Five images from the month of August – This year August has been hot, hazy, and humid. We are currently still dealing with humid days here in the New Hampshire White Mountains, but forecasts are predicting some relief towards the end of the week. At this point, I am looking forward to the cool nights, and hopefully cool days, of October.

Here in the White Mountains locals have been talking about how busy the summer season has been this year. I can’t remember the last time I have seen so many people on the hiking trails, visiting the local attractions, and just out driving around enjoying life. And what stands out most is the number of people I have come across this summer who are just getting into hiking. Some are pursuing mountains on a hiking list (peak bagging) while others are just exploring the trails, either way, I think it is awesome people are exploring the trail system.

Last month I spent time scouting locations in the town of Sandwich, and now this month I am actually shooting at the locations. I have spent a number of humid August days shooting around the Mead Conservation Center. The Mead Conservation Center (above) is the site of the Smith farmstead, a nineteenth century hill farm linked to the historic Sandwich Notch Road. The history attached to this farmstead would fill the pages of a book.

This month I continued to document the abandoned Sandwich Notch hill farm community along Sandwich Notch Road in Sandwich. The Notch community existed during the early nineteenth century, and by the turn of the twentieth century only one person remained in the Notch year round. It is hard to imagine the rocky terrain along the Notch Road was once open fields that the farmers worked and lived on.

Of the cellar holes I have documented along Sandwich Notch Road, the Atwood place cellar hole (above) is one of the better preserved ones. This crumbling cellar hole once provided life for a family, and today mother nature is reclaiming the land. When I document these sites, I often wonder what the nineteenth century farmers would say if they could see the current state of there farmsteads. I am sure the profanities would be flying.

Last month I shared with you the cover of my 2016 White Mountains calendar, and to end this blog article, I want to share with you the cover (above) of my other 2016 New Hampshire calendar. This calendar is focused on the entire state of New Hampshire, and I think it looks great. You can see both calendars here.

All of the above images can be licensed for publications by clicking on the image you are interested in. And you can view more new images from the month of August here.

Happy image making..

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Erin Paul Donovan

Owner of ScenicNH Photography LLC

Erin Paul is a professional photographer, writer, and author who specializes in environmental conservation and historic preservation photography mainly in the New Hampshire White Mountains. His work is published worldwide, and publication credits include: Appalachian Mountain Club, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Backpacker Magazine, and The Wilderness Society.