Winter Sky

Traveling thru the Michigan countryside trying to combat cabin fever, carrying my camera as usual, I enjoyed the subtle beauty of the winter landscape. I marvel how it provides a blanket  covering the land with it cloak of white. I captured this sky scene in as the day drew short on the Ionia and Montcalm county borders.

A Moment In Time - Lake Michigan Sunset

A Friend and I decided to venture to Lake Michigan to see the wave action yesterday. The power and sound were absolutely amazing.
To see them pound on the lake floor it became easy to understand how the sands on the beach were formed from the rocks of old.
As the sun continued its journey across the sky and began to set, I captured its passing and savored the moment. My experience was just like the sands on the beach or those stinging my cheek - a moment in time. The moment held many thoughts of past sunsets, and hopes to see many more. The thoughts that were most predominant were how fortunate I was to again to see the beauty and wonder of nature, to be able to share the moment with friend, to capture another memory with my camera, and to live to see another sunset. Life is good. 

The image was captured at Muskegon State Park.

Sunrise Moonrise and Vise Versa

The rising sun or moon and vise verse is a great time of day to be out with the camera or for that matter just be out. I find it to be a advantage to know when our lunar friends are going to make an appearance so I can be in a spot to capture the moment with a nice horizon to accent their arrival.
I found a link where you can download area specific times to help you be ready for the Golden Hour of arrival. You can set it for you current location or a vacation spot to help prepare.
Sun- Moon Rise and Set Times is a U.S. Navy site from which I like to download info for the day, month, or year.
The image above is a winter beach on Lake Huron. The light was low and the temperature COLD. The ice had an eerie  blue glow, the moon was fantastic as it rose into the coming night sky.  It was the perfect end to a day of travel along the Huron shores in Northern Michigan between the Straits of Mackinaw and Alpena.

It was taken with a Canon 1DS, processed with DXO Version 6.0, further worked with Adobe Photoshop CS 4 and numerous plug in filters.

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.