Category Archives: landscape

Pixley Spring

Posted by Mike on

Pixley Falls State Park

I wasn’t in the work mode yesterday so I decided to take the day off. No plans, wasn’t “feeling it” I guess. The weather was not supposed to be all that great (it lived up to the expectations), but I thought there might be a chance for me to get out for a few pictures. I spent most of the morning curled up in my chair with a book.

In the afternoon Mother Nature kept teasing me with glimpses of the sun and at one point I swear I saw a patch of blue sky. Around 1:30pm it looked like the rain might hold off for a little while so I drove up to Pixley Falls State Park to explore. It is a twenty minute drive to the park and I was doubting my decision the whole way. I knew the main falls would have too much water for a good image but I was hoping the tributaries would offer up a few opportunities.

 

Spring Rush
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/5s, 32mm, f/16, ISO 100

 

There was a lot of mist coming off the waterfall directly at my normal location for an image. I was able to get a look of the volume of water from a vantage point downstream. No clear view but this does convey the ferocity of the water during the spring runoff.

Luckily, the side tributaries did have what I was looking to capture. Normally, during the summer and autumn months there is barely more than a trickle. It was good to see some water working its way down the cascades. I need to continue exploring this park, especially as the winter landscape migrates toward spring…

 

Spring Run
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 0.6s, 19mm, f/16, ISO 100

Natural Framing

Posted by Mike on

Bellamy Harbor Park

Although yesterday morning was colder than Saturday’s evening I ventured down to Bellamy Harbor to capture the sunrise. Another cloudless outing, which to be honest, feels a little boring as far as an image goes. I walked to the edge of the canal next to the flow control gates to get my typical morning view of the harbor. I grabbed a few images and wasn’t necessarily “feeling it” so I headed back toward the car. About half way back I stopped to see if I was missing anything and realized this is the view I wanted. Some natural framing to the harbor added some interest to my image. The morning was not a complete wash…

 

Natural Framing
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 5s, 14mm, f/11, ISO 200

Peaceful Reflection

Posted by Mike on

Delta Lake State Park

I have been waiting for a day like yesterday! Temperatures in the mid 50’s and barely any wind. It was the best evening to go see how the ice is doing on Delta Lake. The water level is still eight to ten feet below normal so the Spring thaw has not begun in earnest yet. I’ll be looking forward to the increased flow in the creeks when that gets going.

I explored for almost an hour and a half while the sun moved into position. Without any clouds in the sky I wanted to wait until the sun was starting to drop below the horizon to capture the reflection in the open areas of the lake. I still needed to use the “finger over the sun” trick to ensure I could remove any unwanted sun spots. And once again I left a little early as the color in the sky exploded as I was driving by the lake on my way back home. Today I’m going to force myself to stay longer…

 

Peaceful Reflection
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/160s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200