Sally and I spent a weekend in Portsmouth at the end of June, something that’s becoming a tradition since doing it last year. While we live only 20 minutes away and we go to Portsmouth quite frequently, we always seem to be passing through, missing the opportunity to experience the city. We decided to stay over the weekend at The Sailmaker’s House to enjoy Portsmouth, just the two of us. We actually stayed in the same suite as last year, complete with its own living room and deck overlooking the gardens of the historic Langdon House.
As usual, I brought my camera and captured the sights as we walked around. I took a small bag with a few lenses. Most of these images were captured with my 50mm Sigma f/1.4 or Nikon 24 – 120mm f/4. Both lenses are sharp and precise, capturing the depth and detail the way I envisioned it.
The Langdon House
The Langdon House is a colonial era mansion owned by N.H. Governor John Langdon. It’s around the corner from the Sailmaker’s House, so it was our first stop this time around. We took a private tour to get inside and see how this family lived. The house is beautiful and made for interesting architectural photos.
I focused on architecture and details as we walked through on our guided tour. I was that guy that made the tour guide nervous as I hung back after the group moved to the next room 🙂 There were so many intricate details to capture and many of my images are close-ups. The painting of Ona Judge was my absolute favorite – bright and engaging with messaging buried in the artwork. She was one of George Washington’s slaves and has a very interesting connection to New Hampshire. I finished the photos in a variety of different ways: some as I had seen them, others in shades of black and white, and others a bit more vintage.
The house has a large yard and garden out back, which is open to the public to peruse. It’s almost like a park, with a long trellis and a swing to sit on. I particularly enjoyed these Foxtail Lilies that I had never seen before.
The deck in our suite faced the Langdon’s back garden . The image in the middle is our view with the Sailmaker’s fence separating the two properties. It was relaxing to watch the sun set and cast golden rays on the property next door.
Around the Town
We spent a lot of our time walking around the city, shopping, and enjoying the weather. Some of my favorites from this set are the bird in the wreath (a bird we didn’t notice was real at first), the No Kings protest (look at those signs!), and the spiral staircase (I love a spiral staircase). I processed many of these in a vintage style to capture Portsmouth’s small town Colonial charm.
At the House
As it was our second time, I didn’t take many photos of the Sailmaker’s House, but I did capture a few including the front door to the house, the door to our suite, a piece of art from our room, the Lillies outside, and a little bunny friend who hopped in and out of the bushes in the yard by our deck.
After the Trip
We stopped at the Portsmouth Farmer’s Market and bought some vegetables as well as these dried flowers from Zach’s Farm. I put them by our kitchen window when we got home and really enjoyed how they looked when backlit by the sun, so I took them out to the yard to do a photo shoot. I’m really happy with the vibrant colors and high contrast of these images!
Books
I’m a bit of a book collector (big surprise) and I enjoy history and architecture, so I tend to pick up published souvenirs from my trips. On this particular trip I found several books at the Langdon House gift shop that I couldn’t resist. The first were small 24-page color booklets about various houses owned by Historic New England, including the Langdon House. These thin, 8×8 inch volumes were irresistible so I bought the six editions available.
I spied a larger volume by Historic New England with more images and greater detail that I purchased later on Amazon from a used book seller. It originally came from a Massachusetts library based on the sticker on the front cover. I enjoy thumbing through these books on occasion, marveling at the detail, and learning about the houses.
Relatively Ambitious 