Richfield Park Excursion

Woke up this morning to a surprise fluffy overnight snowfall.  A small amount of snow as forecasted, but there was more on the ground and in the trees than I expected.

When I see these mornings I recall my years when I really enjoyed winter.  I like winter these days, just not as cold or as long.  Back in the day, give me winter for 11 months out of the year.  Give me those nice walks on snow covers paths and streets.  Snow gives me that 'crunch' with each step.  Fluff, or not.  The sound, the feel and the peace.

So this morning, after clearing off the driveway I took off for Richfield park.  Home of the Richfield Eagle photos and the Richfield BMX track.  I was the first one there for the day.  Pulled up right behind the county truck that opened the park.  I'm guessing he was late due to plowing other areas.  I wasn't that early, but first is first.

And that reminded me of of being the first on the slopes.  With a few inches of fresh snow.  Nothing like it.

Back to the Park.  Beautiful drive.  In a way, a bit eerie as well.  In places, there was no color.  Just dark and light.  Silver.  Took me back many years.

The entrance to one side of the park crosses the Flint River.  Yes, that Flint River.  I saw this as I approached the bridge.  My first real shot of color in the Park.  What caught my eye was the white to greens and yellows and back to white.  Beautiful.

Winter Road to Green

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E

62 mm, 1/500 sec, f/8, ISO 1100 (AUTO)

EV +1, MANUAL MODE, Size: FX

After crossing the river, I started to walk around.  Eventually I found my way to the bridge.  I figured a shot upstream and one downstream and move along.  Sometimes you just get lucky.  I think best shot of the day.

I like the whites and darks - and the shot color.  Awesome.

Flint River Winter Kayak

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E

70 mm, 1/500 sec, f/8, ISO 1400 (AUTO)

EV +1, MANUAL MODE, Size: FX

With the overcast sky and the trees covered with snow, looks like a river of silver.

It was good to get out for a few hours today.  And a good photo.

Pelican Water Landing

While in Charleston, one must see the pelican circus that is in continual performance.  For the most part, I get to see only sea gulls locally.  So I had a request to see pelicans when in Charleston.  We spent some time on a waterway and I now have over 400 pelican pictures.  At least one must be good, right?
I am always in awe of nature photographers that display their catches of a critter in action.  And that action that is part if the image.  With birds in water, wither the landing, take off or fish capture.
In this case, the pelican is in the process of (a crash) landing in the water.  For me, there's lots going on.  The bird, the bird's colors and the water.

This is at the full length of my lens reach, essentially 450 mm.  And it is cropped a bit.  That being said, it is pretty crisp and clear.

In my efforts to "fit a frame', this does it about as well as I can.  In this image, the bigger the better, looks great on the monitors.

Fort Mackinac from the Bay

This image of  Fort Mackinac was taken in late June, 2011.  We were on a day trip to Mackinac Island, and the day weather-wise was perfect.  This image was taken from the ferry on the way from the island returning to the mainland at the end of our stay.
On the hill is Fort Mackinac.  The white diagonal is the walkway.
The Fort has an interesting history.  The current fort was built in the early 1780s by the British.  The Fort remained under British control until 1796 when the Fort was turned over to the United States as part of the Treaty of Paris agreement.  As part of the War of 1812, the British regained control of the Fort without firing a shot in July of that year.  The British retained control through July of 1814, when the terms that concluded the War reverted control of the Fort back to America.  
From the end of the war to the mid 1800s, the Fort was basically used for exploration and trading.
Currently the museum is in great shape and is very interesting.  And the entire Island is interesting.  The Island is definitely worth a visit.  It helps if the weather is nice.
This image does include something you will never see again.  The docks are part of the Arnold Transit Company.  Unfortunately the ATC closed its doors in 2016 after 138 years of continuous service.
As to the image, while looking at some old vacation files I saw this one.  Lots of great colors and subjects.  I like the Fort on the hill and the vessels down below.  I really like the larger vessel on the right, takes up a lot of great space.  I like the color flow all around.

NIKON D90/18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

ISO 400, f/10, 1/400 sec, 75 mm

And I thought this would look good in a creative style.

Back in 2011, I was just shoot and pray.  This one did OK.

Cold Passage in B&W

For the club meeting this week, this month's subject is winter.  I already had two entries ready, one of the Tahquamenon Falls with a lot of ice and one of St. Joseph North Pier Light with a fair amount of snow and ice.  I was looking for a couple of winter shots that could be converted to for the monochrome category.   I found an interesting angle for the often photographed St. Joe's light.  Lots of good ice on the rail, and a different side of the walk way that I usually don't show.  The B&W angle is very interesting.

ISO 400, f/16, 1/200 sec, 31 mm

NIKON D90/18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

Looking for the second entry in the category, I found some shots of a laker taken from the Mackinac side of the straights.  This was taken on a short trip up north in January 2015.  It looks cold.  Both shots look cold.
When I saw this image, I knew where I wanted to go.  Make it look historic.  I wanted to keep it mostly B&W, and not add any off coloring like I've used in the past.  I think this image can carry the load without any distractions.

ISO 400, f/9, 1/1600, 200 mm

NIKON D90/18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

That just screams Great Lakes in the winter!
Actually both shots do.

Winter Shots - St. Joseph North Pier light - 2015

In January of 2015, I braved the cold temps and winds to get some photographs on the St. Joseph North Pier light.  This is one of my favorite places to hit up when I get the itch to day travel and take a few shots.  Lots of lines and subjects.
For this December's club meeting I need two winter shots.  Going back in my history, I might find a few.  This will be one and I have an idea for for the second.  It will be pure Michigan.
Returning to this shot.  There's a lot to like.  The ice formations are really good, lots of potential to work with.  The red of the rear light breaks up the image a bit.  The ice formation on the front light gives an interesting illusion the light is leaning, not quite straight.
The overall light is odd.  I think it has to do with the light reflecting off the snow.  Looks very pastel.  
This is a quick edit with PS to get some idea of the image out of the camera.  Yes, those are two brave souls out in front of the front light.  I'm not sure if they survived the day or not.

This needs to look a bit harder, get some contrast added.  That helps because it will also give some definition to the snow and ice.  The sky has enough definition to pass.  If I make it look really harsh, which isn't bad for my tastes, the result may not be suitable for the masses.
I worked my usual processing with PS and On One.  The product hadn't left the pastel state enough for me.  With a rare combination of left and right brain working together, I added some NIK filtering.  Played with the sliders until I got the look I was going for.

ISO 200, f/6.3, 1/640 sec, 150 mm

D90/18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

That looks like a Michigan winter day, noon .

St Joe's Light and Waves

Looking again to photos from the March 2010 Michigan west coast lighthouse tour, the first stop was in St. Joseph, Michigan.  The light is one of my favorite subjects.  They are fairly unique.  I've been there on multiple occasions.  What I can say about the area, if it is nice outside the photos will be very boring.  Consequently, the more interesting the photo, the more challenging the weather conditions.  I'll give the weather a 5 on the scale, for being windy.  (And cold...)

Spoiler alert.  This is a combination of two images.  The main shot of the water and buildings is one image and the sky is another.  Both images were taken within minutes of each other and from the same location.  The only difference was zoom.  In both shots, the particulars AUTO, ISO 200, f/13 and 1/320.  In the original image of the water and buildings, the sky was just plain flat.  Could not do a thing with it.  I found another image from the same environment with some definition in the sky.  Time to combine.

In each image, I create multiple exposure levels.  For the water and building, I created 5 images covering two full stops above and two stops below the original exposure.  For the sky I created 3 images to cover two stops above and two stops below the original exposure.  For each image, I put them through Photomatix - giving each image the same settings.  I used On One to mask the sky in the original image and combine the second image below it.

In this case it all worked.  The mask creation was simple - mostly straight lines.

I really like the water and wave colors here.  It is difficult to leave the rust colors of the building alone.  Any additional saturation borders on obscene.  I struggle with the red roof.  In reality it isn't so bright.  I tried to leave it alone and let the water carry the image.  Just didn't work for me.  So there is just a little pop there.

Williamsburg: The Boathouse

When one thinks of Williamsburg, VA - one tends to think colonial.  And in most cases, one would be correct.  But not this one time.
Just outside of the colonial village, there is Bassett Hall Nature Trail.  It's a 2 mile walk between two golf courses.  Being that it splits two golf courses, there is a lake/reservoir between the two golf courses, and the walk goes along the water for some time.  Along the walk, and in this body of water there is what looks to be a boat house.  It has all the qualifying marks, basically in the water and a larger enough door on the water to let a water vehicle transit.
This scene has all my favorite elements, water, wood, reflections and a story.
The particulars:  3 Shot HDR, 400 ISO, Aperture Priority, Focal length 50 mm, f/11, speeds 1/200, 1/1600, 1/25.
I used Photomatix to get my base image.  I was planning to just set the colors, but it turns out I really liked one of the preset effects.  Wow - I didn't have to go too much further on this one.  This is my base image.

There isn't too much to do for the color levels, although I might make it just a bit darker.  The sun was out full, but I see this as a bit darker.  i will crop it closer to the building to really see the wood and reflections.  I need to cop out the grass in the foreground and maybe remove a stray blade or two.  I'll work on some effect to age the building more than it is.  But the first thing I want to do is sharpen the image.  At the club meeting last night, we started talking about the Nik sharpening programs.  I applied the pre-sharpener to this image before I 'aged' the building - and then used the post sharpening at the end.  In the preview pane, you can see some action going on.
So in the end, after the effects, sharpening and a 5x7 crop, this is what I get.

I really like the end product doors.  I usually favor a deeper yellow - but this is right on.  I thought I'd be spending more time on this project but this fell right into place.  After the picture of the Inn (Williamsburg Inn Morning), this is more my speed.

Step Water Falls - Lesson Learned

With my late summer interest in waterfalls - I had great vision how this would turn out.  In the end, I need to go back.
But  not to lose the photo - or a learning opportunity - I decided to see what the difference is between a 1 shot HDR effect and a 3 shot HDR involving the motion of water.
I like to have the option with the water movement.  The shot was set up on the slow side.  Tripod for sure.
This is the basic shot.

1/30   f/22
EV 0.0
Aperture Priority
ISO 200

Focal Length 32 mm

For the associated HDR bracket, I use EV values of +2 and -2.

Going back and doing it over again, I'd go with a faster speed.  There are no DOF issues or concerns.  Lesson learned - and a reason to go back.

This a composite of the 1 and 3 shots.

And so if I were going to work on a shot for this, I might go in this direction.  I'd use the single shot.  I'd try to pull out some of the greens and sharpen it up a bit.

I think the better plan would be to shoot with a higher speed, and let the 3 image merger get the effect of the moving water.

Stepping Stone Falls

In spite of what you might think because I live near Flint, we really do have some nice areas.  We have a wonderful county park system along the Flint River.  One of these areas is called Stepping Stone Falls.  Realistically, it is a dam.  What makes this interesting is the dam spillway is done in a series of stairs.  It is unique as far as I know.
I do like photographs of waterfalls, large and small.  The study of water and motion can be expressed in many ways.  Water shot fast and slow can be interesting in its own way.
Here is the first of what will be more than a few shots from the day.  This will show about 2/3s of the spillway.

1/50   f/22
EV -2.0
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal Length 18 mm
Focal Length (35 mm) 27 mm

Being is was a fairly dark environment, I'm going to try to keep the final product dark as well.  But I want to make the water stand out - mostly white.  
There are also some trees just over the top of the wall that are a bit distracting to me.  They have to go.  I'd like to keep the sky - it has real character and should look interesting with HDR processing.  I'm going to try something new to get the look over the wall.
This is the photo with neutral HDR processing.

I like what HDR sharpening will do for the concrete, and I'd like to keep that in mind.  The shot at f/22 really had the depth of field sharp all the way through which is a big help.  I can tell for me to get the look I want, the far waterfall is going to need some help. 
In this step, I really want to remove the trees from the top of the far wall.  What I'm going to try is using two image layers.  I will mask out the sky and trees on the top layer.  I will stretch the bottom layer down and as a result the trees will drop behind the wall of the top layer.  Spoiler Alert:  It all worked, in the final image there are no trees.

I like with is going to happen with this.  But I got a bit of an unexpected surprise.  I started to notice a few blemishes.  Sure enough, looking at my UV filter I had some small water spots.  Note to self, when working near moving water some will wind up where it is not supposed to be.  Take a cleaning cloth with you.  Easy to remove with most programs.  After cleaning this up a bit, this is the image I will use.  In my post processing, I used two layers of this to remove the trees at the top of the cement walls as explained earlier.  Again, I think most post processing applications can do what I did.  I also noticed there was some chromatic aberrations on the center and left of the image.  I used my new application to remove the CA in the center.  The CA on the left will have to be cropped out.  And that will not alter what I have in mind for this at all.
The final image to work with is this:

The final crop will take care of the wall on the right.  I'll also crop out the stairs on the left so there won't be anything left to the imagination.  

This is a bit darker that what I normally like.  In this case I like it.  The day was no gem to work with - so the final image should be dark as well.

Shells - Not so much by the Sea Shore

I do have a like for photos that fill up a frame.  That being said, I don't have many - or any at all.  A few years ago, 2012, I spent some time with family and friends in Hilton Head, SC.  I'm not much of a beach person, but I manage to spend some time close to the salt water.  Next to a restaurant, I found this pile of shells.  Food?  Perhaps.  I pictured this as being a screen saver or background.  Next time, I'll look for a crab or other wildlife to be in this.

1/1250   f/8
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal Length 82mm

Focal Length (35mm) 123 mm

Drummond Island Sunset

This is a photo taken from Drummond Island looking toward Detour Village.  

This is a good example that defines what HDR will do for an image.  In the original RAW image, the direct sunlight fools the camera optics.  Much of the photo is darker, especially the visible side of the cabin overhang and support on the right.

1/160 f/11
Aperture Priority
ISO 400
Focal Length 27mm
Focal Length (35mm) 40 mm

St. Joseph Light from Pier

In the summer, I've been out to the light.  All the way out.  In the winter?  Probably not.  But I could get out about half way from the shore.  It was very icy - but walkable.  (Note to self, get the cleats you can put on your shoes and keep them in the truck.)  There were some brave souls who made the walk - I just saw a lot of cold water at the end of the slide.

But I could get out close enough to the ice that had formed on the walkway structure.  The ice is certainly fun to photograph.

1/640 f/6.3

ISO 200

Focal Length 150mm

Focal Length (35mm) 225 mm

St. Joseph Light - January 2015

On all my previous trips to St. Joseph (all 2 of them), both lights were either iced or ice free.  This time - I really lucked out with half and half.  My favorite features are the definitions in the ice - and the structure colors of the rear light.  I'd like a bit more red in the building but much more than this really begins to look over saturated.  One of the interesting quirks of shooting around snow, is the camera gets fooled by the extra light - and the image comes out a bit darker.  And for me, that's OK.

1/640 f/6.3

ISO 200

Focal Length 150mm

Focal Length (35mm) 225 mm

St. Joseph South Light in Winter

I had to spend a week in Chicago for work this month.  As I'm not liking flying much anymore, driving to Chicago is very doable being around four hours to make the trip.  Driving to Chicago takes me past some of the lower Lake Michigan lighthouses.  One of my favorite locations is the St. Joseph lights.  This light is very distinctive and in winter can have a whole new personality.

This is a picture of the south navigation aid to the St. Joseph channel.  I really like the ice formations.  This photo was taken around noon.  And it wasn't that dark.  I like the final contrast change between the sky and the snow/ice.  One of the other nice features is the broken ice in the channel.  To me - screen saver quality!

1/640 f/6.3
ISO 200
Focal Length 170mm

Focal Length (35mm) 255 mm

Lake Huron Rocks

Between St. Ignace and Detour Village there are a number of roadside parks where you can walk to the beach.  At one of the areas these rocks were just off shore.  The water is so clear - no polarizer needed to get at the rocks just under the surface.  The surface is so calm, but with definition.  The sky has some character as well.

1/500 f/14
Aperture Priority
ISO 400
Focal length 35 mm (52 mm for 35mm film)

Lake Reflection

As I look at Black and White variations of some photos, I am beginning to see many possibilities.  The colorized version of this photo is good, but this one is - well - really good.  and the print is even better!  This is sunset behind a small dammed lake on Drummond Island.  I took a number of 'real' HDR photos - and this is one of them.  Depending on the map used, this is either at the end of DAM or DAMIT road.  (I've noticed that most maps differ on the road naming conventions on the island.) 

1/30, 1/125, 1/8   f/8
Aperture Priority
ISO 400
Focal length 20 mm (30 mm for 35mm film)

Old Lobster Traps

This was taken along the walkway to the Rockland Lighthouse.  All along the breakwater were old broken and dented lobster traps.  The yellow colors of the 'seaweeds' along with the green(?) of the plastic coated traps made for an interesting sight.

1/25 f/11
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 50 mm (75 mm for 35mm film)

Photo Set

Point Betsie Splash

This is just below the Point Betsie Lighthouse - a seawall to keep erosion at bay.  This was taken last March, still a bit of snow around but no ice in the water.  This has a lot of color to it.  I like being able to bring out different blues in the water.  The seawall color is great as well.

1/320 f/9
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 50 mm (75 mm for 35mm film)

Photo Set

Westward

We were returning to Gloucester and passed this fishing boat.  I was captivated by the sunlight hitting the vessel and the oranges.  As it turns out - the hull isn't that deteriorated but this looks great.  We were going a bit faster and I have a number of shots that all turned out well, but the sun was shining on this one.  (A current screen saver....)

1/400 f/5.6
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 92 mm (138 mm for 35mm film)
Photo Set

Winter Waves

This is a breakwater next to the walkway to the light at St. Josephs on Lake Michigan.  This was at the first stop on the Lake Michigan tour last March - and I was instantly captivated by this piece of wood along the rocks.  I have read a number of stories about wrecks off the shores - and I can picture this coming off an old wooden schooner.  (It looks more like part of a pallet - but it is my daydream....)

1/250 f/10
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 30 mm (45 mm for 35mm film)
Photo Set