I forgot my sunglasses..

After running some errands I went back to the UW Arboretum to retrieve the sunglasses I had left in the woods the day before. It was 10am and the light wasn't very good.

I took my camera anyway and walked the half mile to where I thought I had left them. I found the sunglasses after just a few minutes then set about making some images.

The light was flat as I walked through the woods looking for scenes I liked. The picture above shows what I saw and it wasn't very good.

I decided to take a break and lay down by a big maple tree. After about ten minutes of just lying there I noticed a bit of decent color and leaves lit by the sun in the canopy. Then I got an idea.

Normally I like my photos pretty straight forward. Beautiful light and a good subject and composition equals a quality nature photo. The problem was, I didn't have good light in the forest and I was having trouble finding an appropriate subject.

So I got creative and started playing with slower shutter speeds and controlled motion. I made the image at the top of the page by focusing and then moving the camera downward during the exposure. Focus, press shutter release while moving the camera down. That's how the top image was made.

I was using a 24-200mm zoom lens and started playing with the zoom to create different abstract images. Focus, press shutter release button, and push or pull the lens to zoom in or out while using slower shutter speeds.

The amount I moved the zoom during the exposure determined how much motion was in the final image.

I know others will think this is a no brainer and no big deal, but for me it was a leap.

I like colorful, beautiful, real nature images and these are something different. Colorful and beautiful yes, but not a straight depiction of what I was looking at.

At the time, this is what the forest looked like.

At the same time using the same camera and settings I was able to make this. I prefer the second image.

As I was looking up and making this photo I heard an animal running towards me through the fallen leaves. I made the image and looked in the direction of the sound just as a young white-tailed doe ran to within twenty feet of me and stopped where I had set a camera bag down in the woods. 

She waited and I waited. Then I said "hello" and she took a couple of jumps to my side, stopped and looked at me some more. I put the camera up and made a few more tree photos as she ran off.

I'm glad I lost my sunglasses.

More flowers....

I made quite a few images of tulips yesterday so I'm just gonna put a bunch right here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was good practice and I like all the color.

 

 

There's still some ice.....

 

on the Chequamegon Bay of Lake Superior. I got there just before sunset as the light was quickly fading.

 

 

 

I grabbed a camera and did what I could before the color was gone.



 

 

There's still quite a bit of ice in the bay, but probably not for long. One good southerly wind or a few more warm days and it'll be nothing but open water.

 

 

 

I really liked how the water between sheets of ice caught the colors from the sky.

 

 

 

In just a few minutes the colors were gone, a little gold, before blue, and then gray. Goodnight





 

Glacier National Park, Montana

I was in Glacier National Park Montana for a couple of days one August. The daytime temperature was near 90 degrees and in the evening big thunderstorms rolled in from the west.

I was sleeping in my tent at the Saint Mary campground and woke to thunder and the most beautiful display of lightning I had ever seen. The storm brought very little rain but the lightning was incredible.

The photos below show the sky and clouds as the storm came in over Wild goose Island on Saint Mary Lake. The following morning was beautiful and clear. A couple of days later smoke and fog from the fires the lightning had started filled the valleys and hugged the base of the mountains.

Clouds started to form in the sky to the west in the middle of the afternoon.

Sunset over Wild Goose Island on Saint Mary Lake

The colors in the sky just kept getting better.

Saint Mary Lake in Glacier Park just before the storm.

Just after dark.

The next morning was crisp, clear, and beautiful.

A few days later smoke filled the valley below Mount Cannon. Lightning associated with the thunderstorm had started several wildfires in the park.

Morning reflections of Divide, White Calf, and Curly Bear Mountains at Saint Mary Lake. Smoke from the forest fires and early morning fog hangs low on the mountains.

Smoke billows into the sky from a fire burning near Anaconda Peak and Flattop Mountain.