Upper Peninsula Twlight

The plains of the Fox River near Seney have always intrigued me. The area is a fisherman's paradise and a photographers dream. A few weeks past I was traveling thru at twilight and had to stop and enjoy the end of day as the light set the tamarack trees on fire. They glowed with their fiery fall colors and so did my spirit. Some things are best captured by the minds eye, this scene shall long be carried there as another fond UP memory.

End Of The Storm

I love to get out with the camera and chase the weather. The activity in the sky is so dynamic and diverse. Rainbows, lightening, the clouds, and the passing of the storms over the landscape challenge me. You never know what is going to happen!

"Sky Dynamics" was captured by waiting and watching one cloud bank that was very active with its lightening show. I waited with my finger on the shutter release for it to happen and after several smaller captures I got lucky enough to get a thunderous display of the power of nature. I was not outside directly under the sky - I was seated in my Dodge ram watching and waiting in what I hoped was a safe cover.

As the storm passed by it opened up to display the sunset over the farmland around my area. I was captivated by the colors unfolding on the sky canvas before me. It was time to give thanks for another day.

Wonders of The Past

Every once in a while you get an opportunity to look back in time, in this case way back. A neighbor was creating a pond at their home and the found these bones . They were authenticated by a professor from the University of Michigan and dated to 10 -12 thousand years ago. It was stated that they were probably placed in cool water ( early refrigeration) by early hunters and time passed them along to us a few years later. These are but a few. The largest was a 4 foot femur (about waist height). The others are backbones, knee cap, disks from between the vertebrae, ribs and toes. You never know what is lurking out there!

I have been busy working at my studio and helping with the family. My oldest leaves for college in a few weeks at Northern Michigan U in Marquette, Michigan. I look forward to the drive into the Upper Peninsula to transport her to and from school. Needless to say I shall travel with camera ready.

New Life - Not Just The Flowers

Mother ran off to distract me from one of her precious newborn fawns. One of the fawns went a short way and hid behind a lone clump of grass in the bare soy bean field, the other twin slowly and unsteadily made its way to the base of the cherry tree in the old fence row and lay down. The fawn lay there quietly, with only its breathing motion showing it lived. What a special treat to see while out with the camera.

I was able to slowly approach and move aside a few pieces of grass before stepping back to get in the close focus distance of my lens. 16 images later I retreated and watched as mom approached and retrieved her new family. Wow, I have so much to be thankful for again today.

I was out with the Canon 1DS and the 70-200mm L lens. The raw image was processed in Photoshop CS4, Nik Color FX 3.0, and Photokit Sharpener. The sky was partly overcast.

Local Beauty

You don't have to go far to capture beautiful images.

Trillium's - Woodland Majesty II was captured this morning in the Portland State Game Area just off the Towner Trail. The game area belongs to the State of Michigan and is used primarily for hunting. This time of the year it is one of my favorite local areas to visit for wildflowers. In the fall the Towner Trail is fantastic for viewing fall colors. The skies were overcast and it had just rained providing soft light conditions and a fresh watered look to the flowers.

A Canon 1DS camera, 24-70 mm L lens, processed in Photoshop CS4, with Nik Color FX 3.0, Nik Viveza, Topaz Adjust and Simplifier, and finally sharpened with PhotoKit Sharpener.

Clouds,Dandelions, and A Treetop

Titling an image can be so frustrating.
What is it?
What does it say?
What feeling does it invoke?
Sometimes it comes right to me and other times not. With this image I decided to just make a statement about what it was. Lots of sky with wondrous clouds billowing about, some dandelions on a hill of grass, and a single tree top in the center poking itself up like Kilroy looking over the horizon.
The artist makes a statement with the title. What do you want to say about the image, what emotions do you want to stir, is it part of a bigger volume of works. There are many thing to consider.
This image was capture yesterday afternoon. I was needing a moment to relax so I left the studio for a break. I often relax with my camera since it gives me the advantage of the optical tunnel, which acts as a blinder of sorts, and allows me to escape into its private world.
The image was captured with a Canon 1DS, 70 -200 mm L lens, a Singh-ray neutral density filter, and processed with Photoshop CS4.

Cloudscapes

Cloudscapes are what help to make our world unique. When viewed from space they illustrate the dynamics of our planets wind and water system. When viewed from the surface they still help to show the planets wind and water cycle but also serve to fire up the visionary imagination. Clouds become mountains, ships, dragons, their shapes and forms are only limited by what we see in the sky and our mind. They are one thing one minute, another the next, resculped by the winds of time.

Often when out with the camera I find the area about me to be unappealing to my visionary mindset but I have only to look to the heavens to find a challenge of images. It is often best to sit down beneath these skies and contemplate the artwork that our Creator has gifted us with.

The Flight Of The Phoenix, the title of the posted image, was part of the ever changing skies today. It was captured with a Canon 1DS, 70-200mm L Lens, Processed in Photoshop CS4, Manipulated with Nik Color FX and Viveza.

Travel With A Friend

Throughout the day whenever I travel about the studio grounds, into town, to a companions home, everywhere.... I always have my camera with me. I may not carry the complete setup I have when I am truly prowling for images but I make it a point to have a camera with me to capture visions that have a way of just popping up.
How many times have you thought "I wish I had my camera with me!" when something really cool happened in your presence.
The image of the Sunset Rays was captured when I was out with my dog. It lasted but a few fleeting moments and was gone. How beautiful to witness ! How exciting to capture a rare moment on our planetary home. The image is a panorama from 4 separate images. I processed the Raw files with DXO software creating a DNG file. These files were further processed with Photoshop CS4, stitched together using AutoPano 2.0, and finally manipulated with Lucis Art, Nik Photo FX 3.0, Nik Viveza, Buzz Simplifier, and finally sharpened a touch with Photokit Creative Sharpener.

First Post - Springs Here!

The mid Michigan woods are starting to happen right now. Spring flowers are returning and the winter blues are becoming a fleeting memory.

The Dutchmans Breeches were photographed under an overcast sky with a Canon 1DS and 180mm Macro L lens. Processed in Adobe Photoshop with Nik ColorEFX 3.0, Topaz Adjust 3.0 and the Buzz Simplifier.