Black and White, White Mountains – During my film days, I shot roll after roll of AGFA Scala, but now in the digital era all my black and white images start off in color and with the use of various image editing programs I covert them to black and white. Admittedly, I don’t work much with black and white anymore, but I have always enjoyed viewing black and white scenes of the White Mountains.

Here in the New Hampshire White Mountains, during the winter months, the weather can be less than ideal for creating the picture perfect mountain landscape scene. And when sunrise and sunset is less than spectacular, and the sky is overcast gray, I still turn to black and white. A colorless landscape scene can come to life when presented in black and white. Today I want to share a few black and white scenes with you, and I included a few history notes to make it a little more interesting.

Mount Washington, at an elevation of 6,288 feet, is the Northeast's highest peak and is home to the worst weather in the world. The 60 acres surrounding the summit cone are part of the Mount Washington State Park (above). The first ascent of Mount Washington was said to be in 1642 by Darby Field but some question if this is true and think that Native Americans could have made the first ascent.

Greenleaf Hut (above) is located near Eagle Lake on the side of Mount Lafayette. It opened in July of 1930 and was named in honor of Colonel Charles Henry Greenleaf, who ran the Profile House in Franconia Notch. The White Mountains hut system is very popular, and this particular hut is closed during the winter season. On a clear day, there is a great view of Mount Lafayette from the hut, but this photo was taken in whiteout conditions.

Mount Liberty, at an elevation of 4,459 feet, is part of Franconia Ridge. Mounts Liberty, Flume, and Lafayette were referred to as the Haystacks by earlier settlers. This mountain takes on a very interesting looking during whiteout conditions (above).

Along the abandoned East Branch & Lincoln Railroad in Lincoln, New Hampshire, near the camp 16 location, is timber trestle 16 (above). This was a logging railroad in operation from 1893-1948 in the towns of Lincoln and Franconia. Today's Pemigewasset Wilderness made up much of the logging area. If you enjoy the East Branch & Lincoln, you can read more of the blog articles I have written that are focused on the railroad here.

Along the Gordon Pond Railroad in Lincoln, New Hampshire is the site of the Mattson Flooring Company (above). The Gordon Pond Railroad was a logging railroad owned by the Johnson Lumber Company, and it was in operation from 1905-1916 in the towns of Lincoln and Woodstock. I just wrote about this railroad last week, and you can read up on it here.

Pondicherry Wildlife Refuge in the New Hampshire towns of Jefferson and Whitefield was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1974 by the National Park Service. The view across Moorhen Marsh of the Presidential Range (above) from the Presidential Range Rail Trail is awesome. Hikers of the Cohos Trail can look forward to this view. You can view more photos of Pondicherry here.

Along the abandoned Mt Washington Branch of the Boston and Maine Railroad, at the Sokokis Brook crossing, is a collapsed timber bridge (above). The Mt Washington Branch was built by the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad and completed in 1876. This branch traveled from the Fabyan House to the base of the Cog, and it was closed in June of 1932. You can view more images of this branch here.

Davis Path (above), built in 1845 by Nathaniel Davis, son-in-law of Abel and Hannah Crawford, was the third and longest bridle path built to the summit of Mt Washington. After being built the bridle path was neglected, and in 1910 it was reopened as a footpath. A few years ago, a professional AMC Trail crew, with the help of volunteers, repaired a section of the trail that had heavy erosion damage. It is some of the best stonework I have photographed in the White Mountains. Low key and beautiful best describes the stonework.

All of the above images can be licensed for publications by clicking on the image you are interested in. And you can view more photos of black & white photos of the White Mountains 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.