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.

 

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.



 







Strange weather...

I was on my way to northern Wisconsin and found the trees glazed with ice.

 

So I turned on hwy 77 and drove towards Clam Lake.

 

 

 

I pulled onto a gravel road and tried to do something with the cool conditions.

 

 

 

 

 

It was a bit windy and a mix of rain and snow. I took a walk in the woods near Day Lake.

 

 

 

 

 

I hadn't expected to photograph anything and only had two hours to before it got dark, it was good enough.

 









Finally, some milk weed....

For years I had intended to make some images of milk weed in the fall when their seed pods are opening.

 

And this was the year.

 

 



 

I was near Clam Lake Wisconsin and stopped by a small lake to make a few images. 

 

 



There were good clouds and reflections,

 

and the tamarack trees were turning gold.

 

 

 

After leaving the lake I found a patch of milk weed along the road.

 

 

 

The sun was in and out, sometimes hiding behind big clouds,

 

 

 

and sometimes beautifully lighting the milk weed pods and seeds.

 

 

 

While sitting on the side of the gravel road waiting for the sun to come out from behind the clouds I heard, 'tromp, tromp...tromp, tromp....tromp, tromp. When I looked over there were six elk; four cows and two calves, about 30 yards away behind trees at the edge of the forest.

 

The light wasn't good, and I didn't even attempt to photograph them. I just watched as they came up, looked at me and my camera on a tripod, paused for less than a minute and then trotted down the hill and deeper into the forest.

 

I smiled, felt lucky, and went back to the milk weed.

 

 

 

About four minutes later I heard another large mammal walking through the woods coming from the same direction the elk had come.

 

I suspected it was a bull elk following the cows, and I was right.

 

The bull walked to within 25 yards, looked at me, sniffed the air, and walked down the hill the same way the cows had gone.

 

 

I made a few more images of milk weed seeds and then lost the sun to overcast skies. I put the camera in the bag, took down the tripod and walked back to my car.

 

I was smiling as I drove away, thinking how lucky it was that I had stopped for some milk weed and chose to wait for the sun.

Little Manitou Falls....

 

The Black River rushes over Little Manitou Falls a day after a couple of inches of rain fell. I love this falls and go back to it again and again.

 

 

 

I used an eight stop ND filter to allow for the slower shutter speeds necessary for this exposure.

 

 

 

With the volume of water going over the falls it was a struggle to keep the lens dry.

 

 

 

It was a study in perseverance and patience. Keep the lens covered, wait for the sun to come out from behind the clouds, make an exposure or two, and then wipe the lens dry.

 

 

 

Recompose, focus, and repeat.

 

 

 

I deleted almost as many images as I kept, due to water drops obscuring the photos.

 

 

 

In the end I spent a couple of hours photographing the falls before the sun moved lower and it fell into shadow. Pattison State Park is a favorite destination on any day with a little sun.