Silhouette
Sun Day
Clandestine Candlepower
The early morning sun seems to be hiding behind the Kewaunee, WI lighthouse. I always try to get the rising sun close to the lighthouse. Occasionally, as in this case, I’m able to get the sun directly behind the lighthouse. It doesn’t always make a great image because the sun will overpower everything in the frame. The sun was hidden enough by the lighthouse – along with some camera and post processing wizardry – to create an interesting image.
Heaven’s Lake
Fire Painters In the Sky
This image is a combination of stunning, natural beauty and a generous helping of digital magic. Let me share some of the details.
This is one of my earliest photos taken with my first decent digital camera. The camera a Kodak EasyShare DX7590 that I purchased to document my first trip to Liberia, Africa in 1995 . The DX7590 was a minor step up from a typical point-and-shoot camera with a whopping 5-megapixels. (Pretty impressive, in those days, for a small, consumer grade camera. My current camera provides 24-megapixels.)
This photo was taken in march of 2007. At home in the early evening, I saw the wonderful colors in the sky out my living room window. Of course, I grabbed my camera and dashed out the door.
I crossed the road in front of my house to be able to frame up the sky without any interference from the power lines and poles between me and the beauty. I included the dormant tree to add contrast and interest to the scene. I snapped several frames of the incredible sky with the trees and field before me.
If you haven’t guessed by now, the water you see in the foreground wasn’t part of the original scene. I added the water, digitally, after the fact. The lovely, rippling reflection of the water in this image replaced a barren farm field, mostly covered with melting snow. You can see a couple of the original images I took – with out the water effect – in this earlier post: Fire In the Sky
The farm field was dark and dreary, compared to the sky, so I thought it needed an upgrade. I had been trying out a trial version of software developed to add a water effect and thought the reflective quality of water might add more interest and color to the bottom of the image. In fact, I extended the bottom area of the photo, to fit more ripples in the view.
You can view a larger version of this photo by clicking on it.
Catching Some Waves
Full Moon Flightpath
This full moon was settling behind the trees as a flock of birds (not bats) flew through the scene.
Because of the full moon, you’d naturally assume this photo was taken at night. In fact, it was taken at 7:06 am. Even more ironic – I was out that morning trying to catch a nice sunrise at Algoma. The sun didn’t cooperate, but while waiting for it, I noticed the full moon going down and focused my attention, and camera, there. As I was framing up the shot, a flock of sea gulls entered the frame…so, of course, I clicked.
For those who are familiar with Algoma, this shot was taken in the parking lot of the Algoma Youth Center…down by the lake shore…facing west, over the city.
To view a larger version, simply click on the photo.
Four and Twenty
Those who follow my work know, I photograph a wide range of subjects. I capture, photographically, the things that capture me. This is one of those images. I was just working in the yard and noticed the way the birds on the power line were sitting, almost perfectly spaced, even on the line the angling down to the insulator.
You can view a larger version of this image by clicking on the photo.
Larger Light Looming
As powerful as the Kewaunee, Wisconsin lighthouse lamp may be, it is no match for the power and majesty of the full moon of March 27, 2013.
I was pleasantly surprised at how well this image turned out; at how clearly the Fresnel lens of the lighthouse can be seen. The surprising part…this photo was taken from the shore. Anyone familiar with the Kewaunee lighthouse knows the lighthouse sits at the end of a very long pier that extends 750 feet from shore.
To get this image I used a 300mm lens with a 2X teleconverter (effectively doubling the reach of the lens). It is simply luck that the focus was as sharp as it is since I had to focus manually. (A number of other shots that night were not so sharp.) Under low light conditions, particularly with the teleconverter, the camera’s auto-focus doesn’t work.
Normally, without the brightness of the full moon behind it, the lighthouse lamp would show up as a big, bright white blob.
To get a better view, click on the image and a larger version will open in another browser window.
Solitude on Ice
The morning was cold. The sun was rising…and so was a mist from the patches of open water near the lighthouse that stands at the Alogma, Wisconsin harbor.
I posted a color image from this same morning a week ago – Frigid Sunrise Fog.
Click on the image to see a larger version.