We just followed the smoke....

My dad and I were driving along the shore of Lake Superior just outside Ashland Wisconsin when we noticed a big plume of white smoke rising into the sky several miles to the west. He said there was a prescribed burn about fifteen miles away.

I told him I always wanted to get forest fire photos, but never had the chance. I asked if he had time to go and he said sure. I had a camera in the car and my dad as a navigator so we started driving west on highway 2. The smoke was just whitish gray at the time, not the striking orange and red as in the image above. 

We drove about twelve miles west and turned on the only paved road going north through the Moquah barrens in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. We just kept following the smoke and after several more miles we came to a dirt road going west towards the fire.

It was almost sunset as we came to an intersection with another dirt road. Ahead of us was a flurry of activity, many vehicles from various federal agencies with lights on and fire crews in their trucks and walking the roads. A woman in a vest was standing in the middle of the road so I pulled over and parked out of the way. We walked up to visit with her. 

Our timing was great, because this was what we saw just across the road in front of us.

Fire crews had just ignited the blaze and the fire was quickly burning through the under story and up into some of the larger pine trees. 

We quickly got permission to be where we were and I just couldn't believe my luck.

I got my camera out and started photographing the forest fire in front of us. Flames were moving quickly through dried grass and shrubs and then climbing into the bigger trees.

All the colors and interplay of light and shadow was unbelievably beautiful. As I continued to trip the shutter release, I found myself saying "wow" over and over again out loud.

The Fish & Wildlife, or forest Service employee said we had to stay where we were as the fire moved away. I had been shooting hand held, but went to the car to get a tripod as it was getting dark and the shutter speeds were getting slow. 

I checked the ISO, made sure the auto focus was off, put the camera on the tripod and kept at it.

Trees that had been aflame moments earlier were now starkly silhouetted as the fire itself threw colorful light onto the smoke billowing towards the sky.

I just couldn't get over the mixture of light, color, and shadow. Just beautiful.

As the actual flames moved into the distance I noticed the surreal colors on the smoke above.

Some of the crews walked back towards their vehicles before driving off along the edge of the fire.

I kept on shooting and even remembered to look at the bigger picture. The colors were hard to believe.

We stayed for an hour and a half and it was dark as we turned the car around and headed out on the road we had come in on.

About a half mile down the road I stopped to capture this scene giving a sense of scale to the fire. 

The old adage, 'it's better to be lucky, than good' certainly applied here. My dad and I just followed the smoke, 

and had incredibly good luck, as far as location, timing, and fire personnel. What a night.

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.

Finally some fall color...

It hadn't been a very good year for fall color in Madison Wisconsin. So after I saw a few colorful maples at the UW Arboretum I went and got a camera and headed over.

There were a few trees with good looking leaves, while others had already lost theirs, and still others hadn't even started to change color.

Many of the trees I had photographed in years past didn't look good at all, so I started walking to the group of trees I had seen from the road.

It was a warm afternoon with a slight breeze and many leaves were falling as I made these images.

There was such a small group of trees with decent looking leaves and color that I just kept working that one little area for the hour and a half until sunset.

I had all I could do to try and find an interesting composition and create some images I liked.

Accessible and undamaged leaves with good color were in short supply.

So it was really great when I'd find one. 

Then it was just a matter of isolating the leaf, choosing a clean background (working the angles) and making some photos.

I switched lenses several times and found myself lying on my back on the ground in order to get the proper working distance and angles.

They weren't the easiest fall photos I've ever made, but I was glad I spent the evening in the woods finding a little color.

Finally....

It all came together and culminated in this image.

 

About five hours from where I live is a stretch of road with water on both sides that I had noticed several years ago.

 

 

I thought I may be able to make some decent images if I could ever be there at sunrise or sunset on a calm day with a few clouds.

 

 

The problem was, I very rarely traveled to that location and never specifically for photos. So several years passed and the opportunity never presented itself.

 

 

Until just the other day. The whole world conspired so I happened to be within a few miles of that place with a camera on Wednesday evening. There were clouds to the south and I was feeling optimistic.

 

 

I realized I didn't have a tripod once I got there. Hopefully it wouldn't be a deal breaker. I'd just shoot with a higher ISO and shallower depth of field.

 

 

The clouds were moving from east to the west, the water stayed calm, and I kept shooting.

 

 

I couldn't believe my luck. The fact I was standing there making these images made me smile. A common loon flew overhead and then landed nearby. Two trumpeter swan fed along the shore.

 

 

As the sun neared the horizon clouds crowded in.

 

 

I thought I may loose the light and the colors would disappear. Lucky for me I didn't and it all worked in my favor.

 

 

I kept a close eye on the camera settings and used good technique to ensure sharp images.

 

 

I worked on composition and color.

 

 

 

Then I just kept on shooting until the light faded and the colors were gone.

 

 

 

The fact that I was at that particular spot, on that particular day, at just the right time, was such an unlikely event it made me laugh. Being lucky can be a lot better than being good.