Waiting on sunset.....

I've been having better luck with sunrises and sunsets lately.

By that I mean there's been light most of the days I've tried to photograph sunrise or sunset. 

Tonight in Ashland Wisconsin was a good example. 

I got to the shore of Lake Superior a couple of hours before sunset with mostly clear skies and fairly calm water.

It looked likely there would be sunlight and just the right amount of clouds for decent photos.

After about half an hour a breeze picked up and I needed to find a more sheltered spot. I drove around looking for a place with calm water near the shore to use for reflections. 

The picture above is from the place I found. It was still early and I got quite a bit of lens flare shooting directly at the sun.

I tried a little different view, but you can still see all the flare in the image. 

There were some clouds and the scene looked pretty to the eye, but I was having trouble capturing it with the camera. So I had to get a little creative.

With the lens I was using I could just barely reach far enough out in front of the camera to focus on my hand. 

I liked the silhouette and played with the placement of the sun on my fingers. A few minutes later with the sun on the horizon I attempted more standard sunset photos.

I hoped for lots of clouds to catch the colors at sunset and was a bit disappointed with what I got.

The clouds just kept disappearing and the colors were a bit muted.

A sapsucker landed in the tree above me and went to work. Pieces of bark fell to the ground near me as I sat at the edge of the lake with my feet right up to the water.

The good news was; I had sun, some clouds, calm water, reflections and a beautiful night.

So I did the best I could with the conditions as they were.

I waited until the last color started to fade, then put my camera away, folded up the tripod and walked back to the car. Though it wasn't the dramatic sunset I'd hoped for, it was a pretty good way to spend a couple of hours.

You never know....

Ten minutes before sunrise I was at my favorite spot in Badlands National Park ready to capture some beautiful colorful photographs.

After two days of great sunrise light I guess I took it for granted that there would be sun, but today there wasn't and this was the view I had.

Rather than the view I had hoped for. Something like this, taken two days earlier.

I actually like interesting silhouettes, but humans see the world in color and I prefer it.

So when I saw sunlight to the west I headed in that direction. When I couldn't find the right scenes to photograph I turned back around.

I went to some rock formations I was familiar with and made more silhouettes.

A bit of blue sky peaked through the clouds, but it didn't look like it was going to clear up. 

So I got back in the car again and drove towards the light. 

After three hours of driving back and forth and starting to feel a little frustrated I parked the car, grabbed a camera, and walked out into the plains.

That's when everything got a lot more fun.

It was 65 degrees with big billowy clouds rolling in on a consistent north wind.

My mood went from not the best to really happy as I walked about choosing foreground hills and cloud formations to photograph.

One of my favorite things about western South Dakota are skies like these.

As shadow and light continually change it's hard to be bored or not have fun. Compose, smile, and shoot.

If you don't like what you're seeing, just wait a minute and it will change.

I was worried the light was getting harsh as it was almost midday.

But the clouds looked so nice and I was having fun so I kept shooting a bit longer.

I found a shed mule deer antler about a half a mile from the road.

Finally, the light seemed played out as I headed back to the car happy with the experience and optimistic about the photos. You never know how things will turn out.

It snowed quite a bit in South Dakota.....

On Friday I mentioned to my dad that the South Dakota Badlands would look great covered in snow.

He called the next day and asked if I wanted to run out there.

I sure did, but couldn't leave until Sunday night.

Sunday came and we drove all night hoping there would still be snow when we got to Badlands National Park.

As the sun lit the beautiful rock walls there wasn't much snow left. Temperatures had been in the fifties in the days before we got there and most of the snow was gone.

Oh well, the light on the rocks was beautiful and it was good to be back in the South Dakota badlands.

The rocks were lit, I had a blue sky with a few clouds and I couldn't stop smiling.

Just smile, compose, and shoot.

Just another beautiful day in the badlands.

P.S. Later in the day I did find a side hill along the park road still covered in snow.

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.