Scenes from a spring evening walk around downtown Pawtucket, near City Hall and Slater Mill, in mid April during the peak of cherry blossoms season.

Celebrating Rhode Island Independence Day with some favorites from around the Ocean State.

Two hundred and fifty years ago today, on May 4, 1776, Rhode Island became the first colony to renounce allegiance to Great Britain, two months before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. From Roger Williams' founding principles of religious freedom in 1636, to the first military action against the Crown with the burning of the Gaspee in 1772, and the birth of the Industrial Revolution at Slater Mill in 1793, Rhode Islanders have always moved first.

Now, 250 years later, the Independent Man still stands tall atop the State House, carrying that spirit of defiance forward.

Last Sunday afternoon in Newport during the annual daffodil days celebration, I spent the first sunny weekend evening in a couple of weeks out photographing some of the over 1.5 million daffodils around the city of Newport. This has become one of my favorite spots in the Ocean State to come during the spring, and the warm Sunday afternoon weather and flowers blooming everywhere made summer just around the corner.

Mid April spring afternoon scenes around the City of Pawtucket.

Happy Earth Day! Spring has finally arrived in Rhode Island. Late last week I went over to Slater Park before sunset to capture some photos under the cherry blossoms. This is one the first spots in the city to pop with spring color, and one of my favorite spots for spring in the Ocean State. The cherry blossoms are one of the first signs of brighter days, warmer weather, and the summer to come.

It's Masters weekend, and yesterday it was mid 60s and sunny in Providence. For the first time this year, I got to take a walk around the city with my camera. The riverwalk was alive with people, trees were budding everywhere, and there was a 50 person line for ice cream by the pedestrian bridge. The first signs of "real" spring in Providence.

One year ago today: the sunrise solar eclipse of 2025 from Point Judith. Five or six years ago, when I started planning for the 2024 total solar eclipse, I also learned that the Northeast of North America was going to experience a partial solar eclipse during sunrise on March 29, 2025. I added it to my calendar, knowing that this was likely a once-in-a-lifetime chance to capture a “Crescent Sunrise” here in Rhode Island.

When the last week of March came last year, the weather forecast for Saturday morning was less than promising. The night before, it looked like clouds would be covering the entire Northeast. But I knew I had to try anyways.

At 4 a.m., I woke up and got ready. When I left my house at 5 a.m., it was raining. But as I made my way down Route 4 from the city towards the coast, dawn just starting to illuminate the early morning sky, I noticed a handful of patches in the clouds. Maybe this would actually happen?

I arrived at Point Judith a few minutes before the 6:33 a.m. sunrise to mostly clouds. As I started to set up my gear and the sky continued to brighten, rays of sunlight began to appear through a few gaps in the clouds. But would the sun actually line up?

At 6:48 a.m., I got my answer. The sun started to peek out. For four minutes, the sun and the partial eclipse were visible in a tiny gap in the clouds right above the lighthouse. Four minutes to capture the shot of a lifetime.