Category Archives: landscape

As the Sun Goes Down

Posted by Mike on

Delta Lake State Park

Not everything is a monochrome image. It appears I have been on a little B&W streak lately. What can I say, when it fits the image of the vision in my head, that is what is created. Like this one, it is mostly about the colors of the sunset.

It was cold that evening. By the time the sun dropped below the horizon my finger tips were almost numb. And this was through my gloves (I think I need a better pair of those). Although the water in the lake had not frozen over the moisture in the sand created a very hard packed surface. The water in the foreground is sitting on top of the sand, it isn’t that the sand is saturated.

I really liked the layers of colors in this one. The sky obviously is soaking up the remnants of color from the setting sun. The water stands in stark contrast as a layer of opposing blue and then we return to the colors of the sky reflected in the foreground. Cold, but still worth the effort…

 

As the Sun Goes Down
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/30s, 40mm, f/11, ISO 100

Resolute

Posted by Mike on

Monochrome Winter
Delta Lake State Park

I’ll admit I have a “thing” for photographing leafless trees in silhouette. There is a fascination with the amount of detail seen in the bare branches. These three trees at Delta Lake have been my subject numerous times throughout the years. I especially like when I have converted the image to black and white, which to me, greatly enhances the appeal of the silhouette. Plus, it works well for my Monochrome Winter series.

Resolute
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/125s, 14mm, f/11, ISO 100

Peace, Let’s Give it a Try

Posted by Mike on

Monochrome Winter
Delta Lake State Park

It has been a long week. Around lunch yesterday I checked the forecast and discovered there would be clear skies for the sunset. I decided it was time to check out Delta Lake this year. I wasn’t sure what I would find but getting out of the house was the important objective. I expected the lake to be completely frozen over but that was not the case. The extremely low water level allowed me to explore of the shoreline and I found this interesting composition.

The color image was striking but the monochrome version is amazing. Maybe my preference is due to reading “Ansel Adams’ Yosemite: The Special Edition Prints”. More likely it is my penchant for converting the winter scenes to black and white. The color was a distraction and it had to go…

 

Peace, Let’s Give it a Try
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/200s, 17mm, f/11, ISO 200

White Blanket

Posted by Mike on

Monochrome
Haiku

It was snowing a little on Sunday, not enough for much accumulation but it did place an image in my head. I didn’t have anything recently but I searched through my library and found the appropriate image from 2017 where I trekked up to the Egypt Road Trails near Boonville. I wanted an image to go with another attempt at being creative…
 

White Blanket

Frozen water falls
The animals take shelter
A blanket for all

 

White Blanket
Olympus E-M1 Mark I, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/1000s, 28mm, f/5.6, ISO 200

Idyllic

Posted by Mike on

Monochrome
Haiku

Yesterday was a very long day. I drove down to Philadelphia to deliver a dresser for my daughter. I also had to bring back a load of stuff to store for her. It was almost ten hours of driving. I left around 5am and returned by 6:30pm. I’m a little tired today.

I listened to the Classic Vinyl station on SiriusXM most of the way. I’ll admit there was some singing, well, I’m not exactly sure what you would call what I do, but it helps on the long drives. Apparently, my mind wanders, sometimes to places I’m not sure how it got to. After I got home I let out a little creative(?) steam… this is the result.

Idyllic

Along the river
Stepping on protruding rocks
Feet wet, body shivers

And this is the type of image that was in my head at the time, from a trip last August to the Mulholland Wildflower Preserve in Ithaca.

 

Idyllic
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 2.5s, 15mm, f/11, ISO 100

 

I’m pretty positive there is more rambling around in my head, I’ll have to explore and see where it takes me…

Consistency

Posted by Mike on

Bellamy Harbor Park

I realized what the appeal of Bellamy Harbor is for me, consistency. Don’t get me wrong, the unexpected is fun, trying something different is exciting but there are times when we need a little consistency. I know I can stop at the park at any time and find something interesting. Although not much actually changes the mood and feeling of the place is as fluid as the water flowing through the canal. This isn’t a particularly exciting image but it is a calm, consistent start to the new year.

 

Consistency
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/30s, 25mm, f/11, ISO 100