Monthly Archives: May 2020

Along the Shore

Posted by Mike on

Delta Lake State Park

I eventually did make my way to the lake the other day. Although I explored the area near the entrance and was able to capture a good balance between the light and dark, I had plenty of time to see what else the park could offer me. Due to the weather there were more people than I would have liked and it becomes a challenge to explore while not running into people in unexpected places. It is usually a safe option to walk the shore below the upper area overlook. I really liked the golden glow on these rocks and trees…

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Along the Shore

Along the Shore
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/30s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 100

 

Delta Light

Posted by Mike on

Delta Lake State Park

Yesterday was a beautiful day in the Mohawk Valley. I broke up the work-from-home routine by walking around the block at lunch. It was exactly what I needed after sitting at the desk all morning. In the evening I drove up to Delta Lake for the sunset. I was not going to let the day end with me sitting on the couch.

Driving into the park I couldn’t help but admire the wonderful light hitting the trees lining the body of water near the entrance. I was not going to let that light get away. I pulled the car into the main office parking area and assembled my team… the 12-40mm lens, the circular polarizer and my Giottos tripod.

I started at the most obvious location. It provided a great wide view of the trees and of course a beautiful reflection. It is the same view I captured last October that has become my favorite autumn image. After capturing last night’s view I didn’t feel I could leave the area without exploring more angles. I was especially interested in seeing how I could capture the difference between the light and the dark sections of trees. I’ll let you be the judge of how I did…

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Delta Light I

Delta Light I
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/15s, 16mm, f/11, ISO 100

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Delta Light II

Delta Light II
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/25s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 100

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Delta Light III

Delta Light III
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/20s, 25mm, f/11, ISO 100

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Delta Light IV

Delta Light IV
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/8s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 100

Oriskany Creek

Posted by Mike on

Oriskany Creek near spillway

As I worked my way down memory lane on Sunday I found myself at the spillway on Oriskany Creek. When I worked in Whitesboro I would pass this area twice a day. As I was learning about photography this area allowed me to practice and experiment. Working in Syracuse has reduced my exposure to this scene and I suppose I let myself forget about it. With a view like this though, I need to make the effort to return…

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Oriskany Creek

Oriskany Creek
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/60s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 200

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Spillway

Spillway
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 0.4s, 21mm, f/16, ISO 200

Dew

Posted by Mike on

Canal Trail, Oriskany, NY

There was an added bonus to my decision about re-visiting old locations over the weekend, I found a tree full of blossoms. Around the parking area for the Canal Trail near Oriskany, NY there were flowering bushes and trees. The trees especially had wonderfully colored blossoms. It didn’t hurt that the dew was quite heavy that morning, adding to the macros I captured.

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Bud

Bud
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 Macro, 1/3s, f/5.6, ISO 200

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Opening

Opening
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 Macro, 1/8s, f/2.8, ISO 200

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Blossom

Blossom
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 Macro, 1/13s, f/2.8, ISO 200

Mohawk River Trail

Posted by Mike on

Rome, NY

Another location on my list for re-visiting was the Mohawk River Trail through Rome, NY. I live within walking distance of the trail and have visited it less than when I had to drive to get to it. Right after lunch on Sunday I switched to my 17mm prime lens and headed out for a walk along the trail. The trees are beginning to get their leaves and I was hoping the sunshine would help highlight the color. I ended up exploring a good portion of the trail and when I finally returned home I had walked 4.5 miles. It was a good day…

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Green Along the Mohawk

Green Along the Mohawk
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 17mm f/1.8, 1/500s, f/11, ISO 200

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Leaning

Leaning
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 17mm f/1.8, 1/100s, f/11, ISO 200

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Around the Corner

Around the Corner
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 17mm f/1.8, 1/100s, f/11, ISO 200

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Archway

Archway
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 17mm f/1.8, 1/250s, f/8, ISO 200

Morning on the Canal

Posted by Mike on

Barge Canal near Oriskany

I made an effort on Sunday to start re-visiting locations I frequented when I started my photography journey. I realized I stopped going to quite few locations once I became a “good” photographer… I’m not quite positive when I got it in my head that these locales were not worth visiting, but it is more than a little disappointing that it took me so long to return.

Long time followers might recognize this view of the barge canal. Near Oriskany, NY there is a canal trail head I would visit because I had access to a bridge support out in the canal. The view looking East typically provided sunrise opportunities and I was hoping it would do the same yesterday. It doesn’t hurt that capturing an image from the support gives the impression the viewer is out in the canal.

Much to my surprise the fog was increasing as I drove toward my destination. I did not let that deter me. As I stated a little over a week ago, you have to be in the environment to capture the landscape. Even if I walked away without an image due to the fog, I had to get my butt out there. I drove on.

The fog was not as bad as I anticipated, but the angle of the sunrise was off for my typical style. I did like the look of the fog shrouded canal. I let the sky lighten up a little before capturing my landscape. The touch of green from the trees starting to fill out their foliage was a nice pop of color on a predominately blue toned image. I also like the intrigue created by the leading lines pointing to an obscured destination. Also, it doesn’t hurt that the moon is in the sky and reflected in the water.

Overall, I’m happy I didn’t turn around and go home once I drove into the fog…

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Morning on the Canal

Morning on the Canal
Olympus M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 3.2s, 13mm, f/11, ISO 100

 

Ready to Fly

Posted by Mike on

Squared – SQ142
Dandelion

Early in the afternoon the sun started shine but I still had a few hours left before the workday would be over. Mother Nature was setting me up for a race, could I complete my work and enjoy the sun before the rain started? Luckily for me, I typically start work early and at 3pm I called it a day. I was going to use any advantage I could to feel sun on my face and enjoy the 78o temperature.

The dandelions had proliferated in the yard outside my apartment so I didn’t have to venture far to capture a few images while the sun warmed me up. Although the ground was still damp from the morning sprinkle I compensated by grabbing a grocery bag, the kind you had to buy when the state disallowed plastic bags, and used it kneel on as I captured my macro view on the yard.

It was a good thing I finished work early because by 4pm the sky darkened and the clouds opened up. It was a torrential downpour! The cats were not happy with the thunder rumbling along as the rain pooled in the yard. By the time it was done I had a little lake outside my living room window.

I switched up my view of this dandelion by placing the camera low and underneath it. The sky was only starting to darken and the lighter background would change the look of the dandelion seeds. I typically use the grass as a background to highlight the entire head of the dandelion, but with the almost white background you have to focus on the seeds backed by the interior of the dandelion head.

I like the monochrome look for most of my dandelion images and this one was no different. I did change it up slightly and applied a split tone effect. This is where you add a slight color to the highlights and shadows of a black & white image. For this particular image I added some very muted yellow to the highlights and blue to the shadows. When balanced well it can create a striking enhancement to an image.

  

MLCreations Photography: Squared &emdash; Ready to Fly

Ready to Fly
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 Macro, 1/2000s, f/2.8, ISO 200