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.

I didn't have long....

Just an hour on my way home to try and do something with the trees coated with ice and snow.

 

The sun only came out for a few minutes.

 

 

I was having trouble capturing the scene. Not only because the light was hit and miss, but composition wasn't easy for me at all.

 

 

The conditions were really neat, but I couldn't find any stands of hardwoods with blue sky behind them.

 

 

 

As soon as the sun came out water and chunks of ice were falling from the trees.

 

 

 

I tried several different forest roads, but none of it was very good.

 

 

 

It was only a small stretch of about ten miles where the trees looked like this. I did what I could with the time I had but don't feel great about the results.



 







A little fall color...

I was up in the Clam Lake area looking for elk about a week ago. I didn't find too many elk, but I did find a little fall color.

 

Like these oak leaves in good evening light against a blue sky. 

 

And these beautiful maple leaves.

 

 

Here's a little more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even a wood thrush showed up to hunt small insects amid the fall color. 



 

 

I went back and lucked out with a beautiful sunrise, 

 

 

and sunset. All in all I found quite a bit of fall on what seems to be not the best year for fall color in northern Wisconsin.



 



 

Copper Falls State Park

On a beautiful October morning I drove into Copper Falls State Park near Mellen Wisconsin. I was lucky to be there on a sunny day with plenty of fall color.




I found this white-tailed deer doe standing in the woods along the park road. I parked near a picnic area and playground at the end of the road and walked along a trail covered with pine needles.




The trail offers this view of the Tyler Forks River joining the Bad River.




The woods looked and smelled great as spots of sun reached the forest floor.




The park trail leads from one beautiful view to the next. Here is a photo of the Tyler Forks River Cascades.

These rocks and pine roots are up above the Tyler Forks River.

This is the view from the brink of Brownstone Falls. Just downstream the Tyler Forks River enters into and becomes part of the Bad River.

Some large white pine trees line the trail while a fence keeps people from venturing down towards the river gorge.

I love the look of the light on the bark of this white pine tree. Copper Falls State Park has a nice mix of coniferous and deciduous trees. There are lots of larger red and white pine trees along with some cedars, maples, and oaks.

Here's a view of Brownstone Falls from the other side. I lucked out and had a lot of water going over the waterfalls while I was there. Usually water levels are low in the fall and waterfalls are just a shadow of their springtime selves. It had rained almost the whole day before I arrived so I had lots of water.

Above is a photo of the parks namesake, Copper Falls. The Bad River looks kind of like foamy root beer as it flows over Copper Falls.

If you get the chance to visit Copper Falls State Park, the waterfalls are pretty, the forest is beautiful, and there is a lot to see.