Maybe it is the mid-winter blues, although it hasn’t been much of a winter, but I have been perusing my images of Florida lately. Could be it is time for a trip, or anticipation for the one in May. Anyway, the lifeguard tower and the pier at Cocoa Beach from last June…
Lookout
Olympus E-M1 MK III, M, Zuiko 12-100mm f/4, 1/3s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 100
It has been a long week at work. I tell myself not go in early or stay late but habits are hard to break. There is work to be done, not enough people to get to it all and I have a guilty conscious that I should be doing more… so, my habit is hard for me to break.
I missed the colorful sunset on Wednesday and was determined to not miss another one. I could see bright spots of the sun trying to poke through the clouds. I went to Delta Lake State Park, if for nothing else than to breathe fresh air and stare across the lake doing nothing.
You get to follow along as I try to capture the colors of an almost sunless sunset. Lucky you!
It was an unusually warm evening and the park was empty. I suppose the clouds had something to do with the lack of people. Anyway, good for me as I had the run of the beach. There was ice on the lake but spots near the shore had open water. Ah, reflection photography, how can I refuse…
Seeing it All
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/40s, 24mm, f/11, ISO 100
I really like how the clouds turned out and their reflection in the water. The sunlight reflected in the ice is a nice anchor point with the patch of sunlight showing through the clouds. If you look on the right edge of the image near the horizon you can spot two people who I assume had been ice fishing. Personally, I wasn’t positive the ice was that thick.
My next couple of attempts were in portrait orientation. I wanted more sky and reflection in the view. And then I noticed the ripples in the sand at the edge of the water. Cool. Get those in an image as well…
Tall View
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/40s, 30mm, f/11, ISO 100
Ripples
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/25s, 24mm, f/11, ISO 100
I was hoping the clouds would break at the horizon and I would get a look at the sun as it slips over the horizon. My chances were looking slim so I wandered around for a different reflection view. The area on the right of the beach with the trees on the point I photograph so often had more open water.
There it was. Color. Reflection. Bare trees. That is the one…
The Point
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/15s, 24mm, f/11, ISO 100
I won’t mention how I broke through the ice and the sand was mushy enough to let my feet sink in up to my ankles. Luckily, I chose to wear the tall, waterproof boots this time. I managed to get myself out of that predicament, and still find a good angle for my image.
Time to wait for sunset. Fingers crossed.
Waiting.
Doesn’t look good.
Waiting.
Capture a few images.
Waiting.
Sunset. Nope.
Don’t go yet, the sun could still provide the color in the clouds as it falls deeper below the horizon.
Was that my stomach?
Right, you didn’t eat lunch. Want to go to that pub you heard about at work?
The one near the apartment?
Yes.
OK.
And as I drove into the parking lot, the clouds were highlighted in a beautiful magenta color. I should have stayed ten more minutes.
My last image isn’t horrible though…
Sunset in Reflection
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/6s, 36mm, f/11, ISO 100
This is your assignment, if you choose to accept. Those words and the theme music from Mission: Impossible are what is in my head when my friend Karma posts one of her photo hunts. The mission this time was before and after. My head was swimming with ideas all week. I didn’t get to all of the ideas so I may have to post again later.
My first thought, being primarily a landscape photographer, was before and after sunrise. The light changes drastically when the sun crosses the horizon and changes the mood of the scene. The conditions were not ideal Sunday morning but the temperature was more accommodating than on Saturday (I strongly dislike the cold).
I went to my go to place in Rome, Bellamy Harbor. I had other ideas for additional challenges I wanted to capture but the sunrise was first on my list. I got lucky as the fence preventing me from reaching my favorite spot at one end of the harbor had been rotated again allowing me to walk right in. I probably should have left the camera in one spot and waited but I’m not always good at waiting. These are basically the same view…
Before Sunrise
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1.3s, 35mm, f/11, ISO 100
After Sunrise
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/40s, 39mm, f/11, ISO 100
The two images are only thirty minutes apart. The first image is twenty minutes prior while the second image is ten minutes after the sun woke up for the day. Two different scenes of the harbor. I like the before image best.
My next idea had several opportunities for me. The after image for this scene is the only one that worked out. My thought was to show a winter scene before this weird winter thaw and what it looks like now. As much as I complain about the cold, the snow tends to “pretty up” a scene. I’m borrowing a previously posted image for the first one.
Peer into the Heart
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/60s, 24mm, f/8, ISO 100
Empty Heart
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/160s, 24mm, f/11, ISO 100
There were a few more stops along the Mohawk River Trail that I wanted to capture for the after image party but I miscalculated the view. I know, I should have pulled out my phone and looked up the before images, but it was such a beautiful day I didn’t want to ruin it by having my nose to my phone.
My last set of images for this photo hunt is a concept that showed up in my head this past week. I’m not positive what prompted it or how it appeared, other than I was hungry. I made chili yesterday. I still make enough to feed a family but it works for me as I freeze half and eat half for a few days at work. How does this fit the theme you ask? Well…
What is needed
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/13s, 30mm, f/8, ISO 1600
What you get
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/20s, 37mm, f/4, ISO 800
Other ideas I didn’t pursue; show a clock at 11:55am and 12:05pm, an image out the front window of the car and then the back window (that one required a quiet country road I could stop on), the straight out of camera image and the post-processed image… I could go on.
This was a fun photo hunt. I needed the challenge to wake up my brain. I think I have been sleep walking through my days lately. Thanks Karma! Looking forward to the next one… ;)
I have been on a run of monochrome images recently. I thought it was time for a little color. Mother Nature has not been helping in the color department as of late, so I turned to my stockpile of images from Walt Disney World. I couldn’t pass up this sunrise reflection of the Beach Club Resort.
Beach Club Reflections
Olympus E-M1 MK III, M, Zuiko 12-100mm f/4, 1.6s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 100
Three Brothers
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/50s, 58mm, f/8, ISO 200
Yesterday’s search in the fog was related to this week’s challenge at 52frames.com, ‘Scene From a Movie’. I was thinking film noir but looking at the images nothing feels cinematic to me. I still have today to work on the challenge.
I like the images I was able to bring home. As I said, yesterday’s image is my favorite. The images today are me looking for that cinema feel with the shrouded dam. I believe the issue with them, for me, is the composition. I didn’t find the right one.
The last image was the most difficult to capture as the fog was too intense for the camera to detect focus. I manually set the camera at infinity but it still is blurry. I’m going with, “I intended for it to be that way”… ;)
Somewhere Out There
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/30s, 29mm, f/8, ISO 200
Lost in a Haze
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/40s, 31mm, f/8, ISO 200
Vision Obscured
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/40s, 36mm, f/8, ISO 200
Late January and it has been raining more than snowing. Weird winter so far.
Although the fog prompted a weather alert for low visibility I thought I could create something interesting within the morning conditions. I threw the camera bag in the car and drove around the city before sunrise looking for opportunities. My usual spots didn’t resonate with me. I eventual gave up and went for groceries.
After getting home, and after sunrise (somewhere behind the clouds) I headed out again in search of that foggy composition. I thought Delta Lake would give me what I was looking to capture but on my way there the car turned the dam at the south end of the lake.
Yes! This will work. I played for a while near the dam. My favorite turned out to be this image of the Mohawk River from the single lane bridge crossing it. The fade into nothingness hit the right tone for me. Plus, reflections! Right up my alley.
Memories Fade
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/30s, 34mm, f/8, ISO 200
I’ll preface it as a statement, not an excuse, OK, maybe a little excuse. Work and weather have been conspiring against me. Getting out of work close to sunset provides little time to get the camera or enough daylight to go explore for images. And the weather definitely has it out for me. It is the full moon today and Friday morning is the best time to photograph it setting (my favorite time), but the forecast is for rain all day. :(
So, sitting here pouting this morning, drowning my sorrows in coffee, I give you the Lonely Sentinels at Bellamy Harbor.
Lonely Sentinels
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/500s, 35mm, f/8, ISO 100
MLCreations Photography 