being in the river without getting my feet wet, or being swept away. I set up a low tripod and took a few shots of the water gushing down the spillway. In the end I decided to lift the camera a little higher in order to show the journey of the water from the top of the spillway down into the main part of the river. I composed the frame with the rocks on either side of the image so as to contain the chaos and keep the eye focused - when I saw the splash I knew I had my shot.
Chaos
Nikon Z7-II : 165mm : f11 : 1/8th Second : iso 64
This shot required getting closer to the spillway - that’s why I always carry a longer lens.
I’ve zoomed in to 165mm and chosen an aperture to help create a slight depth of field. The composition is deliberately complex - the trees and rocks are blockades against the power of the water, unmoving objects creating havoc and forcing it into new and unwanted paths. The dark areas at the top and bottom help to contain the viewer’s attention and I’ve also made an editorial decision to retain the color in this photograph. I felt that the color emphasized the difference between each element adding strength to the image rather than turning everything in to the same tones.
Never hike with a photographer - nearly two hours had passed and I'd barely moved a quarter mile from the car, an inability to walk past a good shot is the universal photographer's affliction!
So it was time to move on, take a hike downstream and just enjoy the trail for a while. Walking along the riverbank down to its confluence with the 10 Mile River is simply beautiful, whatever the season. The path also doubles up as the Appalachian Trail in this area, just follow the white blazes and tackle one of the simpler sections of this iconic long distance trail.
As you walk the river becomes a little slower, a little wider and the hills a little less precipitous - the sounds of the river never recede though, following you through the trees long after the spillway is out of sight.
Mossy Glow
Nikon Z7-II : 105mm : f6.3 : 1/3rd Second : iso 64
If you’ve enjoyed this blog and would like to explore more of the Housatonic, or even buy some photographs please check out my portfolio of images taken over this short stretch of a beautiful river.
As the season changes I expect that the land under my feet is going to change, but light is light and whatever is to come later this year I sure hope to continue my quest to pursue and take the best photographs that I possibly can.
As ever I would love your comments and am also happy to answer any questions or queries that you might have. Please note that my work is for sale and you can visit my shop to buy online, or if you prefer, just drop me a note. If your walls are already chock-a-bloc full of my photography perhaps you’d like to make a small donation in order help me in my quest to bring you interesting landscape photography? I regularly hike and backpack in the dark in order to get to or from a location, therefore in order to keep me caffeinated and awake please consider buying me a coffee…. Thank you so much