On Sunday, I spent the afternoon walking around Sourland Mountain Preserve in Somerset County, New Jersey. This was my first time at the location, and the entrance is not far from where I live. I’m not sure how many miles I walked while at the preserve, but I spent some time walking up and down part of the mountain, mostly in a clearing. I also spent some time walking trails amongst the trees. A pond nearby was populated with three families of geese, and two of these families included a number of goslings.
Most people think New Jersey is flat. Much of New Jersey is, but the state does have its share of hills and mountains, and Sourland Mountain is a great example. As I climbed higher, I could see the houses of Hillsborough in the distance.
I brought my Canon 1D Mark III with me. On hand was a Canon 70-200mm f/4L and the original 2x extender I borrowed from a friend. In addition to this combination, I shot with the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 and briefly with the Canon 50mm f/1.4. The preserve is a great location, and I’d like to come back for portraiture.
The full gallery is on Flickr, and I’ve included a few more photographs after the jump.
This little guy in the pond has the vocal cords of an opera singer. He croaked emphatically and repeatedly, and the sound carried beyond the opposite side of the pond.
From the mountain, I was able to see Hillsborough in the distance. Using the long end of the 70-200mm zoom lens with the 2x extender and the 1.3x crop factor of the 1D Mark III, the field of view here is equal to 520mm on a 35mm camera.
See more on Flickr.