Category Archives: sunset

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

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

Skipping Stones (again)

Posted by Mike on

Delta Lake State Park

A couple days ago this image popped up as a memory in my FB stream. It brought back quite a few memories. This was captured a little over a year after I started learning about photography. Earlier in 2012 I had purchased my first non point and shoot camera, the Nikon D5100 with the Sigma 17-70mm lens. I was experimenting with everything (I guess I still do as I have never focused on my style of photography).

I remember setting up the tripod at the edge of the water and squatting behind the camera throwing stones past it trying to capture the “perfect” skip. This image is actually the very first attempt. All the remaining tries didn’t create the look and feel of a stone skip. At some point I realized I was tempting fate by hurling stones past my camera and it was only a matter of time before I ended up hitting it. I moved on…

 

Skipping Stones
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/10s, 38mm, f/20, ISO 200

 

This image has generated a lot of interest. I like it but I never thought other people would find it worthy. One person contacted me to see if they could use it as the cover of a short novel they were writing. Another asked if it could be used for a in a blog post they were writing. I had a researching ask if it could be used in paper being written. But my most surprising was when I was contacted by a firm in Canada who wanted to use it in training material. That one took months to sort out as I had to learn about contracts and image rights. In the end I was able to reach an agreement with the firm. Probably more surprising than how much interest this image generated is that it didn’t happen immediately after I posted it online. All these inquiries have happened over the past six or seven years!

So, after the memory on FB brought this image back to me, I decided it was time to re-process. I’ve learned quite a lot in the past eight years (well, I hope I have) and I wanted to give this one a fresh coat of paint. I can see in my older images I hadn’t worked out the balance of highlights and shadows. I didn’t understand light, its quality or tone. The original image feels flat to me and it definitely has a few issues with white balance.

I created a fresh copy in Lightroom and set about processing this one as I would today. I changed the crop from 4×5 to 5×7. I wanted to give the ripples a little more breathing room in the scene. I definitely adjusted the white balance. I was able to de-haze the image and improve details of the subject. Once I was happy with the adjustments in Lightroom I brought the image into Luminar and applied my normal sunset processing, taking care to not overpower the image with an orange cast (which is obvious in the original). I think the new version is an improvement… how about you?

 

Skipping Stones (again)
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/10s, 38mm, f/20, ISO 200

Impending

Posted by Mike on

Delta Lake State Park

I spent most of Saturday doing nothing in particular. I attempted to capture the sunrise but a photo worthy view did not materialize. I finally was able to get the last of the “crap” from the garage at the house I sold to the recycling center. I had tubs of household chemicals and old paint cans piled in my garage at the apartment. I stepped out for lunch to enjoy a burger and fries sitting at a picnic table in the warmth of the sun. I played more of my current video game and then decided it was time to see the sunset.

The forecast for Sunday included rain so it should not have surprised me to see the clouds coming in from the south. I hoped they would hold off long enough for me to capture the sun’s departure, but they were moving in too fast for that to happen. All was not lost. There was still some color in the sky and I liked this scene along the beach at Delta Lake.

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Impending

Impending
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-100mm f/4, 1/50s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 200

The Park

Posted by Mike on

Bellamy Harbor Park

Friday evening I decided to give Bellamy Harbor Park a try for the sunset. I say “try” like I have never been to the park before but we all know I visit often for pictures. I guess the “try” thought is more a concept during my decision process as I was driving out of the parking lot. I didn’t have a definite location in mind but I knew I wanted to be out enjoying the evening, camera in tow, and hopefully I’ll find an interesting view I can use for a post. So, I turned right onto Black River Boulevard and headed to the park rather than left to end up at Delta Lake.

It was a good decision, I have a feeling Delta Lake was a little busier than I typically like when I am trying to grab a few sunset images. That isn’t to say the park didn’t have people, but it was a lot easier to find an unobstructed view. I started at the end of the park where the Mill St. bridge crosses the canal. I typically capture an image of the park and canal from the bridge as it offers a great view of the entire area, especially during a sunset. As I walked up the sidewalk from the parking area the view in the first image caught my eye. The light on the grass and in the trees was begging me to capture it. This is a different view of the park that I have not captured before and I really like how it turned out.

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; The Park

The Park
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/320s, 17mm, f/11, ISO 100

 

The second image ended up being from the bridge as I initially intended but it wasn’t until after I had explored a lot of the park. I tried the bridge prior to the sun dipping below the trees at the far end of the park but without a few more clouds in the sky it was too bright and the reflection off the water was overpowering. Once the sun had set, I walked back to the bridge and was happy to see the bright orange glow in the sky and the backlit clouds hanging over the treeline. This is the image I had in my mind as I was letting the car carry me to the park…

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Orange Slice

Orange Slice
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/40s, 18mm, f/11, ISO 100

Fire & Rescue

Posted by Mike on

Delta Lake State Park

It wasn’t even five minutes after I grabbed this image that the Fire & Rescue team showed up at the lake. I heard from one of the people near the boat launch that a boat had run ashore out around the peninsula. I didn’t hear tat anyone was hurt but the response was impressive. I quickly returned to my car and got out of the way to let the team do their job.

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Fire & Rescue

Fire & Rescue
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/3s, 32mm, f/11, ISO 100